I shudder at the way Ronaldo and Messi shake goal-charts these days but everytime I think they are the greatest of all time, I remind myself that these records have been compiled at a time when attacking players have received more protection from referees.

The likes of Marco Van Basten received little or no protection from referees and suffered career-ending injuries because of that. I sometimes wonder what he and the likes of Ronaldo (the original) would have achieved in these modern times (with goal-line technology, red cards for the slightest body contact and relaxed offside rules). Fans of Pele, Puskas, Di Stefano and Eusebio will tell you that these men played with footballs that were probably twice as heavy as the balls currently used.

An expert header of the ball, Pele must have had the world's biggest headache after that final in 1958! Think about Arie Haan's goal for Holland at the 1978 World Cup against Italy(the shot was wild, inaccurate and played from all of 40 yards but it still found its way into the net) and you'll begin to understand! He must have used all the available ice after the game.

And then there was Cruyff, who had the 'sprint within the sprint'; Cruyff, who played with four feet, Cruyff who played as Centre Forward, Playmaker and as a Defensive midfielder(he switched these roles in between games). He would have had a field-day (pun intended) today.

Maradona achieved all he did through injuries and torn shirts ( I believe Claudio Gentile still has a piece of his shirt somewhere). I saw him play against Nigeria at USA 94 (he was 33 going on 34, mind you) and he still gave us nightmares (forget the ephedrine, he was a genius).

Zidahn is fondly remembered for two headers both of which were executed against Italy at the 2006 World Cup final; the one that forced a reflex save from Buffon, and the other header, planted firmly on Materazzi's chest! Had that been Pele, two things would have happened; France would have won the World Cup and Materazzi would be dead!

People gush over Paul Scholes, Xavi, Iniesta and perhaps, the flawless passing of Michael Carrick but we once had a player who was all these 4 players rolled into one; Michael Laudrup! The Dane was a teacher on the field, each technical heist an upheaval of tear-inducing proportions!

I wonder if football is getting easier to play or if the players are simply getting better. Maybe it is even a combination of both. The balls are lighter, the referees are more equipped, the boots are better, the cards come out faster these days and offside traps are no longer Alcatraz. But then again, defenders are a lot faster and a lot of teams now play with two defensive midfielders instead of one.

And then the formations have changed; 4-3-1-2, 3-3-2-2, 3-4-3, 3-5-2, 5-3-2, 2-5-3, 3-4-1-2, 3-4-2-1 and so on. Keepers are sweepers these days. Some would argue that Lionel Messi would have had the likes of Franco Baresi, Paolo Maldini and Bobby Moore for lunch. He very well might, if he played against them today. If he had played against them during those days when football was almost exclusively a 'contact sport', he would not have made it off the pitch with his two legs intact! And Ronaldo would have learnt to stop falling like he'd been pole-axed!

Anyway, here are the two big questions? Would you have preferred Messi and Ronaldo to any of the following players during the period between say 1990 to 1999: Roberto Baggio, Romario, Jean Pierre Papin, Marco Van Basten, George Weah (the only man to win the Ballon' D' Or, the African Footballer of the year award and the World Player of the Year award at the same time), Diego Maradona, Ronaldo, Gabriel Batistuta, Luis Figo and Rivaldo? Remember referees were not so sympathetic at this time. The second question is this. Would these players (Maradona, Batistuta, Ronaldo et al) have scored more goals (the strikers among them) than Messi and Ronaldo if they played in these modern times?

Tough questions, I know. I however suspect two of these legends might have; one is Brazilian and the other, obviously, Dutch!