La Liga Loca

A sideways look at Spanish football

Tim Stannard

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Ronaldo or Messi? The verdict is in

Wednesday 06 January 2010 22:30

Leg or breast? Spicy stuffing or a smearing in some special sauce?

Just two of the decisions often made by Sergio Ramos over his winter break, as well as being the culinary choices on offer at Christmas dinner tables all over the world.

The other big one to chew over with a mouthful of hot meat must be the thorny issue of who is better: Leo Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo?

Well, like Ever Banega during a sudden power cut, the mass debate is well and truly over with Marca making the definitive, argument-ending decision on the affair.

And the Madrid-mad paper surprised the world by opining that neither player is better than the other, arguing that both offer different, incomparable elements to their respective teams

Actually, that’s not true.

Marca’s post-Christmas edition announced to the waiting world that Ronaldo was by far the best player. And they can prove it, too.

Rather than taking the traditional and immensely flawed method of asking experts, players and manager for their thoughts - an idiotic notion that France Football magazine and FIFA plumped for - Marca came to the conclusion that Messi was a mere molehill compared to Ronaldo by getting a writer to come up with some random categories, award points to both players in each one and declare the Madrid man as the clear winner on the front page of the paper.

Judged over eight attributes including technique, team-play, speed and dribbling skills, Marca gave Ronaldo a supreme 88 points, pounding Messi’s pathetic 80 into the dust.

This ludicrous piece of journalism - and in this area, La Liga Loca is a bit of an expert - is just one recent product of a paper increasingly consumed with envy over Barcelona’s success in 2009, an envy that surely has its source at the Santiago Bernabeu.

A paper that was never exactly the mark of quality is now going downhill faster than Maniche on a skateboard to become little more than a daily dose of the bitterest bile.

Last Saturday’s Marca featured the story that Usain Bolt had chosen Ronaldo as his favourite footballer of 2009 “and not Leo Messi.”

Wednesday’s edition leads with the shocking revelation that Cristiano Ronaldo has over three million supporters on Facebook, more than any other sportsman (including Messi) and boasts that “no footballer in the world... comes close to the popularity of Ronaldo”.

However, that effort was probably better than Tuesday’s headline, which screamed that “Guti’s back!” as if it were a good thing for its Madridista readers.

“Guti is the great gift that the Three Kings have brought Manuel Pellegrini,” claimed the paper.

Apart from the constant claims that Ronaldo is bigger and better, faster and fitter than Messi, Marca’s other ongoing theme is the notion that Barcelona’s success is based on favourable decisions from referees - something that never happens to Madrid.

Especially not with that penalty against Almería a few weeks back. Or Ronaldo not getting booked for his dive against Osasuna.

“How long are the refereeing mistakes going to keep working in Barcelona’s favour?” grumbled Marca’s editorial last Sunday in response to controversy during the Villarreal game.

The paper’s director, Eduardo Inda, whined two days later that “if a referee is in doubt in Barcelona’s favour, then they blow,” and wrote that “I’m not saying that the competition is fixed, but Spanish football mustn’t only be fair but also be seen to be fair.”

Now, La Liga Loca is all for the taunting, pee-taking and your-mothering that takes place between the country's Big Two.

The Spanish game would be a duller concept without it.

But there comes a point when you begin to feel that those poor souls forced to write such guff must want to staple their own hands to the desk stop them from doing so.

When you begin to feel that the paper’s editorial meeting consists of a phone call to Florentino Pérez.

When you wonder about the state of your own sanity by considering AS to be a superior alternative - a paper that led Tuesday’s edition with a message from Kaká’s Twitter page. From last year.

Unfortunately, that day has already arrived.

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About Tim Stannard

La Liga Loca is the playground for the evil, more childish half of Tim Stannard’s psyche to be let loose. The other 50% is a contributor to FourFourTwo magazine, Football365, Sabotage Times as well as other publications such as UEFA Champions Magazine and When Saturday Comes. He is also a regular guest on Real Madrid TV’s Extra Time show and works as a TV producer extraordinaire for hire. To contact Tim directly email laligaloca@yahoo.co.uk

