Ronaldo has "no natural raw talent"

Scantee is legend!

Even 'fat' Ronaldo said it once before ~ "I am footballer not a sprinter!"

@ coogar / dayo,

forget Aberdeen. . . . .Fergie has spent how long in UTD now!!? Questioning Messi's ability to do what he does with Barca in another club is almost in parallel with questioning Fergie!

Abeg,

coogar and friends . . . please make sure you award all the trophies in your various wardrobes to Cristiano Ronaldo.
UEFA and FIFA awards are reserved for Lionel Messi, as you all know.

I'm sure in September everybody will be back here to complain and abuse FIFA, UEFA, UNICEF, the French Foreign Legion, David Cameron, the EU, and whoever. No qualms sha

AjanleKoko:

Abeg,

coogar and friends . . . please make sure you award all the trophies in your various wardrobes to Cristiano Ronaldo.
UEFA and FIFA awards are reserved for Lionel Messi, as you all know.

I'm sure in September everybody will be back here to complain and abuse FIFA, UEFA, UNICEF, the French Foreign Legion, David Cameron, the EU, and whoever. No qualms sha

no one is disputing that - but can messi do it on a cold rainy tuesday @ stoke? when this question about messi was posed to wayne rooney. . .
rooney said. . .
'If you bring Xavi and Iniesta with him, yes. But it would be difficult, almost impossible for him to play as he does in Spain.
'The game is more physical here, going to the likes of Birmingham and Stoke away is very demanding. Cristiano Ronaldo is more suited to the English game than Messi. Cristiano is taller and good in the air.

^^
The English game, the English game.

Messi does not need to play in England. In fact, coogar, for your information, none of the greatest players in world football have ever played in England.
That doesn't seem to look like it'll change any time soon. After all Cristiano Ronaldo has left England!

AjanleKoko:

^^
The English game, the English game.

Messi does not need to play in England. In fact, coogar, for your information, none of the greatest players in world football have ever played in England.
That doesn't seem to look like it'll change any time soon. After all Cristiano Ronaldo has left England!

but cristiano conquered england before he left it. . . . .
and the other great players played elsewhere in another team and won!

the fact is. . . . .remove xavi and iniesta in messi's team and messi's ability reduces from a superman to solomon kalou.
no one has been able to prove this fact wrong.

over to you. . . . .

coogar:

but cristiano conquered england before he left it. . . . .
and the other great players played elsewhere in another team and won!

the fact is. . . . .remove xavi and iniesta in messi's team and messi's ability reduces from a superman to solomon kalou.
no one has been able to prove this fact wrong.

over to you. . . . .

LOL . . . . I have to laugh at that.
Well, England has been routinely conquered, by men like Cantona, Van Nistelrooy . . . even a certain Didier Drogba. Not exactly the optimus prime of modern football they were. But they still conquered England. Even Fernando Torres, Yaya Toure, and lately David Silva have been busy conquering England

AjanleKoko:

LOL . . . . I have to laugh at that.
Well, England has been routinely conquered, by men like Cantona, Van Nistelrooy . . . even a certain Didier Drogba. Not exactly the optimus prime of modern football they were. But they still conquered England. Even Fernando Torres, Yaya Toure, and lately David Silva have been busy conquering England

which of these players scored 42 goals in a season he won the league/champions league at the same time?
which of these players won back to back player of the season. . .
which of these players won the young player award/best player award in the same season?

that is conquering. . . .

All hail King Ronaldo
of shiny golden boots and rocket shots.

An arrogant prick though 

[flash=440,400]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k5RWm14l2I[/flash]

coogar:

no one is disputing that - but can messi do it on a cold rainy tuesday @ stoke? when this question about messi was posed to wayne rooney. . .
rooney said. . .
'If you bring Xavi and Iniesta with him, yes. But it would be difficult, almost impossible for him to play as he does in Spain.
'The game is more physical here, going to the likes of Birmingham and Stoke away is very demanding. Cristiano Ronaldo is more suited to the English game than Messi. Cristiano is taller and good in the air.

