You are missing the point which is what is truly 'laughable.' Attacking or defending matters not, the same abilities are being utilized; jumping, timing & positioning. He often clears corners which is only more evidence of his aerial superiority. Goal kicks would be another example. He keeps possession many times by being superior in the air to his defender when challenging to win them. Those skills are universal and are applied to more than merely scoring goals. This is your interpretation, those tricks open up space for him to execute passes and shots. There is more ways to beat a defender than running past them. However, I agree he was more effective at United. He sacrificed some quickness and agility to bulk up as he has. Countless times I've seen him execute a trick on the wing to blow past a defender than send in a cross for example. He doesn't really attempt them as he used to, he's much more direct now but he can still perform tricks with the best of them though. Not just dribbling either, passing as well.
LOW CENTER OF GRAVITY Ronaldo pushing himself to his absolute limits and never quitting on his team is leadership. Ronaldo will be furious with himself for missing a goal in the last minute of a blow out. Working and training the hardest is commitment. These are leadership qualities, no one is more dedicated to their craft than Ronaldo. Every teammate and manager, current and former all heap praise on his professionalism. Messi is another story, when Messi has the ball, yes, he has passion. The moment he can't impose his will, he becomes disinterested. Walking and standing around completely aloof. Barcelona fans are aware of this, even the media has taken notice. There is nothing to argue here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ot_Qb8TZA_0
Aguero for example is about the same height as Messi, and despite him not being a bad dribbler, i'm quite sure we'll agree that he's not a better dribbler than CR7. So there goes the low center of gravity argument imo. Not to talk of the number of tall players in the history of the game who were excellent dribblers. And Ronaldo hasn't played as a "classic" winger since his last 2 seasons at United Are there any statistics that could back this up? Also we've seen Ronaldo getting red carded from games out of frustration (granted this hasn't happenned in a long while though), is that better??? But Messi takes FKs and corners and has delivered more assists from them, so how's CR7 superior at crossing to Messi??? These season and the last one, Madrid has either played a 4-4-2 (with Ronaldo often playing in front of Benzema) or 4-3-3 (with Ronaldo "positionned" as a WF, but mostly plays centrally and finds himself in the striker position). This is what i said in the other post, but that intelligence in the final 3rd (which might be considered a skill) has nothing to do with their physical skills and abilities when they have the ball at their feet.
1- I didn't mean that it "made" Messi an incredible dribbler. I meant that it majorly HELPED him be a better dribbler. Just like being tall doesn't make you the best in the air. Low centre of gravity makes taking many strides and steps and changing direction very quickly much easier. 2- I don't have any stats. I think this is noticeable if you follow the two players. Examples like : Valencia goal ,USA assist and many more. And (I know this is not in this comment) showing your concern about winning is not done through what you do when you get the ball but rather through constantly moving and asking for the ball and trying to be involved as much as you can. That's Ronaldo. The frustration thing happened once ? twice ? 3- Taking corners doesn't make you a better crosser. Ronaldo won't probably take corners ever for a simple reason : no team wants to lose main aerial threat in corners. Also, Messi is left-footed which makes him "special" in this context. These are some good examples of Ronaldo crossing abilities : Now if THAT isn't enough, You have also this and this As you can see, he managed to make threatening crosses from and to different areas against one of the best teams in air, maybe the best. 4- In the Match against ATM (above) he played mostly as a classic winger, especially in the 2nd half. He was generally the player to do the dirty work. And though it wasn't his best match, he was the best Madrid player and , just with a better first touch from Benzema, he would've a goal, an assist and maybe the 3 points.
I have to agree with you. Lower gravity or not, had not much to do with one's great skills in Dribbling. From Didi, to Cruyff , Van Basten, Socrates, to Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Zidane Bergkamp, Kaka , Adriano ... to lately Imbramovic , Robben ... all were tall players and they were very good to great in dribbling CR7 played more like a winger at ManU (in some 4 4 2) , yes. BUT at Real he was playing as left FW (in 4 3 3 formation)
If I am a manager and given option to buy either messi or Rinaldo I choose messi, he may be in poor form now, but he is 100x better than ronaldo in 1 on 1 situation, if I just want a strong, tall, quick, or player with good long shot, I have other options
Messi is quite clearly the more talented with superior stats as evidence of greater technical ability....pass conversion, dribble completion, key passes, chance creation, assisting, non penalty goals etc etc all show him comfortably ahead. Messi is also aesthetically superior. Watching him at speed dribbling is the most wow inducing sight in soccer. CR7 is a wonderful player who has got every drop from his talent. Messi is a candidate for GOAT.
More like RONALDO is a candidate for GOAT. people just hate the image of a very atractive man with a chiseled body being the best in the world at the sport he plays all while sleeping with the hottest model on the planet according to most and being a father. People are jealous and hate this image and it makes them feel better to prefer a midget on steroids versus an all natural legend of the game. Non penalty goals? lol dude you are acting like a freak. Most people who hate RONALDO are either old football purists. they hate ronaldo like their daughters first douchebag boyfriend she brought him, sporting the long hair, earpiercing, adiddas footwear, jumpsuit, and england shirt underneath.
I prefer a pure goal scorer. You can always rely on Ronaldo scoring. Messi is a very good player with lots of assists, but i rather prefer a goal scorer!
I´m a Real Madrid fan, but i think there is no way (except the emotional aspect) to compare those players. Different skills, different style to play. We all should be proud that we can watch these guys playing and scoring like nobody else. I´m pro CR7 and i favor his style to play BUT nobody can really measure who is the better player.
I'm a Barca fan, so clearly biased. but even then, IMO it's as clear as night and day who the better player is. only their goalscoring totals and capabilities can really be compared. take those away, and there's just way more to Messi's game than Ronaldo's. Messi can control and decide games at the highest level without scoring, Ronaldo cannot. that's not necessarily anything against Ronaldo, it's more just testament to what a phenomenal player Messi is. Ronaldo is a world-class goalscorer, while Messi is a world-class goalscorer as well as a world-class playmaker.