My World XI for 2013

At the Ballon d'Or ceremony the FIFA World XI was unveiled, and many felt there were some huge snubs. I was among those people. The FIFA XI was as followed:

Goalkeeper: Manuel Neuer

Defenders: Philipp Lahm, Sergio Ramos, Thiago Silva, Dani Alves

Midfielders: Xavi, Iniesta, Franck Ribery

Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo, Ibrahimovic, Lionel Messi

Amongst those chosen I felt too much praise had been given to the two La Liga giants again. Here is my World XI:

Goalkeeper: Manuel Neuer; No argument here. Neuer was far and above the best goalkeeper in the world last year. He was a huge part of Bayerns historic trophy haul.

Defenders: Philipp Lahm, Thiago Silva, Dante, David Alaba; Removing the La Liga duo and replacing them with two Bayern players. Dante stepped right into the Bayern starting line-up and helped transform them into a team that was near impossible to score against, just ask Barcelona. David Alaba moves into the team after basically solidifying himself as one of the top 2 left backs in the world, and he's my age.

Midfielders: Franck Ribery, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Gareth Bale; No more Barcelona favoritism people!!! Xavi and Iniesta shouldn't have even SNIFFED the world XI. I replace them with Schweinsteiger and Bale. Schweinsteiger was by far the best box to box midfielder in the world last year and he was the heart of the 5 star Bayern team. Bale is the most debatable here. While having a great season it would be easy to leave him out and throw someone else in, but just by the eye test Bale was quite possibly the best player in the world not named Ronaldo or Messi towards the end of last year. His health was an issue, but his quality is nothing to scoff at. 

Forwards: Ronaldo, Ibrahimovic, Messi; I mean, c'mon. 

So there you have it, my World XI. We need to acknowledge that last season the spanish teams weren't the best in the world and don't deserve to have a crazy amount of players in these teams! Let me know what you think of the replacements. Who deserves to be in it, who doesn't, and why should your player be in instead!

Cristiano Ronaldo's Ballon d'Or Deserving Year

We are about 2 weeks away from the football world giving their most prestigious award out, the Ballon d'Or. The MVP award of the football season. The final three nominees for the award were no surprises: Lionel Messi, Franck Ribery, and Cristiano Ronaldo.

All three players had spectacular years, but only one player was truly deserving of the award when voting closed.

Ronaldo should win his second Ballon d'Or on January 13th.

Now the stats don't back up my claim really. Messi finished the calendar year with more trophies and goals than the Portuguese star. Ribery led Bayern to the first treble season by a German club and was part of the most dominant team in 2013. But when you look at what Ronaldo did in 2013 there should be no question as to why he should win it.

Stats are one thing, but the eye test is another. Just watch CR7 play. In 2013 he was the single most unstoppable force every time he was on the field. It didn't matter who he was facing, he showed up. When we talk of MVP awards we usually talk about a MVP moment. In college football you have the Heisman trophy, and usually when a player wins it everyone has the "Heisman moment" to point to as to why they did win. When you look at Ronaldo, almost every game he gave us a MVP moment. His goal against Manchester United in the Champions League in his return to Old Trafford, his superb 2 goal performance against Barcelona, his header against Manchester United, and we can't forget his one man show in both legs of the playoff round against Sweden to propel Portugal into the World Cup.

Yes, Ronaldo is selfish, he isn't the best team player, and maybe he does care a little more about his looks than others, but in 2013 Ronaldo was undoubtedly the best player in the World. I expect it to not even be close when the final results are revealed, but we all know FIFA love them some Messi. My only hope is when he walks up to accept it and the crowd is cheering he does his "calma, calma" thing to the crowd.

With that said Ronaldo was undisputedly the best player in the world, and it wasn't even close.

The Biggest Debate in Soccer

Soccers biggest debate, who is truly the best player in the world. Is it Barcelonas goal machine, Lionel Messi or is it Madrids talisman, Cristiano Ronaldo? Both players posses skills far beyond any other players on the planet, but who is truly the better superstar?

The similarities of Ronaldo and Messi are actually harder to draw up then the differences, while Messi enjoys being on the ball he knows how to move methodically through the field without the ball and into prime positions to score. Ronaldo on the other hand is more of a bombarder. Preferring to get the ball on the wing and use his pace and skills to beat opponents while cutting inside to score. Both players have mastered their craft, but who does the most for their team, who is better?

My money is on the Portuguese man, Cristiano Ronaldo. CR7 when he wants to, can take over a game all on his own, and teams don't know how to stop him. Unlike Messi for Barcelona, if Ronaldo is having an off day it's usually game over for Madrid that day. But Ronaldo is rarely off his game. Able to play any striker role on the field, Ronaldo is a complete attacker. Possessing world class speed, agility, and goal prowess he is deadly from any situation. You can never count madrid out of a game as long as CR7 is on the pitch. There is some fair criticism that comes with picking Ronaldo over Messi though, how can you not pick a 4 time ballon d'or winner? Messi has won 19 trophies, Ronaldo only has 12. Messi has scored 200 la liga goals and last calendar year he broke Gerd Müllers goal record. All those stats are very nice and super impressive, but it came down to a few factors for me. 

