Article taken from todays Indo. Not too much you could disagree with here. Ronaldo's petulance mocks the essence of greatness By James Lawton Tuesday December 02 2008 So all glory, then, to Cristiano Ronaldo, who was this morning crowned Europe's best player and assigned by Alex Ferguson to the company of Pele and Johan Cruyff? Sorry, no can do in this quarter. The task is made impossible for two reasons. One is that at the moment Ronaldo is displaying the gravitas and self-awareness not of great men like Pele and Cruyff, who once beat England at Wembley while hardly crossing the half-way line, but a drastically under-trained pup. The other is that alongside Ronaldo's too-often grisly parody of real star quality another kind of show is going on, one that reminds you that football when enhanced by individual brilliance at its best leaves every other team game for dead. Lionel Messi is the centrepiece of this show. Last Saturday, he lit up the sky over Seville, where the home team boast one of the most obdurate defences in Europe. Not only did he score two goals in a 3-0 win, he brought enchantment with almost every touch of the ball. He pretty much did that at Old Trafford last season when he delivered a masterclass on possession of the ball, one that with some passable support from his Barcelona team-mates might well have shattered United's march to their second Champions League title. No doubt the overall weight of Ronaldo's contribution to United's massive success last season made this week's award something of a formality. However, the point here is that right now football has a supreme and beautiful exponent -- and it is not the superstar who, whatever you think of the rights and wrongs of his eventual dismissal last Sunday, behaved in a way that made a travesty of Ferguson's ultimate praise. Brutal After his brutal tackle on Shaun Wright-Phillips he displayed contempt for referee Howard Webb that came out of the top drawer of petulance. He announced that, as far as he was concerned, he could make his own rules and give himself the benefit even of the most outrageous levels of doubt. Distaste for Ronaldo's style and conduct can only be deepened by his manager's insistence that he is some kind of football martyr, a victim of forces combining disrespect and envy. The real martyr at the Eastlands stadium was not the superb physical specimen Ronaldo but someone who might double up as a charm on a bracelet -- the diminutive Wright-Phillips. If a United player had been so relentlessly targeted, the chances are Ferguson would have called for intervention by the United Nations. Messi is small too -- and inevitably the object of the most ruthless attention. Remember when he was sickeningly levelled at Stamford Bridge a few seasons ago and Jose Mourinho alleged that he took a dive. Messi didn't dive, he prosecuted his game with courage and wonderful flair. Now, in the explosion of Pep Guardiola's Barca team, who are rivalling Arsenal as football's most idealistic proponents of a beautiful game, Messi moves from one exquisite performance to another. Yes, it is right, that Messi has to nail down real achievement -- Barcelona have to be involved in the Champions League's shake-up and, under the new regime of Diego Maradona, he has to shine for Argentina now that he has the chance that was so shockingly denied him by the nation's head coach Jose Pekerman in the World Cup two years ago. The instinct here, though, is that if Messi does get the kind of stage provided for Ronaldo by United and Portugal he will both conquer it and display a hugely superior reaction to his triumphs. This, admittedly, is only a guess. The confirmation of ambitions and yearnings doesn't always have a hugely warming effect on the personalities of those who make them come good. At the moment, Ronaldo is arguably the most wretched example of this process. His body language remains, mostly, sour. He has this season only just got round to celebrating any success achieved by his team-mates. He is happy to dish out punishment but writhes and moans when he is on the receiving end. In the wake of his magnificent goal -- and penalty miss -- in the Champions League final against Chelsea in Moscow last May, he put on a post-game performance of stunning surliness. Ferocious No, he couldn't promise to fulfil his contract to United, no more than he was ready to discuss his emotions when he missed the spot kick that might have denied United the prize that he and his team-mates had pursued with such ferocious effort. "I don't make promises," he said, "not even to my mum!" Earlier, when he received the Footballer of the Year award, he managed not to make a single mention of his team-mates, his manager or his club. He is, all in all, a magnificently equipped footballer starved at times of even a modicum of grace. That he is grouped with such as Pele and Cruyff by a man of Ferguson's weight and achievement says many things, not least the force of the manager's belief that he has the power to remake football history. In many ways he has, but on the matter of Ronaldo he still has a huge burden in making his case. In the meantime, some of us will be content with the prospect of a player of breathtaking talent -- and the kind of agreeable nature of all those great performers who have learned to live comfortably and gracefully with their success. In this respect, Lionel Messi is surely the man. - James Lawton
C.Ronaldo is everything that is wrong with the modern game. It may sound strange but i'd rather we didnt win the title for another 18 years than have a player like that playing for us. He is a disgusting cheating,moaning,bigheaded wan*er.
