Ronaldo sulks while Messi is disappointed on behalf of humankind

European Leagues / Jonathan Wilson / 31 December 2008 / 1 Comments

Cristiano Ronaldo is only 23 and has plenty of time, but he does have to put in a couple of defining performances at some stage in the next ten years or so if he is to be regarded as one of the best players ever. Meanwhile, Jonathan Wilson expects Lionel Messi to dominate in 2009.

Individual awards in a team sport are always somewhat nonsensical, but if we are to believe them, 2008 was the year of Cristiano Ronaldo.

Personally, I think Lionel Messi is a superior player, but I understand why the Ballon d'Or went to the Manchester United winger. To score 42 goals in a season is extraordinary (he is [5.0] to be top-scorer again this season), and he did play in a side that won both the Premier League and the Champions League.

And yet in the coverage of his various awards (he is [3.65] to win the PFA Player of the Year), a fallacy seems to have hardened into fact. So let's take the opportunity to nail it here and now: Cristiano Ronaldo did not play well in the Champions League final.

Is that important? Well, only to the extent that the Champions League final is used as a defence by Ronaldo's apologists against those who suggest he is yet to dominate a big, big game. There are two things to be said here: firstly, that Ronaldo has not yet dominated a truly big game; and secondly, that it doesn't really matter. Big games, by their nature, come around rarely - maybe two or three a season - and are harder to play in than everyday games.

Everybody's performances suffer, but the best are judged by harsher standards than others, and so the fall-off from their usual form is more obvious.

To be considered one of the greatest of all time, a player has to sparkle in a big game, but even the very best probably only did it three or four times. Ronaldo is only 23; he has plenty of time, but he does have to put on a couple of defining performances at some stage in the next ten years or so if he is to be regarded as one of the best ever.

Moscow was not one of them. Yes, he scored. Yes, he beat Michael Essien a couple of times. But once the first half-hour had passed, his inadequacies in a 4-4-2 were horribly exposed. Essien drove past him again and again, and Ronaldo either didn't bother or was unable to track him. Chelsea's equaliser stemmed from an Essien surge and shot that was deflected to Frank Lampard. He needs the security of two holders behind him, and in that tactical set-up, he was outplayed.

That is not to downplay Ronaldo's ability, and Messi would probably be equally exposed in a 4-4-2 (Barcelona's 4-3-3 is a 4-3-3 filtered through an understanding of the 4-2-3-1 in that it usually includes at least one and sometimes two holders - Pep Guardiola, Barcelona's coach, it should be noted, as well as playing in the classic 4-3-3 of the Johan Cruyff Dream Team, received much of his coaching education from Juanma Lillo, the man widely credited as the inventor of 4-2-3-1).

But watching Barcelona's victory over Real Madrid in December emphasised to me just why Messi - at the moment at least - is superior. Where Cristiano Ronaldo exists on the brink of perpetual funk, always ready to tip over into petulance - he was sent off, stupidly, against Manchester City, and fortunate not to be sent off against Celtic, Sunderland, Tottenham and Stoke - Messi reacted to systematic fouling with a resigned shrug. Where Ronaldo would have been beating the turf and seeking retribution, Messi just seemed disappointed on behalf of humankind.

Put simply, he is stronger mentally, and is much less likely to be goaded - as Ronaldo was, most obviously, the season before last against AC Milan - into trying to live up to his legend and win a game single-handedly. It may simply be that Messi understands football rather better, can better weigh up when to dribble and when to pass, and doesn't get carried away with trying to prove himself.

For what it's worth, I think United will win the Premier League [2.85], and Barcelona la Liga [1.13]. I expect a Premier League side to win the Champions League [2.32] - if only because I don't trust Barca at the back - but I also suspect that, barring injury, Messi will prove himself the player of 2009.