Have Messi & Ronaldo tainted modern football statistics?
And the lack of diversity in playing styles for teams
I have been obsessed with football since I was 6 or 7 years old, in 2006/2007. The first international tournament I can remember was Euro 2008, where we began to see one of the greatest international sides of all time, the Spanish national team, dominate for half a decade. Even as a youngster, I knew that we would likely never see a more cohesive and impressive international outfit again. And so, 15 years later, we are yet to see an international group as truly imposing and incredible as that side, or as unique.
On a similar level, I remember watching the 2009 Champions League final, between Barcelona and Manchester United, and seeing Lionel Messi’s amazing header to win the game. Messi remained one of my favourite players until this day, and the things which he and Ronaldo have done for football could not be underestimated. But will we ever see anybody do what they have done again? This is what concerns me.
This article will attempt to balance discussing the complete lack of distinction between the way teams play now, and how the legacies of Messi and Ronaldo affect comparisons to the next generation of superstar.
Have the majority of teams become too similar?
I, like many, believe Pep Guardiola is a top, top coach, perhaps the best the sport has ever seen. He created arguably one of the most memorable runs in the history of football with his Barcelona outfit, reigned over a dominant if not unfulfilling Bayern side, and has nurtured Manchester City into the rulers of the Premier League. On the other hand, I also believe he has drastically affected the sport in what I believe to be negative ways.
For example, it appears that whatever tactics he implements into his team, others try to follow. We saw last season his experimentation with having a fullback join the midfield when in possession, which meant his side could have more control over a game. This then led other clubs, such as Chelsea and Liverpool, trying to copy this tactic, with differing levels of success. It has also led his coaching disciples, such as Kompany and Arteta, to try and imitate his style of possession based, overly-tactical and complicated systems. This has led to, for me, the least exciting title contender games ever, where both teams are so astute and regimented that no player is given license to excite, less they make a mistake.
The joy of watching the Spain team back in the day was that they played Tiki-Taka, which involved a high press, lovely interchanges of play and fast movement into the attacking third. They were different to the traditional styles in football, and this uniqueness made them entertaining. Since then, we have saw differing systems and styles have their moments in the sun, such as Conte’s back 5 for Chelsea, or Klopp and Bielsa’s Gegenpress, and these certainly do help to create new tactical dynamics in matches, but eventually everybody tries to recreate it and we are back to square one.
I feel like we are seeing the sport erode diversity in favour of modernity. It could be the amount of money now involved, or the pressure coaches are under to deliver results, but less risks are taken and less exciting football for the masses is a result. Less and less, we see a traditional number 9 challenging for crosses in the box and seeing a player with flair take on their man. Speaking of which…
Ronaldo and Messi — Making every new superstar seem dull
After over 15 years of high quality and consistent performances, and countless records broken, the sun seems to be finally setting on Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Whilst they have not retired, now both no longer play in Europe and are no longer the focal point of their national sides, I think it is time to declare that they are no longer the dynasty duo which took the world by storm. Indeed, it seems every season we lose more and more living football legends to retirement. My issue is that we don’t seem to be producing adequate replacements for these superstars, and the standards are dropping.
I think this is due to the levels previously displayed by the two. Messi and Ronaldo, for years, consistently scored more than a goal a game, and would always perform on the largest stages. Indeed, I cannot remember many games were they were off or were bettered by others around them. This inflation in statistics, and these never-ending top performances, are simply uncomparable. This has even reached the point where forward players are having their goals and assists combined into “g/a” to make their feats seem less minuscule compared to the duo, and strikers who score a goal every other game are not seen as elite anymore. Messi and Ronaldo have therefore dulled the spice of the next era of superstar.
Looking at the current big 3 leading the next generation — Mbappe, Haaland and Vinicius Junior — they are very inconsistent. Mbappe has been around for over 7 years now and I cannot name more than a handful of games which have convinced me he is the next Ronaldo; Haaland has good statistics, especially for the Premier League, but his performances and goals in finals or huge matches is very underwhelming reading; even Vinicius Junior, the current favourite for the Ballon D’Or, has not been able to drag a struggling Brazil to glory like Messi did with Argentina on multiple occasions.
The same could be said with the “best of the rest”, i.e. other top players not at the same level as the best. Since the retirement or declining of players like Aguero, Iniesta, Kroos, David Silva or even Robben, we have not really saw a solid follow up act come through. Sure, there are the Bellinghams, the Pedris, the Kvaratskhelias, but they are not at the same level (currently anyway) as those who came before. Even looking at the top sides in England, are there any players coming through, say 25 or younger, who are even close to those we have seen at that age before (Rooney, Fabregas, Ramos?). The only players that fit these parameters who I could call world class from these clubs who aren’t Haaland is Saka, Alexander-Arnold, Alvarez, Foden and Mainoo off the top of my head. Maybe it is nostalgia, but I just personally feel like our standards have gotten higher and therefore everything else tastes bland as a result.