Maybe Rooney is trying to tell us that Shawcross and Roger Johnson are better than Vidic, Ferdinand, Vermaelen, that Messi has taken to the cleaners.

medjai:

Maybe Rooney is trying to tell us that Shawcross and Roger Johnson are better than Vidic, Ferdinand, Vermaelen, that Messi has taken to the cleaners.

that's the difference. stoke and birmingham will not play with pride like man utd, arsenal, chelsea or any of the big teams. . .
let's see how barcelona will play a team who attacks from centre of the field - let's see how barcelona will defend rory delap's throw-ins throughout 90 mins. no formation, no tactics. . . .just throw-ins after throw-ins, long freekicks after long freekicks then we will know how great barcelona are.

question remains. . . . . .can messi do it on a cold wet tuesday @ britannia stadium? how many times have arsenal won in stoke with their tiki-taka?

coogar:

that's the difference. stoke and birmingham will not play with pride like man utd, arsenal, chelsea or any of the big teams. . .
let's see how barcelona will play a team who attacks from centre of the field - let's see how barcelona will defend rory delap's throw-ins throughout 90 mins. no formation, no tactics. . . .just throw-ins after throw-ins, long freekicks after long freekicks then we will know how great barcelona are.

question remains. . . . . .can messi do it on a cold wet tuesday @ britannia stadium? how many times have arsenal won in stoke with their tiki-taka?

First off, Arsenal doesn't play tiki-taka. They pass the ball around, yeah, but they don't play tiki-taka.
Secondly, and I have told you before. Messi does not have to play at the Brittania on a cold wet Tuesday afternoon. Unless Stoke somehow find their way into European competition, the Champions League to be exact. He doesn't need to come to England and make English people happy. He's okay with beating them in Europe

AjanleKoko:

First off, Arsenal doesn't play tiki-taka. They pass the ball around, yeah, but they don't play tiki-taka.

then you don't watch football.
arsenal are the closest thing to barcelona in terms of style of play. the only difference is barcelona have more superior players to execute the style more effectively.

Secondly, and I have told you before. Messi does not have to play at the Brittania on a cold wet Tuesday afternoon. Unless Stoke somehow find their way into European competition, the Champions League to be exact. He doesn't need to come to England and make English people happy. He's okay with beating them in Europe

then never ever compare messi to ronaldo who has played at the britannia stadium against the fayes, shawcross', delaps, etc and conquered them. let him continue to beat the ones in europe who don't play dirty.

coogar:

then you don't watch football.
arsenal are the closest thing to barcelona in terms of style of play. the only difference is barcelona have more superior players to execute the style more effectively.

then never ever compare messi to ronaldo who has played at the britannia stadium against the fayes, shawcross', delaps, etc and conquered them. let him continue to beat the ones in europe who don't play dirty.

I don't really watch Arsenal anyway. They look like they're trying to pass the ball around, but I never see them keep the ball effectively or pass out of defence, or their keeper sweeping like a Valdes. I even saw them this afternoon, and their play is a lot more direct than triangular. So for me they ain't playing no tiki taka. Even from the days of Butragueno and Michel ('86 WC), I have been watching Spain. They always play like that, lose or win.

I won't compare Messi to Ronaldo. Three times Champions League Top Scorer can't be compared of course to Ronaldo.

coogar:

that's the difference. stoke and birmingham will not play with pride like man utd, arsenal, chelsea or any of the big teams. . .
let's see how barcelona will play a team who attacks from centre of the field - let's see how barcelona will defend rory delap's throw-ins throughout 90 mins. no formation, no tactics. . . .just throw-ins after throw-ins, long freekicks after long freekicks then we will know how great barcelona are.

Barca vs Stoke ? Stoke won't even have the ball let alone threaten from a long throw. Barca can get stuck in when they want to. Osasuna, Bilbao, Gijon are just as rough as Stoke and Brum.

question remains. . . . . .can messi do it on a cold wet tuesday @ britannia stadium? how many times have arsenal won in stoke with their tiki-taka?

If Modric and Silva could do it then Messi will single handedly annihilate Stoke.

coogar:

then you don't watch football.
arsenal are the closest thing to barcelona in terms of style of play. the only difference is barcelona have more superior players to execute the style more effectively.

