The world best

What makes legends Since 2008, FIFA’s annual jamboree
honoring the world’s best player has been
dominated by just two names. Ronaldo,
Messi, Messi, Messi, Messi, Ronaldo,
Ronaldo.
Monday saw Portuguese and Real Madrid
superstar Cristano Ronaldo crowned as win­
ner of the FIFA Ballon d’Or for a second
year in a row. It came as scant surprise,
given his club’s phenomenal form in 2014
that saw the return of Champions League
trophy -- and with it the coveted “decima,”
or tenth European triumph -- to the
Bernabeu.
“It has been an incredible year,” he said at
the awards ceremony. “I would like to
continue the work that I have done so far. I
want to try to improve, to become better as
each day goes by.
“I never thought that I would bring this
trophy back home on three occasions. I
want to become one of the greatest players
of all time.”
Top of their game
This seven-year duopoly reflects the im­
portance of these two supreme athletes on
the game, and allows us to see how lucky
we are to be able to witness the long
summers of two of the finest players to
ever grace the sport.
And part of the fascination lies in how dif­
ferent the two men are. Debating the
relative merits of Ronaldo and his great
rival Lionel Messi, talismans of Real and
Barcelona, respectively, has been
something of a parlor game in recent
years.
It’s easy to compare and contrast, at least
superficially. On the one hand, the
improbable, mercurial talent of the shaggy
haired, oddly stooped figure of Messi,
confusing defenders as much as inspiring
his teammates to a higher level.
On the other: Ronaldo. A glistening, taut
mass of muscle, neck like a tree trunk,
powering forward relentlessly. He looks like
he was created in a lab or a high tech
factory; a Terminator, the ultimate
footballer.
Media matters
The two couldn’t be much more different, in
style and, if you are to believe the majority
of the media, likability.
Ronaldo has suffered the slings and arrows
of a largely hostile press for much of his
career, starting as a foal-limbed teen in
Manchester, where he was often derided as
a “show pony,” for elaborate and
unnecessary tricks, and -- a sin in the
English game -- diving to win free kicks
and penalties.
The negativity followed him to Madrid and
a then-record transfer fee. It is largely
Real’s cheerleading press, AS and Marca,
that give him a free pass; the rest of the
global sporting media grudgingly accepted
his gifts, but are quick to level criticism
when they feel it due.
He’s often seen as a ball-hog, a selfish
player who would rather shoot than pass to
a teammate. That he has taken at least 10
shots at goal in nine matches doesn’t
exactly banish the perception.
That his fellow “galactico” Gareth Bale
would have the temerity to take a shot
(and miss) in a recent Liga game rather
than pass to CR7, as the virtuoso has
styled himself, earned him a withering look
from the Portuguese master, and the
opprobrium of fans.
Off the field, his reticence to engage the me­
dia -- a symptom, it is said, of his shyness
-- has been interpreted as haughty and
arrogant. Messi, on the other hand, who
also eschews media coverage has typically
been viewed as humble and self-effacing --
although recent tax and locker room
scandals threaten to change that.
Phenomenal 2014
But the stats don’t lie, and with the
phenomenal return of 61 goals from 60
appearances (42 in 30 La Liga games
alone) during 2014, it’s hard not to give
credit to this year’s winner. He reached the
400-goal milestone for club and country (in
653 appearances) in January,
He is a footballing genius, and had he
stood alone -- his yin unopposed by
Messi’s yang -- he would no doubt be
already talked of as one of the all-time
greats. As it stands, he’s talking about that
honor in aspirational terms, as a goal; he’s
spent most of his career battling compari­
sons.
He’s also developed in leaps and bounds
since his 2008 World Player of the Year
trophy, refined his unquestionable talent
since he first grinned on that FIFA stage.
He’s far more mature; gone are the
unnecessary stepovers and (almost) the
petulance.
To complement this, he long ago inherited
an undimmable desire to win from his old
mentor, Alex Ferguson, and he burns with
passion and a need to score. That’s only
become more evident as he grows into the
complete player he has developed into over
the past couple of years.
And along with his natural ability, he’s long
been an indefatigable, consummate profes­
sional who gives everything he has until the
final whistle, and that’s what has fueled his
work- and goal-rate in 2014.
He still takes a lot of shots, sure, but when
“Ronaldo doesn’t score,” on the rare
occasions that he walks away from a
match without netting a goal is the
headline, maybe he’s right to do so.
Certainly his Real Madrid coach, Carlo
Ancelotti, doesn’t begrudge him the efforts.
World Cup woes?
Germany’s irrepressible keeper Manuel
Neuer -- who was a distant outlier for the
Ballon d’Or this year -- may feel aggrieved
that his superlative World Cup went
unnoticed in voting. Indeed, Fabio
Cannavaro won the award’s predecessor,
the FIFA World Player of the Year in 2006,
off the back of his considerable influence
captaining Italy to 2006 World Cup glory.
But while he had a largely anonymous
World Cup, it would be difficult to deny
that, year round, it has been another
Cristiano’s year of glory. And, like the man
or not, no one should begrudge him his
time at the pinnacle. Indeed Ronaldo is a
star like no other!