Nov 17, 2014 08:00:00
The world's two finest footballers renew
their rivalry as Portugal meet Argentina
in a friendly on Tuesday and Goal asks
which player has done more for his
national team?
By Ben Hayward & Adrian Boullosa
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo may
be taking a break from football in La Liga
with Barcelona and Real Madrid, but the
planet's two top players renew rivalries at
international level on Tuesday as
Argentina face Portugal at Old Trafford.
Ronaldo's return to Manchester sees him
back at the stage where he shone for five
and a half years, while Messi will be
reunited with the United fans he upset with
match-winning performances in the 2009
and 2011 Champions League finals.
Messi had the last laugh on the pair's
previous meeting at international level as
the Barcelona forward slotted home a late
penalty to secure a 2-1 win for Argentina
after Ronaldo had equalised for Portugal in
2011.
But much has happened since then and
both men scored on their last international
appearance: Messi netted the winner from
the spot in a 2-1 victory over Croatia in
London on Wednesday and Ronaldo hit the
only goal of the game in a European
qualifier against Armenia on Friday.
That strike saw the Portuguese become the
all-time top goalscorer in European
Championship football with 23 strikes,
while Messi missed out narrowly on the
greatest prize of all as Argentina lost the
World Cup final to Germany earlier in
2014. So which of the two players has had
the better international career? Two Goal
writers go head to head on the issue ...
"MESSI'S STRIKE RATE IS SUPERIOR"
By Ben Hayward
Lionel Messi took time to win over fans of
Argentina, suspicious of a player who had
never featured for a professional club in
his homeland and who was for many years
unable to replicate his brilliant Barcelona
form at international level.
That was unfair, particularly because
Messi led Argentina's Under-20 side to a
World Cup crown in 2005 and later helped
the Albiceleste's U-23 team claim a gold
medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in
Beijing.
For the senior side, he had his moments in
the early years, too. His superb strike as a
substitute against Serbia and Montenegro
in the 2006 World Cup was a highlight, as
was his wonderful chip versus Mexico in
the 2007 Copa America. But still there was
a sense of disappointment when it
mattered most.
Not now. Messi failed to score in the 2010
World Cup but assisted four goals for
Diego Maradona's men and took his game
to a new level under Alejandro Sabella,
scoring much more freely and embracing
the extra responsibility afforded to him as
captain of his country.
Memorable moments include a stunning
hat-trick against Brazil in a sensational
4-3 win in 2012 and trebles against
Switzerland and Guatemala.
The forward's fine form for the Albiceleste
at Brazil 2014, when he struck four goals
in the group stages (including a wonderful
winner against Iran and another stunning
strike versus Bosnia-Herzegovina) before
setting up Angel Di Maria's extra-time
clincher in the second-round meeting with
Switzerland, then saw him deliver in style
on the game's greatest stage.
Messi missed out on the biggest prize of
all as Argentina lost to Germany in the
final, but the forward's star shone brightly
in Brazil as Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo
limped out in the group stages.
Still only 27, Messi now has 45 goals for
Argentina in just 96 appearances at a rate
of 0.468 per match. By comparison,
Ronaldo's 52 in 117 appearances have
come at 0.444 per game.
Both men are now the undisputed leaders
of their respective national teams and
formidable footballers, but Messi's superior
strike rate, better performances in World
Cup football and ability to assist more
often than Ronaldo currently give him the
edge on his Real Madrid rival at
international level.

"RONALDO HAS MORE OF AN
INFLUENCE THAN MESSI"
By Adrian Boullosa
Cristiano Ronaldo is shattering records
with both Real Madrid and Portugal - and
he shows no sign of stopping. The
Madeira-born forward, who became the
European Championship's all-time top
goalscorer (including qualifiers and the
tournament itself) with his strike against
Armenia on Friday, is still dreaming about
a third Ballon d'Or as he prepares to meet
old foe Lionel Messi in Tuesday's friendly
between Argentina and Portugal at Old
Trafford.
Whatever the result of that match-up
between the two best players in the world,
the former Manchester United man is
already a step ahead of his Barcelona
counterpart at international level.
Perhaps this is not the case in terms of
titles (neither country has won a trophy at
the highest level since the international
careers of these two geniuses began,
unless you include the gold medal for
Argentina's Under-23 team in 2008), but
because of a question of overall influence
within the collective.
Cristiano has been the undoubted star
leading Portugal for a number of years: his
explosion at Euro 2004, when the host
nation surprisingly lost the final to Greece
at Estadio Da Luz, marked the arrival of a
new idol still sparkling 117 games in and
bulit on the foundations of the forward's 52
goals for his country.
The Madrid man is also the only
Portuguese player to have scored in three
World Cups (Germany 2006, South Africa
2010 and Brazil 2014).
So even though Messi reached the World
Cup final with Argentina while Portugal
were knocked out of a complicated group
at Brazil 2014, the difference in
performance and potential of the two
teams means more merit must go to
Cristiano, who will be looking eagerly
towards Euro 2016 as his next big
challenge.
At the age of 29 and in the finest form of
his career, Portugal's great captain still
has time to taste glory in his country's
colours. And he's still ahead of Messi, too.