The issue is that people just glorify these athletes. Messi is a reserved guy, not very outspoken guy, but when provoked he will attack back. Should not be shunned for it, he is still a human who is going to defend himself. Just cause the guy is quite and not assertive, doesn’t mean he isn’t spineless.
Like any person, even if they are calm and relaxed nature, they will attack back at a certain point.
Definitely overblown, but definitely overlooking the full context of the situation. Rodrygo got racially abused, which has been the hot topic of football, especially since he plays along side Vinicius, so people will focus on that more. Dont get me wrong, under no circumstances does Rodrygo deserve to get racial abused, however, he made himself out to be a target to the Argentine racists considering he was being completely insensitive towards the Argentina fans that were experiencing police brutality in the stands.
Not saying it justifies racism, because it doesnt, however that was the reason he was targeted. Rodrygo was being a complete idiot in his remarks towards Messi and co.
At this point its different to what it was 10-15 years ago.
Now that the guys I grew up idolizing are retired or collecting their last bag, I no longer have the same sentimental value to these new players. Not saying they are bad, just not as invested. Obviously as you grow priorities change. I have always been into football history, looking up past players, teams, leagues and competition is also fun because it helps you put into perspective how great players of the past were.
I guess nowadays, I still watch but I can view the game objectively without any real bias.
Hard to say really. The standard of the Saudi league is very low and the amount invested into Al Nassr apart from Ronaldo has really given him a team where he put up the numbers he is putting on. Not many people want to hear this but his performance in Saudi is no where near a good metric to judge how he will do with Portugal at the Euros.
There is other factors at play here and we can’t down play them. Heading into last WC, Portugal had one of the most talented teams, perhaps only Brazil and France ahead of them. They were far more talented than Argentina per position, yet didn’t have anywhere the cohesion nor the mental fortitude to over come adversity the same way Argentina did.
So, here we are having another conversation about how well they will do, not knowing for sure how they will perform at the Euros. Personally, Portugal won’t win because I think there is significant gap between France England compared to the rest of the competition.
Brazil might have to abandon la Maracana. There most historic losses have all come in this single stadium:
- 1950 WC Final vs Uruguay
- 2014 WC Semi-Final vs Germany, 7-1
- 2021 Copa America Final vs Argentina
- 2023 WCQ vs Argentina, first home loss in their WCQ History.
Well the surface level way of viewing this is that Cristiano is the embodiment of hard work, dedication and perseverance.
Then there is Lionel Messi, who seems like he was chosen by God himself and gave him an other worldly talent that no one cannot replicate unless you are special.
Now, I think it is unfair to suggest that Lionel Messi hasn’t worked hard and just got to where he was just for existing. He clearly has, you can see his evolution as a player and how he kept adding more to his skillset, you can tell he studies the game. Now while yes I do agree he is a genius of the game and perhaps this sport computes faster in his brain, it doesn’t take away his effort. His longevity is a testament to that.
I think Cristiano is the embodiment of something more achievable if one lives a life full of discipline. Which there is a level of comfort for those who aspire to be great.
I dont want to take this away from Messi though, because there are several high profile players and talents that do look up to him such as, FdJ, Sane, Mahrez, Pedri, Wirtz, Bellingham, Davies, Musiala, Foden, Doku, Alvarez, Enzo, Estevao, Echeverri, Prestianni and the list goes on. All of these players have their reasons to like Messi.
I stated he is underwhelming for Brazil, not his club career. There is no way you can excuse how poor he has been for Brazil when you consider he is the second best Brazilian in the world at worst.
It is at the point that most Brazilian people have accepted that he isn’t even going to reach Neymar’s level for Brazil. The fact that the fear factor of Brazil isn’t even Brazil, it’s Neymar.
I am someone who has watched football for 20+ years now, and I have watched South American quite abit over the past decade. I have known about Endrick for the past 2-3 years now. I say this as a Barcelona fan, that kid is special. I do think he is more talented than Vinicius, who was dubbed to be the best talent since Neymar, but I think that has died a bit now since Vini has been incredibly underwhelming in for the NT comparatively to Neymar even at their age.
Out of the players who you’ve listed, the player that received the least amount of media circus was Cristiano. He was very talented but he wasn’t clear cut away and largest talent. I remember people saying that Quaresma was far more talented than he was, but then we saw the trajectory of his career.
Certainly, could be because of how South American is with football and how much the football world reveres the talent that comes out of there, they will always be put on a pedestal based on their potential. R9 was literally called “the phenom”, injuries altered his career. His career numbers early in his career were superior to that of Messi and Ronaldo, ages 19-21.
Messi despite not traditionally coming out of the Argentine league, to break into a Barcelona side that had Ronaldinho, Eto’o and such at 17, drawing incredibly amount of comparison to Maradona really because of their play style and physical build being so similar. He was already getting insane praise going through the youth system, Ronaldinho even said himself that the best player at the club wasn’t even himself, it was Messi and he had not made his full debut yet. Messi had an insane amount of expectations, and really only fulfilled it at 35 with the WC.
Neymar is also another interesting case, because he came from Santos, the club that produced Pele. Neymar was also one of the leading players to win Copa Libertadores, the first one since Pele. He also had a very flamboyant playstyle similar to that of Ronaldinho, so they talent and hype was justified.
A lot of times, these expectations make or break the player, its just the reality of the world. There has been many examples where comparison have broke a kid, which is sad. But the ones who truely make it to the top are the ones who embraces it. Endrick has been on record stating he doesn’t like the pressure that is brought onto him because its a lot, but unfortunately, everyone expects great things from him.
Wait till you find out who he supports. That kid has made it very clear where he wants to go.
I know many people don’t want to hear it, and this is coming from someone who grew up around R9, but Luis Suarez is definitely the best Striker of his generation by a considerable gap from Lewandowski, Benzema, Aguero and Kane. Ill even further the point that Suarez is better and greater than R9 in the sport, but many people do not want to entertain that.
Suarez has seemingly gone to every team he has ever played for an succeeded individually and almost nearly (outside of Liverpool) won a league title. Even though he didn’t win something with Liverpool, he was undoubtably the best player in the Prem till he left and his last season is one of, if not the best season the PL has seen individually.
Luis Suarez’s career post Barca, has honestly been incredible with what he has been able to accomplished with Atletico Madrid, Nacional and now with Gremio potentially.
I never said he was. He got majority of the racial remarks compared to Endrick, Jesus, and Gabriel.
He put a target in his back for racists people to attack him because of what he said.
Both actions don’t make a right nor do they justify either actions. This isn’t a black or what situation, it’s clearly grey.