ESPNsoccernet Press Pass: 4 November 2011

[penguincontact]

LOL Portugal success? They had figo playing with ronaldo and they couldn't beat S. Korea. Put Figo on Argentina and they would not be as pathetic as they are now. The game is won between the boxes, the midfield. If people don't understand that, then they don't understand why people chose Messi. Messi is not a striker. Ronaldo has been consistently one of the best strikers in the world. Messi is the best attacking midfielder in the world. Great attacking midfielders are far more rare. Both are A+

[owusuboy]

LMAOF..Ronaldo is a far better player tham Messi says one person. he sure proves it in the matches when the ymeet doesn't he?. I know you Ronaldo fan boys want to defend your boy but it's 2 funny. Like Janusz said, the head to head stats don't lie..Messi kicks his azzz. If Ronaldo is better than all the managers and captains will vote for him over Messi in the Ballon "D'or..don't hold your breath. All CR7 has is silly stepovers and Alves owns him. Puyol didn't even fall for his clownish move.

[owusuboy]

Who cares what that fat humpty dumpty Irishmen Tommy Smyth thinks. Bitter United fan. Ronaldo is a bum. Messi kills him in head to head matches. Ronaldo can't do nothing without Ozil giving him tapins and shady pk's. Messi has owned him time and again. All Portugese boy does is talk than gets shown up. Did nothing at the WC and the last Euros. Just loves playing with his hair. Biggest phony in football.

[haggiseee]

Ronaldo is a more complete player

[owusuboy]

@unleashedtrojan

Oh, so now the SuperCup was just pre-season and it didn't mean anything. If Madrid had won, I doubt you would be stating that. Than you go on about the Real thing..Thats all you Ronaldo and Real fan boys always say..just wait just wait than Real lose. Madrid took that SuperCup seriously and they still lost because they suck. Than you go on about the head to head, are you retarded?. Messi 9 goals 5 assists..Ronaldo 4 goals and 0 assists....dummy. Ronaldo sucks vs Barca

[unleashedtrojan]

@owusuboy hey bro you stil haven't answered me about that 19 penalty kicks thing you made up...or you gonna confess that you talk shit...and why are you so anal about this..is Messi your boyfriend?? Messi plays on the greatest team in history...Barca makes messi not the other way around...

Barca without Messi =European and World Champions

Messi Without Barca= Barely making out of the group stages in Copa America

[owusuboy]

@unleashedtrojan

Is Ronaldo yours?.

You say Barca makes Messi. Has Messi ever said that he is a one man team you dumb f**K!!. Wh yare you so anal also?. you want to talk shit about Messi, well i'll talk shit about Ronaldo.

What the F**K has that piece of crap Ronaldo ever done for Portugal?..oh wait, he beat Spain in a friendly and acted like he won the World Cup at the final whistle. Argentina beat Spain in a friendly also but Messi didn't act like it was a WC final like that goof CR7.

[unleashedtrojan]

@owusuboy Ronaldo is fourth highest goal scorer for portugal, he needs two more to become the third highest...Portugal won nothing before Ronaldo and will probably win nothing in the future because they are a small nation with very limited talent....(half of the Portuguese team is Brazilian) Argentina on the other hand are a powerhouse and even if Messi doesn't win anything all he needs to do is play well but he can't do that either... also Ronaldo DESTROYED Spain..he deserved to celebrate

[owusuboy]

@unleashedtrojan

You can find Argentina vs Spain on Youtube also and Messi destroyed Spain but he knows it's a friendly so he doesn't go bonkers like Ronaldo. The Spanish side didn't care about that game since the Clasico was just a week later. No one wanted to get hurt. In case you didn't notice, most of the players are from Barca. Why should they kill themselves over a meaningless friendly. They taught Ronaldo a lesson a week later when it mattered..5-0! . Ronaldo does nothing for Portugal

[mourasantos]

@unleashedtrojan half the team is brazilian? Are you high? Only Pepe was born in Brazil, and since then, has become about as Portuguese as it gets.

Portugal has a very long history of producing great individual talent -- Rui Costa, Eusebio, Figo, Futre to name a few -- arguably even more so than Argentina has, despite their two World Cup wins.

That said, I think Ronaldo is a far better player than Messi, whose one exception talent is a ridiculously explosive speed for one his size.