That'd be Villareal for me.

then never ever compare messi to ronaldo who has played at the britannia stadium against the fayes, shawcross', delaps, etc and conquered them. let him continue to beat the ones in europe who don't play dirty.

Who be Stoke City sef? Wetin dey Britannia stadium? Since when did Stoke become the yardstick for measuring great players?
I guess the likes of Crouch and Dempsey that have scored braces against Stoke should be regarded as the greatest players.

In Europe the closest hing to barcelona in terms of possesion football is Bayern only that we dont have the talent at barcas disposal.

Both teams are built on Louis van Gaal philosophy.

Has Rooney ever tried playing with Bilbao in the middle of the Basque, Has he ever had to deal with Palermo or Catania in the Ultra infested Sicily

If Messi can do it in colder Russia vs Kiev, Rubin Kazan etc who is Stoke

Maldini, Baresi, Baggio never did it outside Italy?

Has Rooney, Ferdinand done it outside England.

If you are playing in the best team of your generation why do you need to go elsewhere?

If Ronaldo started his career in Barcelona would he request a transfer to Hull City just to prove a point

If you are a Harvard/Oxford student do you need to transfer to LAUTECH or FUTO to prove a point?

dayokanu:

In Europe the closest hing to barcelona in terms of possesion football is Bayern only that we dont have the talent at barcas disposal.

Both teams are built on Louis van Gaal philosophy.

Has Rooney ever tried playing with Bilbao in the middle of the Basque, Has he ever had to deal with Palermo  or Catania in the Ultra infested Sicily

If Messi can do it in colder Russia vs Kiev, Rubin Kazan etc who is Stoke

dayokanu:

Maldini, Baresi, Baggio never did it outside Italy?

Has Rooney, Ferdinand done it outside England.

If you are playing in the best team of your generation why do you need to go elsewhere?

If Ronaldo started his career in Barcelona would he request a transfer to Hull City just to prove a point

If you are a Harvard/Oxford student do you need to transfer to LAUTECH or FUTO to prove a point?

Ten over Ten for Dayo

The physicality of the EPL is overrated.

dayokanu:

In Europe the closest hing to barcelona in terms of possesion football is Bayern only that we dont have the talent at barcas disposal.

bayern munich keep possession? which possession?

Both teams are built on Louis van Gaal philosophy.

i laugh in boko haram. so louis van gaal's 2 yrs at bayern munich means they had barcelona's philosophy?
dayo, you sometimes make the most outlandish comments. that robotic, mechanical bayern munich has barcelona's philosophy?
you must be high on crack.

Has Rooney ever tried playing with Bilbao in the middle of the Basque, Has he ever had to deal with Palermo  or Catania in the Ultra infested Sicily

i cannot count the number of times rooney has sodomized the ultras in rome, rooney has scored more in rome than he has scored in anfield.
the issue is not the crowd, it's the style of play.

If Messi can do it in colder Russia vs Kiev, Rubin Kazan etc who is Stoke

like i said, the issue is not the weather or the number of inches of ice formed.
it's the way stoke treats every set-piece like corner kick where they put players around the keeper with rory delap's javelin-like throws.
messi will be sacrificed for the big lanky players of barca to deal with stoke.

ritchboy:

The physicality of the EPL is overrated.

tremendously underrated.
messi plays against teams who want to put the ball on the grass and outdo each other and people say he's lethal.
let him come to britannia on a cold night with elbows, kicks and shoves. . . .and let's see how he can handle such physicality.
when was the last time pep guardiola saw an attacking throw-in from the half-way line?

torres has scored 9 goals against chelsea. . . . .how many has he scored @ britannia?

coogar:

bayern munich keep possession? which possession?

i laugh in boko haram. so louis van gaal's 2 yrs at bayern munich means they had barcelona's philosophy?
dayo, you sometimes make the most outlandish comments. that robotic, mechanical bayern munich has barcelona's philosophy?
you must be high on crack.

See UEFA possesion stats for yourself. Look at it carefully and make deductions

http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/statistics/round=2000118/clubs/type=possessiontime/index.html

cannot count the number of times rooney has sodomized the ultras in rome, rooney has scored more in rome than he has scored in anfield.

