Messi vs Ronaldo: The Balon d’Or Factor; And When Will Nigerian Clubs Stop Capitulating To The North Africans? News

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Messi vs Ronaldo: The Balon d’Or Factor; And When Will Nigerian Clubs Stop Capitulating To The North Africans?

By Daily Sports on December 4, 2019

Lionel Messi and Christian Ronaldo debate is one that would surely endure several lifetimes. The question and arguments over who is and was the better player will keep popping up as far as humanity exists and a further fuel on the flame of that argument was poured by Argentinian Messi being awarded the Balon d’Or Crown for a record sixth time to edge past Portuguese Ronaldo who has five to his name.

For Messi’s fans it’s a big win and given that both players are suspiciously at the twilight of their careers, it means that Ronaldo may never get more Balon d’Or titles than Messi.

In the arguments over who the better player is, fans of both players surely factor in the Balon d’Or award, so for Messi supporters this seems a definitive proof that Messi is the better of the two players.

Let me make two tiny confessions. Firstly, I’m of the camp that believes Messi is a slightly more naturally gifted and rounded player. Maybe many Ronaldo fans would stop reading at this point. (Lol!) I feel happy that Messi has won this award and my ego is sated by a real possibility that I could point to more Balon d’Or wins for Messi as proof that he is the greatest of the pair.

However, and this is my other little confession: I really hoped Messi didn’t win this sixth Balon d’Or award. I feel a lot for the Ronaldo fans and I don’t mean it in a mocking way, honestly. The margins between the qualities of both players are so minute and there are, I concede, strong reasons why some feel Ronaldo is better than Messi.

Given the tough rivalry over the years, all the fierce arguments and jaw-dropping performances that these two supermen have given us over the years, perhaps it would have been fitting for them to have ended with a split decision as far as the Balon d’Or award was concerned.

When we remember the two of them in the future, hopefully it would be more about how much they elevated the beautiful game and our interests in it with performances that have exhausted all our positive adjectives and not on who won more Balon d’Or awards.

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Nigerian club shamefully submit again to North African superiority

Despite the ignominy of falling to the lower cadre of the CAF competitions for clubs that the Confederations Cup represents, Nigeria’s top clubs are still finding in difficult to cope with the North African fire power.

While Rangers of Enugu bowed 1-3 to visiting Pyramids of Egypt, Enyimba of Aba lost 0-2 to hosts Hassania Agadir in Morocco.

It’s a crying shame that North African clubs continue to dominate our biggest sides with relative ease.

What’s happening to the so-called giants of African football? That we cannot after many years of playing against North African clubs, boast of competing with them beats the imagination.

Clearly, there are some things amiss.

There is a lack of thorough tactical preparations for these games on our part and we must admit it. There is something amiss with the football ideology of our system that makes it guaranteed that we hit a blind spot when it comes to dealing with the North African opposition whenever our paths cross.

Can we turn things around? Yes, we can.

We must continue to talk about the quality of preparations, the level of focus and getting the right players to do the job.

Honest preparations and a real willingness to change the way we have been doing things will do the trick.

Source Daily Sports

Posted December 4, 2019