Euro 2016
final, 25 minutes on, Ronaldo throws the captain’s armband on the turf, is down
and ready to be subbed off!
He goes off
on the stretcher and on comes Quaresma.
Quaresma, a
player over a decade ago was considered the h,o,p,e of the word hope for Portuguese
football. When FC Barcelona scouted for the best youth to sign, they melted the
wedding rings of all board members to pay the price of getting him (figuratively
speaking).
From there,
his career swung back to Portugal, another attempt by Inter, ended by a loan to Chelsea, off to turkey, then Dubai, packed back to Portugal
before heading back to Turkey. Altogether, playing 486 games on (barely) club
level and scoring 87 goals. On international level, he played 56 games scoring
8 goals.
The player
Quaresma replaced in that final was a player who was exactly in the same
position like Quaresma over a decade ago, yet with a lower natural flair.
Ronaldo
reached that substitution moment after playing 673 club matches, scoring 487
goals added to 133 international games with 61 goals. Three EPL titles, a La
liga title, three UEFA champions league titles added to a collection of other
club titles here and there. Three Ballon d'Or, four Golden shoe and a bunch of
other individual awards on every level.
The only
relevant comparison that should actually inspire people and become the case to
discuss is right there: Quaresma Vs C. Ronaldo.
That
contrast is the best demonstration you can make for youth about the value of ambition,
determination, hardworking and drive. The difference, you can see just there.
We are
talking about a player who accepted nothing but perfection for his career. He dedicated
his life to exceed the highest limitations of his potentials. He worked on
daily bases to run faster, jump higher, shoot stronger, score more, and
accepted nothing but to be the best. If you believe Messi is the best player
ever, then how much credit should C. Ronaldo get for being so good that people
compared him to Messi, in Messi’s era?
Unfortunately,
social media and the more engaging football mediums created more polarization
than enhanced realization. There is an irony that in such an open space we were
still able to fold ourselves in tight cults. The windmill of ranting and
counter-ranting keeps on spinning the dust all over the virtual battlefield
that we can barely recognize what we are fighting or fighting for anymore.
Make no
mistake, rivalry is the best thing ever to happen for sports. And as an FC
Barcelona fan, you can be sure I will keep on setting up banters and knitting
jokes about Real Madrid, and C. Ronaldo. But it should just be that: Barely a
half serious rambles. Sometimes, like when a great player like Messi suffers an
unfortunate situation and retire, or a brilliant player like C. Ronaldo
achieves one of the milestones of his life, winning for Portugal, maybe we can
have a pause there and just recognize how far they deserve the best they can
get.
And again, stop getting too obsessed about current narrations of how Messi or C. Ronaldo will be labeled in history. When that history arrives, y'all will be dead! So why don't we get advantage of the current situations for some current gains? After all, the legacy game is out of our hands.
Quaresma
has a teardrop tattoo placed underneath his eye, which signifies that the
wearer has killed someone. Judging by earlier expectations, the only thing
Quaresma killed was an exceptional career.
Not only it
was easier for C. Ronaldo to do a Quaresma, it was easier for him to do a Ronaldinho.
A talent enough to complete Some brilliant seasons, win a handful of titles and
take enough cash to the bank. Then, get the party going!
If you have
a child who considers football an obsession, which comparison will serve you
better to inspire him/her to have a great future, a Messi Vs C. Ronaldo, or a C.
Ronaldo Vs Quaresma?
I can tell
you now, anyone who is willing to put half the level of hard work C. Ronaldo
invested in his career, will make his parents proud no matter what career he
walks through.
So, Kudos for C. Ronaldo for winning Euro 2016, but more for setting such an example.
You can always check latest rants on @FootballMood
