How will Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Italy affect Lionel Messi? Will it spell the end of football’s most compelling rivalry? And will Serie A attract more eyeballs than La Liga when both leagues kick off this weekend?
For nine seasons, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo ruled La Liga, overlords in close proximity, laying waste to the opposition and facing off twice every year to determine who the One Above All was.
Messi vs. Ronaldo within Barcelona vs. Real Madrid wasn’t merely the league’s driving force; it was also world football’s most compelling dynamic. Perhaps never before in the game’s history have two of the greatest of all time, representing giant clubs that are eternal rivals, clashed so frequently and for so long.
And just like that, it’s over. Both Messi and Ronaldo will be in action this weekend, but it won’t mark the start of another collision course.
The Argentine genius will get the Blaugrana’s Liga campaign underway against Deportivo Alaves on Saturday. By then, the Portuguese superstar will have made his competitive debut for Juventus, away at Chievo in Serie A.
What does this separation of paths mean? For the two players? For their rivalry? And for their respective leagues?
There are no easy answers. It’s unlikely their rivalry will end until one of them stops playing (and even then it mightn’t). But — in perception if nothing else — it will be diluted. After all, it’s hard to spar when you are in different rings.
Will this lead to a decrease in motivation levels? Both admit that they might not have risen to such stratospheric heights if it weren’t for the fuel the rivalry has provided. There have certainly been cases in the past of champions feeling lost when a formidable rival left: John McEnroe, for instance, said he wasn’t the same after Bjorn Borg decided to walk away from competitive tennis at 26.
Or will the rivalry reform along league lines? Messi’s La Liga vs. Ronaldo’s Serie A for the title of the best competition in the world?
The move has definitely reduced the disparity in star-power between the two championships. Serie A had come to be regarded as a feeder league: Italian clubs would find raw gemstones, which they would polish and sell at a profit to the wealthier clubs in Europe.
With Ronaldo’s decision to choose Italy and the Old Lady, many are hoping the Italian league returns to the glory days of the late 80s and 90s, when Maradona, Van Basten, Gullit, Rijkaard, Maldini, Baggio, Batistuta, Ronaldo (the original, as Brazilian fans insist), Zidane, Del Piero and Totti lit it up.
Jose Mourinho, for one, thinks it’s a given. “Serie A has become the most important championship in the world,” he told TeleRadioStereo. “The prospects of teams like Inter, Milan and Roma now change. They are more motivated by the [Ronaldo] signing, they are contributing to the quality, attention and excitement of Serie A. It is a blow with effects at all levels, including marketing, advertising and merchandising.”
Mourinho added that “together with England, Italy is [now] the most competitive league, with the most top players in it.”
There is a caveat, though. Sure, last season’s title race was especially compelling, better than anything the rest of Europe had to offer. But Juventus, which has won seven straight Scudetto, has gained Ronaldo and Napoli, its challenger in 2017-18, has lost ideologue Maurizio Sarri and his voice on the pitch, midfielder Jorginho.
Could Ronaldo’s acquisition further distance Juventus from the chasing pack? Napoli has signed three-time European Cup-winner Carlo Ancelotti, while Roma, Inter and Milan look the most solid they have in a while, so perhaps Mourinho’s assessment will be borne out. What can’t be denied, however, is that things in Italy are more interesting than they have been in a while.
Where does all of this leave La Liga?
Madrid must cope without the man who scored 451 goals for them in all competitions. Gareth Bale could step into the breach; there are plenty of talented young Spanish players, besides. All things considered, new coach Julen Lopetegui faces a massive task in following Zidane, especially given his poor record at club level.
The upheaval at the Santiago Bernabeu could make things easier for defending champion Barcelona, but the side will have to deal with the departure of the irreplaceable Andres Iniesta. Atletico Madrid, always spirited under Diego Simeone, will be in the mix, as well.
But stardust (and technical, tactical football for the diehards), not competitive interest, has been La Liga’s calling card. It has been top-heavy for years. Will it survive a Ronaldo-sized hole?
“In the last few years, we have been working to ensure a move like this does not have such a big impact,” La Liga president Javier Tebas told Spanish newspaper Marca in July. “Before, I would have been worried nine out of 10, now I’m worried four out of 10. At La Liga, we are above the name of the players, just like Real Madrid is bigger than the brand of Cristiano Ronaldo.”
Fighting words. It will take the best part of the season to discover how much truth they contain.