[DCshoekiidyoo1]

its funny how all of the comments turn up when there is a ronaldo vs messi talk.

[owusuboy]

Tommy is a idiot. On the one hand hand he goes on about Ronaldo winning a Championship for Man United. He missed his pk in the shootout. What did Ronaldo do with United in the Final vs Barca....NOTHING!!. Ronaldo has Ozil to feed him tapins..how much did Madrid spend ? and he yaps about no help..get the F**K out of here man.

[ljb265]

ronaldo > messi rmcf > barsucklona

[steveieg]

Messi might be the best club player ever, but until he does something in another team or another league like Ronaldo has.Or wins a world cup like the All time greats Pele,Maradona etc he wont be the best of all time.

[owusuboy]

@steveieg

And Ronaldo will never be the best ever until he wins a World Cup also than.

[TheDoggHound]

Do i even worry about Messi Haters? Nah ! You know why? Because am pretty sure you guys are burning inside that Messi is the best.Y'all know the truth.The comparison was credible two seasons ago but now Messi is proving his place as the best in the history of the game.Ronaldo,he's good but he wouldn't even be on my top 20 of all time.

[bearrod1000]

Ronaldo is better than messi. Ronaldo can score headers and is faster. Messi should test his skills and play in the premier league. If he can score goals at the same rate he is scoring now then he would be considered the best player in the world. He also needs to play well for a team named argentina. That rafa guy treats futbol like a business and should never be on the show again. Does not respect the beauty of the game!

[ambuj1991]

the head to head stats are skewed... put messi in madrid and ronaldo in barca, and the stats would be opposite.. If messi is no 1, then, ronaldo would be 1-A... he doesn't get enough credit.

[siclucky]

When Messi can bring his country out of the group stages of any competition then he will be the best to me. Messi is a good player in a great Barca system. CR7 is a great player in any system. Can take free kicks, penalties, KICK WITH BOTH FEET...Messi is so left footed its ridiculous I bet you all his right foot shoes and brand new cause he never uses his right. For me CR7 is better he can perform for both club and country, Messi can perform only for club

[MrMarlon405]

@siclucky yea he's so left footed that in the spanish super cup he chipped Casillas with his right with Cristiano on his knees next to him... think before you talk!

[siclucky]

@MrMarlon405 the fact that you know when last he scored with his right just strengthens my point....if it was normal occurrence you wouldn't remember....you know Messi is extremely left footed that doesn't make him any less of a footballer....but players like CR7, Forlan, Nani who can at will kick with any foot shows skill...not saying Messi has none just all his skill is in his left foot....CR7 is a more complete player whereas Messi thrives in Barca system only with great midfielders ONLY!!

[MrMarlon405]

@siclucky so r u saying that the midfielders that cristiano plays with aren't great, well your right they aren't because real madrid sucks but if you see him play you would realize that cristiano doesnt make his own goals happen, he gets the ball from his midfielders and finishes so don't say that he gets the ball does it all by himself because he doesn't

[kjbarca10717]

@siclucky You don't know SHIT about football.Messi has brought Argentina out of the group stages of competitions.Messi never uses his right????? Messi has scored 6 goals with his right foot this season and Ronaldo RARELY takes a penalty OR a free-kick with his left foot...

[siclucky]

@kjbarca10717 I don't know about football, lol, ur very funny my friend...not because you have a barcelona crest as your display doesn't mean you know any thing either, it only shows me that you are blinded or may I say you have Barcelona shades on, I was clearly exaggerating with the group stage comment but being overwhelmingly left footed is no exaggeration....tap in goals with the right foot is by no means comparable to outside the box blasts with CR7's left. Ronaldo is a more complete player

[kjbarca10717]

@siclucky You are right, Messi's goal vs Real Madrid in the CL semi-final when he ran past the whole defence, Messi's chip over Casillas in the Sucpercopa and Messi's goal vs Racing this year were ALL tap-ins with his right foot.If Ronaldo is so good shooting with his left foot outside the box when was the last time he scored one?? Ronaldo hasn't carried Portugal in major competitions.Portugal has always had a better allround team than Argentina.Deco, Figo, Nani, Meireles, Pepe, Gomes, Carvalho

[kjbarca10717]

Ricardo, Mendes, Danny, Tiago, Simao, Ferraria, Miguel, Bosingwa, Coentrao, ect....Argentina has a better attack but Portugal is better in everything else NOW.The goals Ronaldo has scored for Portugal in major competitions are penalties and tap-ins.When Messi does score for Argentina there are good goals...

