Fans are privileged to be watching Neymar, Messi, and Cristiano Ronaldo at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar
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Neymar Jr, Lionel Messi, and Cristiano Ronaldo at the ongoing FIFA World Cup
Football fans are lucky they got to see three of the best stars on view in the ongoing edition of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. As the dust and sand settled on the league phase, with the four quarter-finals decided, watching Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar Junior in action has been joyful.
Debates will rage, about who is the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) of this generation. Obviously, the focus is on Messi versus Ronaldo. The Portuguese star knows he is under observation, in a different sense. All his actions, or inactions, are being watched closely. He has to live with it. Likewise, Messi was called slow at the beginning of the World Cup. As for Neymar, his ankle injury early on suggested he could be out for this World Cup. That he bounced back in the last league match for Brazil was welcome news for all fans of Brazil. After all, they are invoking past glory and ailing football messiah Pele for a shot at redemption.
It’s very hard to wear a favorite tag in any sport, be it an individual or a team event. More so, when the players have come to Qatar after a hectic schedule in the club season. To say players are flogged like racehorses on the courses would be an understatement. The opulence, wealth, and glamour in club football stink. Out there, be it, in leagues, in England, France, Spain, Germany, or far away in South America and Latin America, football is a livelihood.
This is daily work, for bread and butter. For some, it’s money for jam. All of a sudden when the World Cup dawns upon the superstars — Messi, Ronaldo, and Neymar — expectations soar sky-high. What you witnessed in the leagues does not matter, the gold standard is a performance for the national side. Football is indeed mass hysteria for fans. It does not matter if they are cheering for their favorite or the underdogs.
One has seen in plenty at the venues in Qatar how teams with less hype raised hope. Mexico is in the quarter-finals, but the way Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and teams with the least expectation soared proved many points. That, in a way, took the focus briefly away from the Holy Trinity — Messi, Ronaldo, and Neymar. These three men are like old Ferraris. They need to be tuned in the garage and be ready to race, not in a literal sense, though.
Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Neymar are under the spotlight in the ongoing FIFA World Cup
Each move of theirs is analyzed and consumed, for, that is the unadulterated joy they have provided to billions of fans. Neymar has been worst hit by bad luck in three successive World Cups, being rendered horse de combat by injuries. It’s sheer ill luck for him but the good part is his team has sufficient talent to make up for his absence as well. Neymar being asked to rest his ankle and undergo rehab and icing had not meant Brazil have been destroyed. That is why Brazil still looks fresh.
Messi has been ticking, almost non-stop. If you thought Argentina was only about this bearded No.10 hero in blue and white, that philosophy had changed. He has been a vital cog in the wheel, his presence is electrifying, and Argentina knows Messi’s mere presence in the start list is a psychological boost. It’s like going out to war, knowing you have the best arsenal at your command. Obviously, the show cannot go on non-stop, like what we see in Broadway Theatre shows in Manhattan, New York. Messi is human and longevity defined by five World Cups is ethereal.
Ronaldo comes in for criticism, almost every day. He has been cursed by the Brit media and all commentators, just because he dared to point a finger at Manchester United and the old hags at Old Trafford. CR7 is slammed daily and shamed daily. Heck, he does not care, he has fans rooting for him from Portugal to Saudi Arabia! Saudia could be the Final Countdown for Ronaldo in a career that he defined with grace and guile.
Then comes Neymar, the low-profile Brazilian who has never been about just himself but the team. Brazil has seen many superstars come and go, but the best part is their football system has been like an assembly line. No, not mechanical, but how new talent keeps emerging. If Brazil goes on to win the World Cup, it will be monumental. And, if Neymar features in it, he could well resemble MS Dhoni of the ICC World Cup 2011 win in Mumbai. After all, Dhoni never posed with a trophy, he allowed Sachin Tendulkar to enjoy his moment under the arc lights.
Football fans are passionate, in India, too. Be it Kerala, God’s own land, where giant cut-outs of superstars adorn the entry points to villages and towns, or Bengal, which loves football (Khela) as they call it, there is a cult following for Messi, Ronaldo, and Neymar. They can forget their local toddy in Kerala for a day and fish and rice in Bengal during the World Cup, but give them football to feast on. Pray, what joy it brings to the men and women who are watching maestros — Messi, Ronaldo, and Neymar — with feet capable of producing feats, cannot be summed up in a few words. Emotion? Romance? Tears? Agony? Ecstasy? No, it’s football, the most beautiful game. To borrow a tennis phrase, it’s Love all. Over to the quarter-finals.
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S Kannan
(382 Articles Published)