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New world order
How will Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Italy affect Lionel Messi? Will it spell the end of football’s most compelling rivalry? And will Serie A attract more eyeballs than La Liga when both leagues kick off this weekend?
For nine seasons, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo ruled La Liga, overlords in close proximity, laying waste to the opposition and facing off twice every year to determine who the One Above All was.
Messi vs. Ronaldo within Barcelona vs. Real Madrid wasn’t merely the league’s driving force; it was also world football’s most compelling dynamic. Perhaps never before in the game’s history have two of the greatest of all time, representing giant clubs that are eternal rivals, clashed so frequently and for so long.
The Argentine genius will get the Blaugrana’s Liga campaign underway against Deportivo Alaves on Saturday. By then, the Portuguese superstar will have made his competitive debut for Juventus, away at Chievo in Serie A.
What does this separation of paths mean? For the two players? For their rivalry? And for their respective leagues?
There are no easy answers. It’s unlikely their rivalry will end until one of them stops playing (and even then it mightn’t). But — in perception if nothing else — it will be diluted. After all, it’s hard to spar when you are in different rings.
Will this lead to a decrease in motivation levels? Both admit that they might not have risen to such stratospheric heights if it weren’t for the fuel the rivalry has provided. There have certainly been cases in the past of champions feeling lost when a formidable rival left: John McEnroe, for instance, said he wasn’t the same after Bjorn Borg decided to walk away from competitive tennis at 26.
Or will the rivalry reform along league lines? Messi’s La Liga vs. Ronaldo’s Serie A for the title of the best competition in the world?
The move has definitely reduced the disparity in star-power between the two championships. Serie A had come to be regarded as a feeder league: Italian clubs would find raw gemstones, which they would polish and sell at a profit to the wealthier clubs in Europe.
With Ronaldo’s decision to choose Italy and the Old Lady, many are hoping the Italian league returns to the glory days of the late 80s and 90s, when Maradona, Van Basten, Gullit, Rijkaard, Maldini, Baggio, Batistuta, Ronaldo (the original, as Brazilian fans insist), Zidane, Del Piero and Totti lit it up.
Jose Mourinho, for one, thinks it’s a given. “Serie A has become the most important championship in the world,” he told TeleRadioStereo. “The prospects of teams like Inter, Milan and Roma now change. They are more motivated by the [Ronaldo] signing, they are contributing to the quality, attention and excitement of Serie A. It is a blow with effects at all levels, including marketing, advertising and merchandising.”
Mourinho added that “together with England, Italy is [now] the most competitive league, with the most top players in it.”
There is a caveat, though. Sure, last season’s title race was especially compelling, better than anything the rest of Europe had to offer. But Juventus, which has won seven straight Scudetto, has gained Ronaldo and Napoli, its challenger in 2017-18, has lost ideologue Maurizio Sarri and his voice on the pitch, midfielder Jorginho.
Could Ronaldo’s acquisition further distance Juventus from the chasing pack? Napoli has signed three-time European Cup-winner Carlo Ancelotti, while Roma, Inter and Milan look the most solid they have in a while, so perhaps Mourinho’s assessment will be borne out. What can’t be denied, however, is that things in Italy are more interesting than they have been in a while.
Where does all of this leave La Liga?
Madrid must cope without the man who scored 451 goals for them in all competitions. Gareth Bale could step into the breach; there are plenty of talented young Spanish players, besides. All things considered, new coach Julen Lopetegui faces a massive task in following Zidane, especially given his poor record at club level.
The upheaval at the Santiago Bernabeu could make things easier for defending champion Barcelona, but the side will have to deal with the departure of the irreplaceable Andres Iniesta. Atletico Madrid, always spirited under Diego Simeone, will be in the mix, as well.
But stardust (and technical, tactical football for the diehards), not competitive interest, has been La Liga’s calling card. It has been top-heavy for years. Will it survive a Ronaldo-sized hole?
“In the last few years, we have been working to ensure a move like this does not have such a big impact,” La Liga president Javier Tebas told Spanish newspaper Marca in July. “Before, I would have been worried nine out of 10, now I’m worried four out of 10. At La Liga, we are above the name of the players, just like Real Madrid is bigger than the brand of Cristiano Ronaldo.”
Fighting words. It will take the best part of the season to discover how much truth they contain.
Keisuke Honda to coach Cambodia national team while playing in A-League
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/aug/12/keisuke-honda-to-coach-cambodia-national-team-while-playing-in-a-league