Sunday, September 13, 2020

In Three-Four Years the World of Football Will Miss Messi and Ronaldo

Oleh  Akhmad Zamroni

Messi, Ronaldo, and Neymar (Source: www2.pictures.zimbio.com, www1.pictures.zimbio.com, http i.dailymail.co.uk)


Linonel Messi (Argentina) and Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) are two of the best soccer players in the world for the last 13 years (2008-2017). From 2008 to 2020, they were alternately selected as best players (the world's best players) by winning the Ballon d'Or award from FIFA-France Football.  Messi won the Ballon d'Or six times, namely in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2019, while Ronaldo won it five times, namely for 2008, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017.

Practically during those 13 years, they both dominated world football. So far they have not been able to bring the national teams of their respective countries, Argentina and Portugal, to become world champions (World Cup). However, their game on the gridiron was clearly unmatched by any other player. Both in playing skills (skills) and scoring goals and leading the club to become champions (domestic league and Champions League), Messi and Ronaldo are far behind other players.

However, as they get older, they will one day be overtaken, rivaled, and replaced by the young stars who appear later. Age will be an obstacle for both of them to maintain their performance on the field. They cannot fight against their aging age, which causes a decrease in speed, stamina, power, agility, and skills. However, in their 30s they will begin to show decline.

They both have now entered that age. Messi is now 33 years old, while Ronaldo is even 35 years old. So far, Messi, who is two years younger, is still showing quite good performance: he is still agile, sharp, able to bring Barcelona to second place (runner-up) in the Spanish League 2019-2020, and become the top scorer in La Liga (25 goals). However, whether in the next three or four years he will still be able to maintain this state or not is a question to which the answer is, most likely, "no." Unless extraordinary things happen, in three or four years Messi will be in difficult times as his form will decline.

In the 2019-2020 season, Messi's record has begun to decline. Even though he remains the top scorer of La Liga, he failed miserably to bring Barcelona to win titles in all competitions (Copa del Rey, La Liga and the Champions League). As for Ronaldo, at his current age, he is still quite good and sharp at the domestic league level (Italian Serie A), but at the European level he has seen a lot of decline.

Even though Messi and Ronaldo are entering their declining period as soccer players, we still hope that they will still be able to maintain their form in the next few years. Without the two of them, world football would feel dry, monotonous and uninteresting. Their individual actions so far have not been matched by other players. Neymar, Gareth Bale, Kyllian Mbappe, Eden Hazard, Paul Pogba, or Harry Kane, who are often referred to as new stars, are generally still below Messi and Ronaldo.

Although in real terms Messi and Ronaldo are starting to age and their game will soon decline, with the frequency that is not high anymore (like when they were in their 20s) they can still sporadically show their attractive game. We hope that every now and then they will still carry out their charming individual acts. The great stars of the past, such as Pele, Beckenbauer, Cruyff, Maradona, Hagi, Zico, Baggio, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho in their former glory days in their 30s are still occasionally able to show their stunning individual acts.

We certainly hope that Messi and Ronaldo are still able to continue the traditions of their predecessors. And if one day the two of them are no longer able to do it because they are probably too old we hope that there are new stars who can replace them with the same level of play or at least almost the same.

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