[siclucky]

@kjbarca10717 dude of all the names you gave for Portugal Figo & Deco has been gone....Nani, Meireles, Carvalho, Simao, Coentrao, Bosingwa are worldclass players the rest are average....wheras Argentina: Zanetti, Milito, Mascherano, Cambiasso, Zabaleta, Burdisso, Tevez,Pastore, Aguero, Messi, Higuain,Lavezzi, DiMaria are all worldclass with exception to DiMaria, Lavezzi & Pastore(arguably).....on paper Argentina has a better team and they couldnt even win Copa America

[kjbarca10717]

@siclucky I used Figo and Deco as examples of players that played Ronaldo played with in his early career.You are saying they are average because haven't heard of half of them.Zanetti, both Militos, Cambiasso and Zabaleta are all old and average and Lavezzi is a waste...

[siclucky]

@kjbarca10717 why do you think I'm a casual football fan, I haven't heard of them,lol, plz.. Zanetti is old but he was still a part of a defence that beat Barca in the UCL semis last year with Cambiasso and Diego Milito. I said with exception to Lavezzi I know he isn't worldclass, Zabaleta is still a good player. With the Portuguese team all these name except who I mentioned are rubbish, Pepe is a bruiser, Dany is horrible Ferrairia is dieing on Chelsea's bench with a Portuguese coach...smh.

[kjbarca10717]

@siclucky Just in case you haven't realised that semi-final was 2 seasons ago.Zanetti, Cambiasso and Milito are all playing like SHIT NOW.Zabaleta is an average player that gets a card in every match.Trust me, Danny is NOT a horrible player.He has scored 10 goals this season for Zenit including a goal in the CL and he also scored for Portugal against Cyprus resently and that is NOT horrible for an attacking midfield player.Ferraria is on the bench because Bosingwa(Portuguese)is playing instead.

[siclucky]

@kjbarca10717 I know it was 2 seasons ago but it was still a calender year ago...I said that to bring a point to u, they were still old last year and they happened to beat Barca,they play horrible now because of a bad coach & age also a factor. Like you said Danny plays for Zenit enough said, if Cambiasso was in Russia I bet he would be top scorer (minus Eto'o) point being scoring in Russia doesn't justify if you are good or not. Ferraria is the bottom choice at his position for Chelsea.

[kjbarca10717]

@siclucky It was a year and a half ago not a year.A coach cannot be blamed for bad individual performs it is the PLAYER'S fault, he can only blamed for playing a player out of position or for the TEAM as a whole playing horribly.If Cambiasso was in Russia he would NEVER be top scorer.He has been at Inter since 2004 and only has 25 goals and he NEVER scored when he played for Real Madrid.Cambiasso has always been an average player in my book...

[siclucky]

@kjbarca10717 you are true about Cambiasso but at Inter he has been good....and yes a coach can be blamed for the way the team plays....his system hasn't been very flattering to the way Sneijder plays who is the best player on there thus causing the team to play horibbly combined with the aging of Lucio, Zanetti and other players but the main reason would be the formation which forces Sneijder out of his natural creative/attacking midfield position. So the coach must be blamed also

[kjbarca10717]

@siclucky As I said "he can only be blamed for the team as a whole playing horribly".But I still don't think the manager is to be blamed for everything though.Inter NOW is just a team of old and average players with a few good players e.g. Sneijder.Other than that they are a POOR team that deserves to be in 17th in Serie A.And Cambiasso has always under performed in his career to me...

[siclucky]

@kjbarca10717 Ronaldo has carried Portugal and SCORED in major world competitions....can Messi say that? And I'm not just talking about qualifiers...I'm talking about the real deal final. And like with Barcelona Messi is fortunate to have a great cast of players around in when he plays with Argentina and yet they fail miserably....player for player the Argentina team is much more talented than Portugal however they fail to meet expectations everytime. I guess Messi isn't all that great anyways.

[ChopChoiceBeats]

lol this was a good episode. Some valid points from either side, they're both amazing player.

[Jamezzzee]

at 22:02 i swear tommy said fuck numbers

[Rylukin]

@Jamezzzee HAHAHAHA!!!