Count the number of times Messi has sodomised better EPL teams than Stoke.

the issue is not the crowd, it's the style of play.

like i said, the issue is not the weather or the number of inches of ice formed.
it's the way stoke treats every set-piece like corner kick where they put players around the keeper with rory delap's javelin-like throws.

Why cant Stoke use their technique to qualify for Europe CL and see how they would win the tournament.

messi will be sacrificed for the big lanky players of barca to deal with stoke.

When Barcelona didnt sacrifice players to deal with Giants like Vidic, Ferdinand etc, they would now be scared of Huth whom everyone used to mop the florr everywhere he went or Shawcross?

In Europe we have seen giants like Bobo Balde being embarassed so who is in Stoke? Delap?

tremendously overrated.
messi plays against teams who want to put the ball on the grass and outdo each other and people say he's lethal.

When its so obvious that 90% of teams in the CL play ultra negative football vs Barca

let him come to britannia on a cold night with elbows, kicks and shoves. . . .and let's see how he can handle such physicality.
when was the last time pep guardiola saw an attacking throw-in from the half-way line?

Those kicks and shoves of Real madrid and Jose didnt stop Messi from scoring a double

torres has scored 9 goals against chelsea. . . . .how many has he scored @ britannia?

Which Torres the 50m for 1 goal Torres?

dayokanu:

See UEFA possesion stats for yourself. Look at it carefully and make deductions
http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/statistics/round=2000118/clubs/type=possessiontime/index.html

i am not even sure you have seen the stats you posted.
man utd, schalke, barcelona, tottenham, inter, shakhtar and real madrid were all higher than bayern munich!

Count the number of times Messi has sodomised better EPL teams than Stoke.

the epl teams better than stoke will not play like stoke.
the teams barcelona have played are man utd, chelsea, arsenal, liverpool. . . . .these teams play with pride. . .they defend well and they don't attack barcelona the way stoke do.

the issue is not the crowd, it's the style of play.
Why cant Stoke use their technique to qualify for Europe CL and see how they would win the tournament.

because there are many teams like stoke in the premier league. there are hundreds of players suited to the way stoke play in the premier league.
you bundesliga fans and la liga fans cannot have it both ways. you cannot say la liga is more technical and more tactical than premier league and still claim la liga is more physical. the english football wins physically in europe. gone are the days when serie a used to be the most physical. i doubt any italian team will survive the premier league(although it depends on the kind of referee officiating the game).

When Barcelona didnt sacrifice players to deal with Giants like Vidic, Ferdinand etc, they would now be scared of Huth whom everyone used to mop the florr everywhere he went or Shawcross?

how many times did vidic and rio ferdinand go up to the other end to attack the ball? against stoke, every goal-kick, corner kick, throw-in, freekick(direct or indirect) - in stoke's half or barca's half will be in the attacking mode. stoke do not play freekicks with 5-yard pass. it's always a long attacking mode - where the 2nd ball advantage is critical. barcelona will not survive it.

In Europe we have seen giants like Bobo Balde being embarassed so who is in Stoke? Delap?
When its so obvious that 90% of teams in the CL play ultra negative football vs Barca

it seems you don't understand what we are talking about here. this is not about negative football. this is about stopping barcelona to play - and then giving barcelona plenty of problems with their own demonic set-pieces. i ask you again - how many of the 90% teams who play ultra negative football against barca use attacking throw from the half-way line? only stoke do.

Those kicks and shoves of Real madrid and Jose didnt stop Messi from scoring a double

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2007/oct/25/newsstory.championsleague
that was messi whining like a biaatch after rangers showed them 10% of what stoke do week in week out in the premier league. these are the things cristiano faced for six years and mastered in the premier league!

and as for the shoves and kicks of jose mourinho. . . .the dives and the pathetic officiating couldn't work with european referee. you think pepe would have been sent off in the premier league with his tackle? watch carragher versus nani(anfield) and compare to pepe's tackle

of course, i saw marcelo throwing from his own half into barcelona's goal like delap. i also saw arbeola doing the same thing.
we are talking cambodia, you are talking cameroon.

Which Torres the 50m for 1 goal Torres?

the torres that sodomized the german defence by winning the european cup in 2008.