First, marketability. It's one thing to have immense talents but if you aren't marketable no one will know who you are. Messi, putting it nicely, is boring. He scores and does a regular hugging celebration with teammates, he has boring press conferences, he isn't overly flashy, doesn't date supermodels, etc. and all that is truly great and is admirable, any young player looking to be respected in the future of their careers should take note of how Messi conducts himself, but when it comes to being a player young kids want to idolize for how cool it is to be a superstar, they look to Ronaldo. Ronaldo has all the attributes to be a world icon. The looks, the charisma, the swagger. On top of that he has world class abilities on the field. He is flashy when he plays, using lots of fancy flicks and skills against opponents. When he scores you never know what type of celebration you will get, and that is exciting. I bet if you asked most young players in the world right now who they want to shape their game to be like, it would be Ronaldo.

My main point that led me to pick Ronaldo is the fact that if you put Messi or Ronaldo on any mid level team in any league who leads a team farther in their careers. In my opinion if you put Ronaldo on a team that is mid level he will lead that team to not only a league title, but a Champions League spot and I think he could lead a mediocre team to at least the knockout stage of the Champions League. Now Messi, he could possibly do the same, but he is a different type of player. Higher game IQ but less physical ability than Ronaldo. Ronaldo is a safer bet to accomplish those things with another team than Messi.

This is all my opinion, of course. So what do you think? Is Messi the greatest in the game? Is it CR7? Have another player you want to make a case for? Let me know in the comments!

Ronaldo Real Madrid Framed 8x10 Photo - Striking Ball (Google Affiliate Ad)

Ronaldo to return to United this summer?

It has been highly speculated that Ronaldo would be leaving the Bernabeu this summer ever since he stated he was "sad" at Real Madrid. This prompted many to speculate high spending clubs like PSG and Manchester City could snatch up the Portuguese star.

After reading through some transfer rumors one caught my eye, Manchester United plan a 55 million pound bid to bring CR7 back to Old Trafford. People have speculated that departing Real Madrid boss, Jose Mourinho could take over at Old Trafford if Sir Alex Ferguson decided to leave the club on a high note after this season. But reports also link Mourinho to possibly a job at french giants PSG. But in the case of Ronaldo his preferred destination is Manchester United, where he became an international superstar.

                                                    Will the Special One replace Sir Alex at Manchester United?

There are some financial statistics that are also important, none of which I will outline here because they do not really pertain to the relevance.

                                                                         Is a reunion on the way?

I personally hope Manchester United can bring Ronaldo back to Old Trafford. Everyone says that the English league is where the best players go to hone their skills, which I agree with for the most part. It will be interesting to see if Ronaldo can emulate his scoring prowess in a league that fields more than 3 quality teams. The only thing that would be sad about United capturing Ronaldo again would be no more duels between the two biggest names in the sport, Messi and Ronaldo. This season may be the last chance for the Portuguese star to best his old rival for a while, so if these reports are to be believed look for Ronaldo to try extra hard to oust Barcelona in their next 2 meetings.

What do you think? Will Ronaldo return to Manchester United? Will he stay at Real Madrid? Or will he end up somewhere else? 

Cristiano Ronaldo By Caioli, Luca (Google Affiliate Ad)

Real Madrid v Manchester United

Could you have asked for a more exciting matchup this early in the group stage of the Champions League? Real Madrid and Manchester United are set the square off this week, and on the field will be a plethora of the games biggest stars. The amount of story lines involved in this matchup are endless.

                                                        Cristiano Ronaldo returns to face former club Manchester United.

What will Ronaldo do in his return to Old Trafford? The man some say is the best in the world returns to face his former employers this week. Will United's slippery defense be able to stop CR7? Ronaldo tuned up for this weeks game by putting in a man of the match performance against Sevilla, bagging a hat trick. United will have a tough time against one of the best players on the planet this week, I expect at least a goal from CR7.

                                                                           Can Real Madrid stop Robin Van Persie?

On the other side of the field, can Real Madrid stop Robin Van Persie? Heck can ANYONE stop RVP right now? The Flying Dutchman is on course to eclipse his goal tally from last season and is the main reason the Red Devils are in prime position to win the EPL. Madrid have faced world class strikers before, having to face Lionel Messi multiple times a season, but RVP's game has evolved beyond last season. His attack positioning and spectacular playmaking and shot making ability will be tough for Real Madrid to handle.

And lastly, is this a try out for Jose Mourinho? With all the speculation that The Special One may be canned by Madrid at the end of the year, a likely landing spot for him is at Old Trafford. Having been at United's game against Everton this weekend, it seems a job at Man U may be on Mourinho's mind.

What do you think is the most interesting story line of this matchup? Leave a comment below!

Taggies Little Fun Shapes Goal Soccer Ball (Google Affiliate Ad)