The Best Football Rivalry is Not Manning vs. Brady
/FIFA announced the shortlist for the 2014-15 Ballon d'Orr on Tuesday. It included 23 of the best footballers from around the world, all having accomplished seasons and deserved mention for FIFA's top individual award (for reference, 11 of the 23 nominees play for either Real Madrid or Barcelona). But make no mistake, this is a two horse race between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
After all, the two have combined to win the last seven Ballon d'Orrs. Ronaldo took the trophy home in 2008, 2013 and 2014; while Messi won the award from 2009-12. Whoever lost the prize always finished second in voting. After a two year run as FIFA's best player, it looks as though Ronaldo will concede the prize back to Messi, despite scoring a Real Madrid record and jaw-dropping 61 goals in all matches and an admirable semifinal appearance in the Champions League. Messi's season, however, was a rare combination of club glory and individual dominance.
Fresh off leading Argentina to the 2014 World Cup Finals and winning the Golden Ball award for player of the tournament, Messi embarked on a record setting campaign with Barcelona. Individually, he scored 58 goals in all competitions, and assisted on an additional 28. He formed an attacking front with Neymar Jr. and Luis Suarez that was responsible for a La Liga record 122 of Barcelona's 178 total goals scored. Barcelona also collected three club trophies for what is called a treble, only the ninth time a UEFA club has done so. The club won the Spanish League regular season title, the Copa del Rey (a massive knockout tournament between all tiers of Spanish Clubs) and the UEFA Champions League title. The award is certainly Messi's to lose with Ronaldo finishing a deserving second.
The American sports world craves sports rivalries. We cannot accept one's greatness without recognizing they defeated their greatest challenge. It's why so many NBA players and coaches continue to disrespect the Golden State Warriors, despite wining the championship last year. The NBA has desperately craved a rival for LeBron James for twelve years, at one point shoving puppets of Kobe Bryant and LeBron down our throats in advance of a potential, but never realized Finals matchup. It seems as though LeBron's greatest rivalry will be legacy. Fun to debate on a rainy day, but not fun to watch.
The greatest American sports rivalry of the last fifteen years has to be Peyton Manning vs. Tom Brady. These are two of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play American football. In the early years, Manning set all kinds of individual records (like Ronaldo) while Brady won Super Bowls (like Messi). Their mid-2000s meetings in the postseason were certainly some of the best playoff matches of the last decade. But all in all, Brady and Manning have faced each other just 16 times in the last 14 seasons, with only four playoff matchups. And is there a more team-dependent sport than American football? I don't think so. You can't dominate a football game without other players doing their part. Manning and Brady are certainly the faces of their franchises and play the most impactful position, but they sit on the bench for half of the game and are never on the field at the same time.
Ronaldo and Messi are not only the two best footballers in the world, but they play on two elite clubs that have one of the biggest rivalries in all of sports. Real Madrid vs. Barcelona is such a memorable meeting that they have nicknamed it very simply, El Clasico. Every meeting is a classic (Messi and Ronaldo are first and third for Clasico goals scored). Determining global viewership is extremely difficult (an exaggerated 400 million viewers is thrown around for Clasico matches), but El Clasico is always the highest watched club match of the year. FiveThiryEight made a guess that would put it around half of the 100 million that watch the Super Bowl.
La Liga scheduling automatically gives us at least two El Clasico's a year. And because of Real Madrid and Barca dominating La Liga, they regularly meet in additional matches through the Champion's League, FIFA Club World Cup, Copa del Rey and Supercopa de Espana. In the spring of 2011, Madrid and Barca met four times in 11 days. Starting off with a regular La Liga matchup, then Copa del Rey final, and finally a two-legged Champions League semi-final match. Seven goals were scored in those four matches, Ronaldo and Messi scored four of them. Can you imagine Manning's classic Colts facing off against Brady's classic Patriots four times in four straight weeks?
Since Ronaldo joined Real Madrid in 2008, he has played against Messi 28 times. In those meetings Messi has won 13 and scored 18 goals with Ronaldo winning 8 and scoring 17. Messi is small, quiet, and unassuming. Ronaldo is tall (wants to be taller), loud and a sex symbol. Messi is fast, deceptive, can dribble the ball around an entire team and rip a shot at any moment. Like this:
Ronaldo is a prototypical goal-scoring machine. He's athletic, can handle the ball, score on headers and free kicks, and does stuff like this:
Adidas endorses Messi. Nike endorse Ronaldo. You cannot have two more opposed figures off the field and in playing style. Yet they continually find themselves in the same discussion as the world's best.
For eight years, these two have been the best football has to offer and we are treated to them meeting at least twice a year. I can't think of another rivalry that has sustained its bite while the two involved have maintained their status as the world's best. Roger Federer and Raphael Nadal is an interesting comparison, but they met during different career trajectories and individual sports naturally lead to such rivalries. Is there a team sport with such a claim? Larry Bird and Magic Johnson is the only one that comes close, two dominant rival teams and two players with a duality already forged in college that defined a decade of basketball. That rivalry is 30 years old. Messi and Ronaldo is right now. Don't wait another 30 years for this to happen again.
The next Clasico is on Nov. 21.