Article by Suresh Iyer
Lionel Messi, the star striker for Barcelona and Argentina, will celebrate his 23rd birthday, on June 24, although the FIFA World Cup 2010 is on. Wayne Rooney, his counterpart at Manchester United and England, will flip 25, in October.
Mention either of these gamers, and odds are, you will also point out the other, simply because these are arguably the two greatest players in the entire world. Equally are geniuses on the football field who can transform the fortunes of their respective groups, if they are totally match and enjoying to potential.
Hence the query: who is a lot more probably to set the Planet Cup 2010 ablaze with his efficiency, Rooney or Messi?
They have had incredible similarities in their careers. Both players had been signed by clubs at age eleven, Messi by Barcelona, Rooney by Everton. Rooney held the file for the youngest player to signify a team in the EPL Messi was the team’s youngest ever before player, when he debuted in the Spanish League (La Liga). Messi was the youngest to score a objective in La Liga Rooney held the record for becoming the youngest actually scorer in the EPL. Equally gamers attained the feat just before they turned 17. Rooney who received a debut hat-trick for Guy U also went to turn out to be the youngest worldwide for England, in 2003.
The coincidences don’t conclude there. The two gamers completed one hundred targets for their respective club teams, in January 2010. Both gamers selected the 2010 time to score four goals in a single match. Messi did it versus Arsenal in the Champions League, even though Rooney’s four targets arrived in a match against Hull.
There are some distinctions, also: To start off with, Messi is slightly constructed and 5’7″ tall Rooney is three inches taller, and created like a bull.
Championships Won:
Messi has been a part of championship winning Barcelona on twelve occasions, like the Champions League twice, and the FIFA Club Entire world Cup, as soon as. He has also helped Argentina win two titles, the FIFA U-twenty Entire world Cup, and an Olympic Gold at Beijing.
Rooney has won 8 titles, all for Manchester United, such as the Champions League, and the FIFA Club Planet Cup, the moment each.
The two gamers have a host of particular person awards. Messi would have specially relished profitable the Globe Soccer Player of The Yr award, 2009. Rooney, on his part, would have loved being named the 2010 PFA Players’ Player of the 12 months.
Fittingly, each gamers are between the greatest paid in their respective leagues. Rooney has several business endorsements, apart from a rewarding e-book offer with Harper and Collins.
Private Endorsements:
The two players have gushing endorsements from players and managers. Manchester City supervisor Roberto Mancini, England player, Steven Gerrard, Chelsea boss, Ancellotti, Mark Lorenson, Argentina player, Tevez, Rooney’s Man U teammate, Wes Brown, David Beckham, and ex-England strikers, Shearer and Lineker, are all unanimous in their view that Rooney is the greatest player in the world.
Brazilian midfielder Kaka, his Argentina teammates, Deco and Riquelme, Barcelona boss Laporta, Barcelona supervisor Josep Guardiola, Arsenal FC Ahead and Denmark international Nicklas Bendtner, Real Madrid striker Arjen Robben, and Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger are amon Messi’s abiding enthusiasts. In fact, La Porta claims that Messi is the best player of all time. Maradona has anointed Messi as his successor, while Pele who predicted that Messi would get the FIFA greatest player award in 2009, says Messi really should very first create as the very best actually Argentina player, and also score one,000 objectives just before he can substitute the Brazilian legend as the finest actually.
Strengths:
Rooney is quick and strongly built and makes use of his bodily power to get previous defenders. He is comfortable taking part in via the center, and can operate on his personal, up front. He is naturally gifted, and incredibly opportunistic, and inventive. He revels in unleashing effective volleys from the best of the box. Rooney owes his physical strength to 4 years invested in amateur boxing. Even though a striker, he excels from deep, and capitalizes on his shut management and strength while operating at defenders even as he makes use of vision to generate openings for other individuals.
Messi is arguably the finest dribbler in the globe, and can dance his way previous defences. He has, in a club game replicated Maradona’s goal versus England in the `1986 quarter ultimate, dribbling past six players and operating the same distance as the Argentina legend did on that occasion. Messi displays quintessential South American flair, and his objectives arrive from shut assortment, inside of the box, and depend not so much on strength, as on guile and precision.
Weaknesses:
Rooney has been injury prone. He has also demonstrated a penchant for being very hot headed. Messi has also had damage issues. There are no perceptible weaknesses in his game, but nitpickers could declare that he has not been as profitable for Barcelona, in away games, as he has been in home games. Also, Messi is but to play to possible for Argentina – the staff had a mediocre showing in the qualifiers. Could it be that he doesn’t have as excellent a supporting cast in the nationwide staff, as in Barcelona, which has the likes of Xavi, Pedro and Pichichi combining nicely with Messi?
In contrast, Rooney has been prolific for England, with 25 strikes in just about twice as several matches. There are critics who declare that Rooney is about-rated and is probably to meet his comeuppance whenever he meets a sturdy South American group. The best way to dispel these kinds of doubts is for Rooney to carry out on the area. To his credit score, Rooney scored a aim in a three-2 win in a pleasant, against Argentina, in 2005.
Recent form:
Each players have been in great type in 2010. Rooney has had 34 goals from 44 appearances for Man U, and Messi 47 goals in 53 appearances.
Prospects in World Cup 2010:
Though Messi’s reasonably unimpressive record for Argentina is an argument utilized versus him, he had a aim in opposition to Croatia in Globe Cup 2006. In contrast, Rooney had a lacklustre target-much less outing, in Germany, in 2006, taking part in in the shadow of injury until his ignominious red-card exit in the quarter-final. But all that will be historical past, when the tournament kicks off in South Africa, come June eleven.
About the Author
For the latest sports gossip and information you will not come across everywhere else on the World wide web, and to obtain a Totally free Ebook on the 2010 FIFA Planet Cup, 2010, click http://www.cricinfosite.com
Suresh Iyer is an avid sports fan and blogger.