In the world of football, there has always been some kind of comparison between the clubs and players on a team. Every team has that pivotal player that stands out in most of their games. Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi belong in that category of players.
There have always been arguments about who the best player in the world is and every player always seems to have different opinions regarding this. Over the last decade, Ronaldo and Messi have been argued about more times than who the best team in the world is.
Ronald Koeman, however, does not want to be dragged into the Messi versus Ronaldo debate. But the Barcelona manager will be looking forward to watching the two outstanding players face-off against each other in the Champions League.
On Tuesday night, there will a giants clash in the Champions League as FC Barcelona will be taking on Juventus.
Ronaldo will be traveling to Camp Nou for that clash after the 35-year-old misses out in Juventus’s first clash with the La Liga club in Turin after being sidelined for Covid-19. That match, which was backed with odds from Indiana-bet, brought questions like: If Ronaldo was present, would they still suffer a defeat or would Juventus be victorious by a large margin?
Fans couldn’t help themselves and this somehow made its way into the Messi versus Ronaldo debate. Messi was on target that night after converting a penalty kick to carry the team to a 2-0 victory. The Barca forward will be hoping for the same comfortable lead when they clash again.
Defending Ronaldo
Barcelona Manager Ronald Koeman is excited as he gets a front-row seat to watching the two best players reignite their long-time rivalry.
Speaking at a pre-match press conference, Koeman said:
“It’s fantastic that these two players have been so long at this top-level in the world. They are the best players, in my opinion, in the last 10-15 years. Being successful all this time is incredible. It’s a great compliment to those players. They are different, but they have incredible stats about scoring goals, hat-tricks, about winning prizes. It’s not nice to say who is better because both are incredible; I admire both players because they gave us so many nice evenings with great goals, with great titles. Let’s hope we can enjoy them tomorrow night.”
Barcelona Manger, Ronald Koeman, on the face-off between Messi and Ronaldo
With the availability of Ronaldo, Barcelona will need a plan to contain the Portuguese forward. He has been able to net 13 goals in appearances for the club and country so far this season. Koeman, on the other hand, claims that no special attention will be given to the Portuguese star.
He continued:
“For us, it is not an extra motivation because of an individual player. We always thought of this as an important match with two big teams meeting. The two teams are going to fight for the first position in the group. It’s always important the best players are there. I think Cristiano Ronaldo is still one of the best; he always scores and always fights. Because of his daily work, he is still in the elite in our sport. It’s a great compliment to him. Not just any player can do that. We have to defend well against him and when we have the ball that danger goes away.”
Ronald Koeman on defending Ronaldo
Barca will be traveling to Turin to face Juventus in a Group G match in the Champions League. This is after suffering a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Cadiz during the weekend in the La Liga.
They will be looking to bounce back from their defeat in the European competition on Tuesday.
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