Cristiano SOARED, but spare a thought for Ibra.

So the two big stars finally came to play. After a disappointing first leg, the buildup finally paid off and in the end, the man from Portugal shut me up. I hold my hands up. He did NOT Flop. He delivered for his country, and lead them to Brazil. But a thought must be spared for Ibra and his VERY valiant effort.

Football is a TEAM sport. Yes, an individual can have a profound influence on it, but it is still a GROUP effort. Maradona FIGURATIVELY speaking, won the World Cup single-handedly. But if his great pass in the Final was not finished off, then Argentina may have lost to West Germany.
  For Ibrahimovic, he did the best he could. He delivered two goals, and he got Sweden back in the game off his own back. There just is not anymore you can do when you are surrounded by a team that makes the word average look sexy. It's the WORST Swedish team I have seen. Sure, they are a good team but there was NO player Ibra could rely on for some skill or magic. So think about that when people say Cristiano cast Ibrahimovic in the shadow. Ibra HAD NO HELP whatsoever.

Well, he did it. After scoring the winner in the first leg, he replied to Sweden's comeback and scored two more to send Portugal over the line. At a point, his captain's armband was like a hand brace for him, but his passion drove him on.
 He delivered and did what he did, NOTHING MORE. But this was not ALL Cristiano. Moutinho is an unsung hero and it was his pinpoint passes that found Cristiano on those fast breaks. So I am not hating, Cristiano deserves credit. But don't for ONE second now think this means he deserves the Ballon D'Or. As I said before, he was playing against a Swedish side that had ONE player. So, sorry, I can't now suddenly say he achieved a remarkable feat. He just had a great game, and MUST be commended. I like the desire he shows for his country, that will always get extra brownie points from me.


So where does this leave Ibra? I think it's a case of what he could have done if he was born earlier and was in that team of the 90's. A Swedish strike partnership of Ibrahimovic and a young Henrik Larsson, would have been quite something. It is just unfortunate that one of Sweden's great individual talents reached his peak with a very sub-standard team.
  All that is left is just to put in my five cents in saying neither of these players deserve the title of being great. It's just more of the media hype machine trying to paint them as player they are not. We all know what greatness is and the four individuals in that executive club. They are both special in their ways. Cristiano may be the most deadly finisher in the world right now, and Ibra showed that even with NO help, he can still find a way to deliver.


HH