Apparently There Is a Pretty Big Soccer Game Today

Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo has played down talk of a personal duel between himself and Barcelona's Lionel Messi ahead of Saturday's crucial 'El Clasico' at the Bernabeu. Messi has been getting all the headlines for his performances - especially his four-goal demolition of Arsenal in the Champions League - but Ronaldo is keen to outshine his rival. ''Anything is possible in football but I hope I take the ball [after scoring at hat-trick] first'', said Ronaldo. ''Everyone talks about me and Messi but it is not an individual duel. Messi does not play alone, his team-mates and coaches also have a big influence. In Manchester, when I was the best in the world, I was not playing alone. Barça are the same. Messi is great, but he is in a very complete team.'' When asked who was the biggest plater, Ronaldo smiled and said: ''The biggest is me, at least in height and wider too, that's for sure. I think Messi is having a phenomenal season, he is scoring and making a lot of goals. He is certainly among the best now and always will be.

I'm not Scotty. I don't suck on Messi's dong. I also don't like Cristiano Ronaldo. Not a bit. Honestly, I hate both guys. I don't like Barcelona and I don't like Real Madrid. And I'm not a huge fan of Spain as a country. So, yeah I think I can speak pretty fairly on both players on an individual level and as a teammate. I guess I'm from the old school of soccer where getting the job the done was all that mattered, not necessarily with how much flair it's done with. Cristiano has too much glitter on his game and I hate that. Great dude, you can fuck with people all game with step overs and shit but that doesn't put points on the board. You might win a track meet or a skills competition but if you don't score then have a seat on the bench. I'm not saying Ronaldo isn't great because he is but if I'm lining up the world's best players for a scrimmage and I have the first pick I'm taking Messi. All the kid does is win, win, win. I'd actually take Ronaldinho first but he wasn't available in this scenario. The way I see it, I wouldn't wanna hang out with Cristiano when the game is over and soccer is the sport that you have to like your teammates. If you have a grudge with 3 others guys in your starting 11 then forget about it. It'll never work. All it takes is one play, one pass where one guy isn't busting their ass to go down 1-0 and it's not exactly a sport where it's easy to battle back from a deficit. That's what this all comes down to. Who would you rather go to war with? Cristiano would probably jump the wall and try to take the Japs by himself and be a hero. But Messi? He'd be in the foxhole with you. But that might only be because he's so tiny.