Spanish La Liga Thread

I dont' agree. Both teams were at the same level. In the first half Real was a bit better, but in the second half Barcelona could have won easily if it weren't for the 3 clear missed chances. So, if anything, the man of the match could perfectly be Neymar, Ramos, Busquets... In my oppinion, there wasn't a clear MVP.
 
I agree with that, Modric is the key player at Real, like Xavi & Iniesta years ago, he's the man that makes things work, and the one player I get from Real.
 
I think it's a shame that players like Modric, Iniesta, Xavi, Makelele and Neuer will never win the Ballon D'Or.
It's just like those players don't come even near Messi and Ronaldo.
They play in positions where they don't shine as much as Messi and Ronaldo.

Well anyway, it's nonsense to give individual trophy's in a team sport like football...It seems that somehow people want to name one player the best of the world...thre best football player of the world might well be someone we don't know...
 
Iniesta should have won it in 2008 (I think? - around that time anyway) He was the best in the world for a year ...before Messi rewrote physics
 
I agree with everyone here, trophies are already there to reward the best teams, and in a team sport that's all it counts. Except for the fact that, even if it doesn't make sense but you have the urge to name someone the best footballer in the world... then it should have been Messi in the last decade, every year. The things he does in the pitch, no matter if his team wins more or less, are out of reach for the rest. And he does everything (playmaking, passing, long passing, assisting, finishing....) so damn well.
 
It's hard to disagree with you about Messi, Alex. But he could also shine because he had a fantastic midfield behind him with players like Iniesta, Xavi and Busquets (who am i forgetting?).
It is very well possible that somewhere in Borneo or Mongolia there is a better player than Messi (this must sound as utter bullshit).
What i'm trying to say is that if Matt Letissier had played for a team like Pep's Barcelona, he might well have been considered the best player in the world. What about Messi in Letissier's Southampton? And i'm not suggesting that Letissier is better than Messi...it's just an example of an unsung great player who had the bad luck to play for an average team...
 
I like this kind of debates, Gerd, so allow me to extend a little on my point of view.

I understand the logic of that line of thought, but in my oppinion is flawed. Basically because the only way to assess how good is a player is to watch him play at top level, competing against the best. Very talented players may be unlucky to play at lower divisions/countries than they should, but at the end the luck/opportunity factor is an important part of the equation.

If someone is playing at Malaisia, I don't care if he was unlucky, he never reached top level competition for a reason, wghatever it is. Luck/opportunity plays a big role on careers. May seem unfair, but it's how the world works. What about the best player in history that nobody knows because he got severely injured? Would Pele be considered a top player if he was born in Angola?

So, removing all the "what if" of the equation, let me focus on another thing. Yes, Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets were great players, but you should know that for nearly 6 years they didn't win anything, they weren't even starters for the team. It was Pep who made them shine in a deffensive system that focused on keeping the ball to cancel the opponent. But the X facotr was Messi breaking the defenders at the right moment. If you dig into statistics, you will see that the team has won many things without Xavi and Iniesta, but has hardly won any single important match without Messi.

But it's very easy to test this. Do this if you have some time: go to Youtube and choose ANY year of Messi's career. Look for the Messi highlights of that season, not just goals, watch for assists and highlights in general. You will be astonsihed, I assure you. Most people has seen only what he did in key matches, but if you see what he did EVERY week for 8 years... I tell you, in a single year, he has done what took other players their whole career. Then you multiply that for all the years he's been performing at that level, and then you realize the bloody monster he is. It's not only the goals, or the assists, it's his total dominance of all aspects of play, from passing to dribbling, finishing, shooting, his vision... something no one had done before at that level for so long.
 
I also like these discussions.
I agree with you about Malaysia and that players should be judged for what they did on top level.
I also think that Messi is the best player ever (and i'm old enough to have seen Pele play, who IMO was much, much better than Maradonna).

But in the end, as much as i like these discussions, it's absurd to search after a best player in a team sport. It's good to have pub discussions about it (like we do). But it's totally absurd that FIFA feels the need to elect a best player of the year...and in the Messi years it's rather obvious that he is the best...but what about period where there is no Messi or Ronaldo (i don't like him at all, but he is something special too)?
How many defenders get trophy's like that? I can only remember two: Beckenbauer and the Italian CB that played together with Nesta and had a brother who played for Napoli (can't remember his name). Why on earth did Gaetano Scirea never win a golden ball?
 
Fabio Cannavaro.

As for Messi, I agree, he IS the best ever! And it truly has been a pleasure watching him.
 
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