Vinicius Junior has six goal involvements in six World Cup appearances (three goals, three assists).
Only three other Brazilians who have played more than five men's World Cup matches have an average of one goal contribution per match on record since 1966:
๐ง๐ท Ronaldo: 19 in 19
๐ง๐ท Pele: 11 in 8
๐ง๐ท Tostao: 7 in 7
Stat: @OptaJoe
Two hattricks in the tournament, an Mbappe brace, a Haaland braceโฆ
Yet for 3 days the entire sport has been agog with news of a 41 year old not scoring on his first game of the tournament, he hasnโt even exited or lost a game.
Iโve never seen anything like this before๐
I always love your write up
Always precise and dope, and your knowledge is vast
However,, there are "four statements" that are fallacies in the media space
โข Cristiano Ronaldo is arrogant but Lionel Messi is humble
โข Ronaldo chase records, Messi doesn't
โข Ronaldo cares about the rivalry, Messi doesn't
โข Ronaldo is hard work, Messi is talent
All these four, they are lies!!
Everything you said about Messi is good but it kinda paints Ronaldo as a selfish and a bad person
First, I don't believe all these Portugal players don't regard Ronaldo
I have followed football to a stage where I don't follow media noise
There is competition amongst team mates. You played football and you know this
An average European footballer has this perceived arrogant personality
Ask Zinedine Zidane, ask Thierry Henry, ask Arjen Robben, ask Eden Hazard, ask some of the great European players, etc
Second, before I judge someone, I sometimes check where they are from which are foundations to a lot of things
In 2007, Ronaldo was asked who the best player in the history of football is
He said;
"Cristiano Ronaldo"
He was 21 years and he hasn't even achieved anything
In 2012, when Ronaldo was asked about the Ballon d'Or
He said;
"in Portugal, we don't act like we don't want something. We say it out the way we feel it. I want to win the Ballon d'Or"
You have heard how Jose Mourinho speaks......
I think Nani once said he is as good as Ronaldo but Ronaldo was way more consistent. I can't remember how he put it again
These are the Portuguese ways of speaking and actions. They don't hide it and it doesn't make them arrogant
The Joao Neves interview, I didn't condemn him because of two things;
First, he is young and might not have meant it the way the media portrayed it
Second, it's the Portuguese way of speaking
All these Ronaldo is chasing records, he reacts or doesn't talk to anyone if he doesn't score doesn't make him arrogant or selfish
That's a personality trait and a way of dealing with disappointment
Yes, maybe sometimes;
He overdoes it or he should have done better, but then, is there anyone 100% perfect in character
And it's not every game that he doesn't score that he won't talk to his teammates after the game
He has played over 1000 games
Dring the BBC/MSN era.
The MSN said they use to share glasses of wine together
Ronaldo said;
He keeps a professional friendship with the BBC. They don't share wine, they come to work and go to their houses
Does that make the BBC group worse than the MSN?
Messi doesn't chase records....
Was it not the same Messi that messaged Pep Guardiola when Zlatan Ibrahimovic was making the headlines ahead of him in Barcelona
And it led to Zlatan being marginalized from the team!
Was it not the same Messi that said he was hurt when Ronaldo tied his Ballon d'Or awards?
Was it not the same Messi that told Guillerm Ballague that he wants to outdo Cristiano
So, you still think he doesn't chase records?
Let me tell you today, Messi has eyes on 1000 career goals. If anyone tells you otherwise, it's a lie
The Argentina team
You see the Argentine team that became successful
It's just because we don't give him his flowers. Lionel Scaloni was the reason why that team succeeded
Before now, Argentina was individualistic but when Scaloni came, the first thing he did was break that individualism structure
That was what the birth of whatever you see in the Argentina national team today
Scaloni fostered unity, trust, friendliness, and loyalty among the Argentine players and that was the beginning of their greatness
Once again, great write up but sometimes what the media paints are far from the truth
Well done
At 34, Messi went to Ligue 1 and scored a resounding 6 league goals. Ronaldo at 34 scored 31 League goals, won the Serie A and the Nations league. 41 year old Ronaldo has also just come off a 35 g/a season.
This idea of trying to make Ronaldo look like a nothing player wonโt work