Per the link, that was why I told you to look at it closely.

Didnt you notice that those clubs ahead of Bayern went further in the competition.

The average is what matters not the total

Who sleeps more, one that does 63hrs in 3 days or one that does 100 hrs in one week

dayokanu:

Per the link, that was why I told you to look at it closely.
Didnt you notice that those clubs ahead of Bayern went further in the competition.

1) it is what you do with the possession that matters
2) it depends on the quality of teams bayern met in the competition in comparison to the others.

The average is what matters not the total
Who sleeps more, one that does 63hrs in 3 days or one that does 100 hrs in one week

the percentage is what actually matters not average!
the stat below makes more sense than the possession(time).

http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/statistics/round=2000118/clubs/type=possessionperc/index.html

^^So what did your Arsenal you claimed was second after Barcelona do with their possesion after 7 trophyless years

Nope. It doesnt depend on the quality of the team, Arsenal dominates possesion whether they play Hull or Chelsea

Barca dominates possesion whether they play Almeria or Madrid

Bayern dominates possesion whether they play Nurnberg or Dortmund

Bayern played Inter Milan and had over 60% possession

The only time you get unstuck is when you play a team who has perfected the possesion game better

The percentages you posted still shows that Bayern is waay ahead of Arsenal

dayokanu:

^^So what did your Arsenal you claimed was second after Barcelona do with their possesion after 7 trophyless years

the tiki-taka. all passes not more than 5-15 yards.
incisive passes
trying to walk the ball into the net.

arsenal have won nothing for 7 years because they have too many inferior players to execute the art of tiki-takaing. the purity of their football is there for all to see. they play better than bayern munich cos they don't have any difficulty in transiting the ball from the goalie to the defenders to the midfielders and to the attack. arsenal's ball transition is always fluid unlike bayern who mixes it with long-balls most of the time.

Nope. It doesnt depend on the quality of the team, Arsenal dominates possesion whether they play Hull or Chelsea
Barca dominates possesion whether they play Almeria or Madrid
Bayern dominates possesion whether they play Nurnberg or Dortmund
Bayern played Inter Milan and had over 60% possession

the degree of dominance is what we are talking about.
70% possession and 65% possession are both complete dominance but one dominance is greater than the other.

The only time you get unstuck is when you play a team who has perfected the possesion game better
The percentages you posted still shows that Bayern is waay ahead of Arsenal

and spartac moscow is better than bayern, barcelona, chelsea and man utd.
it is what you do with the possession that matters. bayern don't play like barcelona - they are mechanical. the bulk of their possession is when their central defenders fanny with the ball in their own half trying to waste time or trying to lure their opponents out of their shell.

arsenal/barca do their tiki-taka at the edge of the opponent's box. looking for that eye of the needle passes or trying to walk the ball into the net.
shyte stats from uefa will not tell us where the bulk of the possession took place. if lahm and butt exchange passes for 5 mins, it will stump up the possession stats. . . . .whereas, sagna can't be bothered passing to almunia. he wants the ball to quickly get to nasri and fabregas(and that area of the pitch has more pressure from the opponents than where lahm and butt are doing "keep ball").

@Topic,
Is anyone still seriously asking this question, after watching the last two games?

This is a 2008ish argument. . . The 2011 argument is Messi vs Maradona, and even the most ardent Maradona fans will soon see the folly in that.

ritchboy:

This is a 2008ish argument. . . The 2011 argument is Messi vs Maradona, and even the most ardent Maradona fans will soon see the folly in that.

Would love to know why sir. . .

AjanleKoko:

@Topic,
Is anyone still seriously asking this question, after watching the last two games?

nothing has changed. . . .

barcelona + ronaldo will beat real madrid + messi.
in a nutshell, messi plays in a much better team but the huge gap is closing fast.

coogar:

nothing has changed. . . .

barcelona + ronaldo will beat real madrid + messi.
in a nutshell, messi plays in a much better team but the huge gap is closing fast.

hey mr coogar why do u keep talking trash? or is it tha u are delibrately being mischievous? its not even about the team. look at both players' individual skill. ronaldo knows nothing but running with the ball and countless leg overs. ronaldo is not even next to messi. iniesta is.