Messi vs Ronaldo: The 'Greatness' Argument - Fact vs Theory

Last night’s Spanish Super Cup Final between Real Madrid and Barcelona gave me two startling empirical results from the same unique experiment. Apart from the intense level of play, the aggression, the tackles, the violence, the unfortunate and inexcusable actions of some players on both teams, along with the out-of-order comments and subsequent controversy, what has been branded in my mind is the following outcome test result and this observable image:

Messi all the way!

Sporting greatness ( not good, not excellent, but time-transcendent-greatness and beyond ) is bestowed upon someone when that person takes it upon himself to be the active protagonist, element, cause and instigator during the big moments. Not only does that person contribute – with a pass, but defines the result – with goals. The evidence of the existence is experience, and when the aforementioned repeats itself on all levels, it makes the observation into a fact. Barcelona’s Lionel Messi could well be that example, that of theory proven through continuous experiments giving the same viable steady results consistently, thus making it a fact. Last night, Messi proved it beyond doubt that he is simply great! In the five goals that Barca scored in the Super Cup over two legs, Messi was involved in all five of them. Not to forget the two Champions League finals that Barcelona have won in the last three years with the player in full flight, he has made his mark on all the ‘big’ occasions that he has been part of with Barcelona.

Big names such as Pele, Maradona, Cruyff, Di Stefano etc. are branded Greats of the game, because they have all taken the opportunities that came their way, inspired their teams to glory on the biggest of occasions, thus also winning individual glory en route. Here is the point: They did it repeatedly on several ‘big’ occasions, thus creating unique moments that transcended time and history, make the argument of their greatness an empirical fact.

Invisible Man. Read Cristiano Ronaldo

Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo, ever considered Messi’s nemesis in the battle for the best player on the planet, does not fit this particular Football model and Theory of Greatness. The argument about his ‘greatness’ is still very much in theory mode and Ronaldo has done very little on big occasions to turn that theory into a fact. For now, Ronaldo is the “invisible man” on the big occasions, appearing in the unique moments which transcend time and end up in the history books, but contributing very little in them, disappearing from them on a regular basis.

His plethora of titles with Manchester United and the Spanish Cup with Real Madrid are flashes of potential greatness in him. While Lionel Messi is an observable genius at work, whose greatness is constantly on display through his feats of magic, Ronaldo is still very much a passenger in this theory.

Edited by Zico