[owusuboy]

Where was Xavi during the 1st leg of the Super Cup...oh wait? on the bench as Messi scored and set up Villa. Ronaldo helped Portugal at Euro, so what. Did they win?. He couldn't even beat Messi in a head to head friendly. All CR7 does is yap before Clasicos. We will win in Madrid he said..Barca won 2-0 Messi scored. We are better than Barca he said..Barca won 5-0. Messi 2 assists. Messi 3 goals and 2 assists in Super Cup and he wasn't fit just came back from holidaays even. Messi the GOD!!

[TheSanket5]

as far as janusz's claim of ronaldo's form playing for portugal is concerned.. i remember he was just awesome playing in EURO,in which portugal reached the finals..m not one of those who'll say ronaldo is the best player , coz he's not... I hate it when some fools say that messi is best player ever and hes best player by a huge margin.he is best player in the world right now , but ronaldo isnt far behind..and as far as "Best player ever" thing, i'll wait till xavi retires and argentina wins WC

[BrooklynJEW7]

I dont care what anyone says, ill support Ronaldo long before I support Messi.

[owusuboy]

I wonder what Ronaldos tally would be if they took out all those penalty kicks. The season he won WPOTY when he scored all those goals...19 came from penalty kicks. He scored 31 in the Premership, many of them came from pk's. Adebayor came second and scored 24 with Arsenal..NONE FROM PK'S' !. Ronaldo can only win scoring titles when he has inflated penalty kicks added to his total. When he meets Messi head to head, Messi cleans his clock. Ronaldo is better than Messi at talking before the game

[unleashedtrojan]

@owusuboy lol CR7 scored 5 penalty kicks in total 07/08 season...FIVE...stop writing out of your ass...and tommy smyth speaks the truth and doesn't sugar coat it for pathetic farca trolls like you

[owusuboy]

@unleashedtrojan

Ronaldo and Tommy the wanka Smyth are losers. Messi kicks Ronaldos azzz all the time. 3 goals int he Super Cup and 2 assists. All Ronaldo did was score a offside goal. Does nothing but talking before Clasicos than hides like a girl while Messi and Barca kick their azzz . You want TRUTH lttle boy..the head to head stats spoke the truth didn't they...Ronaldo fanboy...

[unleashedtrojan]

@owusuboy hey bro the fact that you claim ronaldo scored 19 penalties in 07/08 makes anything you say sound retarded....supercopa was a preseason game just wait for the real thing....lol and did u see the head to head??? did you see the winners???

[patroclus117]

CR7

[owusuboy]

Tommy Smyth is a total windbag. Just hates Barca because they squash his dear Man U all the time. Ronaldo can't hold a candle to Messi. Couldn't even outshine a out of shape Messi in the SuperCup. By the way Tommy, what has Ronaldo ever done for Portugal at any level?. Wouldn't answer Janusz on that would he?. As if Ronaldo never had help at Man U and kaka,Ozil,Xabi,Di Maria,Higuain I guess are just pub players for Madrid. Let's see CR7 score a hat trick vs Barca like Messi did vs Madrid.

[arivera1986]

thank you tommy!!!!! finally!

[ssjmark29]

Messi is just special.. one of kind player.. we're lucky to see his magic.. Ronaldo is great..

but messi is simply magic.. you have to admit that.. yeah he plays on a great team.. but he creates magic for that team and his finish is top class in all situations..

[paganizonda89]

Messi is just better than ronaldo thats not saying ronaldo is bad he is brilliant but messi just has that special thing to him

[KhazarLenkoranX]

Messi is not proven outside Barcelona, a team that is build to feed Messi. Ronaldo on the other hand has proven himself in 3 different teams in different leagues with 3 different systems.

[kurdboy40]

ronaldo has done great in england and spain and somewhat Portugal

messi has done great in spain with xavi and inesta and sucks in Argentina and has never done good for any other team besides barca he has never been tested and for that reason i would choose ronaldo because he has been tested with Manchester untied and has done great wherever he goes

TOMMY SMITH is the best fuk all the rest on the show!!!!!!!!!!!!! MESSI LOVERS

[10lionelmessifcb]

Messi is the best, people just don't want to acknowledge it.

[unleashedtrojan]

greatest debate at the end...and Tommy Smith is spot on...the Messi love fest is so annoying...that rafa guy seems to be a Messi ass licker aswell