Agree. If he had the tiniest bit of humilty it might be easier to give him the credit his talent deserves. Its sickening to see him collect awards, stomach churning. Have no problem with a confident sportsman, even arrogant but everytime I see that superior smirk of his you just wanna smack it off his face. Shows no respect to his club, teammates and fans, and the mancs lap it up. Shouldn't be mentioned in the same breath as any of the true greats, has no class, zero. He's a football virus.
I think Lawton is stuck up his own hole to be honest. Ronaldo is a twat, but he has been the best player in the world this year. His points on Messi are reasonable, but as I pointed out when Dunphy was saying he was role model when slating Ronaldo, he was caught spitting at an opponent a few days before. Great Role model there for ya. I hate Ronaldo and everything he and his current club stands for, but the truth is that United are not half the team without him. I wish he had signed for Madrid during the summer, because he is the biggest threat to us winning the league this season. Cantona was the most arrogant ****** ever to play football (up until now) and committed the ultimate crime by attacking a supporter. He is the most popular player in United's history. Says it all. They revel in being hated
Agree with alot of points but nobody touched him this year. He can't be best footballer as he cheats and has no respect for the game which begs the question should success be a necesary component for the award?
Totally disagree. He's not a nice guy but that's not relevant in whether he is a great player or not. I agree I would prefer messi on my team but that's because I actually think Messi is a better player. Bolo Zenden, Kuyt, Traore all Mr nice guys but theyre not the standard required (leaving a debate on Kuyt aside). That article screams personal spite more than analysis. I can't understand how someone could possibly prefer to wait another 18 years for the title than have Ronaldo in our team that is an insane submission to make imo.
He is a great player, with wonderful talent and if he joined LFC you would all be worshipping the ground he walked on. Admit it! Every pro cheats, I dont see why all this cheating hate is aimed at Ronaldo. I am surprised he won the award, if Chelsea won the CL, I would have given it the Frank Lampard who is the complete midfielder in my opinion. None of them are of the same calibre as Zidane for me though.
I know alot of mancs that hate him and the way he goes about his business i.e on the field and off . I also know people who worship him.
True, maybe its just pig ignorance on my part, but I couldn't see this guy being embraced by the Liverpool faithful in the same fashion as say, Torres, regardless of his contribution to the side, solely down to his personality. Even if he had moved to Pool instead of/before moving to man united. He is a love him or hate him character, its hard to be an in-betweener on him.
Yeah thats true, I think most of them actually wanted him to stay purely because it will severely weaken them if he left. But most of them actually don't disagree with the fact he is a self-indulgent horrible git. His facial expressions scream 'Look at me, me, me' during matches and he's constantly playing for the cameras. If the man was made of chocolate he'd lick himself clean. As a player there is no doubt he is talented but at a level below Kaka and Messi. He is helped by his commercial hype machine as was Beckham in his prime. As far as Messi's character goes I don't think enough is known about him to make judgement but the spitting incident would'nt exactly indicate he is flawless. However as a player I believe he is the best since Zidane.
Sad Article on the Real Ronaldo From the independent website. Sad how Ronaldo turned out, for whatever reasons, be them physical, psychological or other. What a player.