And another golden ball gets added to the dimuinitive Argentine's trophy cabinet. I truly wonder whether there's any space for it. The world over is giving him the title of:
"Greatest ever"
"The most dominant player in history"
"A Legend"
All this because of an award. Not a trophy, or a medal that is earned, which is the way I thought football worked, but an award that is subjective. Just like the Oscars or Grammys...it's based on opinion, human intervention. It's philosophical, not mathematical. And because of his haul of these Ballon D'ORS, this apparently now means, according to the masses, that he is better than Maradona, Zidane and Ronaldo? He's better than Cristiano, we know that, but than those three I mentioned?
Not so fast...
I look at all these comments proclaiming his greatness and his seat at the top of the mountain, and I wonder if there is a serious case of amnesia going round. It's as if people have chosen to forget that this was the same player, in the most important tournament in football, who decided not to show up in either the semi or final. But I guess that doesn't matter. All that I should accept is if he smacks it up for Barcelona, and only Barcelona mind you, and takes home a golden ball, then I must shut my trap and hold hands with everyone and chant the name of: "Leo! Leo!"
Messi is the best player in the world right now and he will go down as one of the greats. His feats for Barcelona are incredible and may never be equalled ever again in our lifetime. But there is an asterisk. There is a But to that, and I'm going to keep on harping on about it till people can be fair and objective about this. We can't just analyse and critique using conditions that suit us, all in the name of having to live at a time of the greatest player in history. We have to be fair, take a step back and look at the totality of a player's career. Not just pick and choose what best suits us.
That very argument of the greatest player is hard to pin down. Do you give it to the man who has been immortal for only one club? Or the other who pretty much single-handedly won the World Cup? What about the man who came back from a knee injury, where everyone thought he was done, and against all odds became the top scorer at the World Cup with two goals in the final?
Consistency or particular acts of greatness amidst difficult circumstances?
The debate of the greatest player will rage on and on and on. No point in trying to pick a winner, but it's insightful to argue about it. As far as Messi is concerned, he does not deserve to be even in the conversation of the greatest if he hasn't replicated his feats for Argentina. You cannot gloss over that fact. Personally, I've always found international football as the sterner test where the truly great players can rise above and show themselves among these strangers who you don't play with each week. The Champions League has become a walk in the sunny park for Messi, but you can see how difficult and how much he has to sweat when playing for Argentina.
But shhhh, don't mention the World Cup...it does not fit the loud noise we are bombarded with by the media.
I don't think I can honsestly bring myself to even congratulate Messi with a straight face. I'd be lying if I was to commend him on his record-breaking Ballon D'Or. But what I would want is for this dumb competition to go back to the sideshow it once was, and instead for the focus to be on actual competitions where you need to play football to win, rather than hope a panel pick you.
Lionel, you have my number. Please call me when you have a World Cup medal to show me.
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HH