Comments

	January 6, 2010 23:59 Yorugua said: I keep seeing people bringing up Ever Banega's name, here and there, I saw the recent Valencia/Real Madrid match, I didn't see anything special about him? What's the big deal with that kid? In the 2009 Under-20 South American championship, Argentina with Banega as the offensive distributor failed to qualify to the Under-20 World Cup... am I missing something?
	January 7, 2010 07:03 rosso diavoli said: Yes. Nobody gives a rodent's posterior about Banega's talent or lack of it. He is famous for his off-the-field activities. Google banega, video and wiener.
	January 7, 2010 11:43 Paul said: Without a hint of irony or karma. Mundodeportivo and Sport were moaning about the Ref of Barça vs Sevilla.
	January 7, 2010 14:12 Blanco said: Tim you write as if this is a new revelation, i mean really? comeon.
	January 7, 2010 15:51 BoroKnight said: This is more of a "f* this journalism" rant than anything. I think Tim woke up, saw that paper, snapped and kicked all the cats in the vicinity. But then again that's all the puy he's gotten in a few years,huh!!
	January 7, 2010 15:53 don_cule said: By the way Paul...Samu Eto'o says in an interview with World Soccer that with respect to Espanyol, Barcelona represent the city. That is why they are 'more than a club.' Thoughts? (btw I didnt know he played for Espanyol...that would be a good feature Tim...who has played for their clubs' bitterest rivals and managed to dodge any stick for it later in their career,or something like that)
	January 7, 2010 16:26 Paul said: don_cule- Isn't that like asking C Ronaldo or david Beckham which team they think represents Manchester ?. It's a non-story. Barça have a much higher percentage of Supporters,especially the fair weather kind, Both teams represent the city and Catalunya as do Horta,Jupiter and Europa in the lower divisions. Eto'o at Espanyol played on the wing in a few friendlies but was nothing special.As a footballer he's excellent but as a man he is greatly disliked,as older readers will recall the Queue jumping incident. I also know his plumber and he told me he was a kn*****d. There's a song at Espanyol and other grounds about not hating Eto'o because he's black but because he spits at people on the pitch. also this 'Mes que un club' reminds me of the Alan Partridge "Norwich is a Lifestyle,a state of mind". quote.
	January 7, 2010 17:21 Kxevin said: But Paul, "more than a club" does adequately capture the reality that Barca, for so many reasons, is indeed more than a football club. Highfalutin? You bet. Vexing to non-cules? Absolutely. But the curious position of the club politically, even outside of the charitable efforts that it makes, renders the slogan kinda accurate. And indeed, Sport was bitching about Burrull, but he was a massive jackass to both sides. The incorrectly ruled offside goal for them was negated by the ridiculous "Stop, little one!" penalty taken by Txigrinski. Sure, Ibrahimovic didn't do a whole lot to warrant a call, foul or offside, but by getting in the ref's face after the penalty call, he ensured that Burrull would do the first available thing to screw him. The loss was justly earned.
	January 7, 2010 17:28 don_cule said: Cheers Paul for your thoughts...I am a big fan of Eto'o. I remember how he came across in his FFT interview a couple of years ago, much more grounded than R10. Besides if I'm honest I prefer Eto'o's passionate character to Josep Guardiola's Coldplay inspired dramatism. It's a shame he moved, but Ibrahimovic has played well. Yet if it was his temper that motivated Guardiola to sell him, then it was a bad idea, because from what I've read the Swede is just as bad-tempered. Oh well, cheers again for your view.
	January 7, 2010 18:14 JohnPJones said: Messi or Cantona?
	January 7, 2010 18:15 JohnPJones said: P.D: I've been at the Villareal game and the Seville one. I actually think the men in black are getting worse, not more biased. Time for technology to be brought to the game.
	January 7, 2010 18:34 andres in ny said: "When you wonder about the state of your own sanity by considering AS to be a superior alternative - a paper that led Tuesday’s edition with a message from Kaká’s Twitter page. From last year." Although AS is an unabashed Madrid based paper and does not hide its preference to report on Real Madrid and Atletico, Marca has not done much to support the claim that it is anymore than Florentino's mouthpiece. Marca takes it readers for idiots (may be true, no doubt), but still look at this article: www.marca.com/.../1262845571.html Luckily Madrid fans are not as dumb as the paper gives them credit for, answering with this: www.marca.com/.../prevotaciones713.html Now if you look at the difference in layout, editing, photography and editorials, I think AS is a much better paper and has been for years.
	January 7, 2010 19:36 Tim Stannard said: JohnPJones - I'm with you that in a choice between the two then AS is the better paper. It has broader coverage of other sides and has not leapt into bed with Florentino as much as Marca has. But this can work to its disadvantage commercially as exclusives are often given to Marca and AS is stuck with Kaka Twitter stories. On the Barcelona front, Mundo Deportivo is marginally ahead of Sport, again for its coverage of the league as a whole, but both are pretty poor. With ink that still comes off the pages. Don Cule - I think the king in the playing for rivals stakes is Raul and Atletico. Another one of the Gil family's smart moves in handing him over to Real. But the yang to that story is Madrid rejecting Eto'o, perhaps.
	January 7, 2010 20:16 Paul said: Kxevin- Enjoyed your comments but "More than a club" means nothing. It can be applied to everything. Take Sporting for example. Extremely passionate fans the club means everything to them and what about Athletic ?,surely they must be more than a club,they represent The Basque country by solely using Basque players whereas The club that 'represents' Catalunya is quite happy to use players from all over the world. The phrase may have been relevant 35 years ago but now it has the same feeling as "the Best a man can get" or "does what it says on the tin".
	January 7, 2010 20:23 Paul said: Kxevin and Don Cule- are you both actual Barça fans ? it's just you've both debated this topic well and have made good points without resorting to Whinging and name calling.It's very strange and i'm not used to it. By The way i met Jordi VW who posts on here,top man who seriously knows his Barça stuff.
	January 7, 2010 22:02 WATFORD said: Teams are invited to a football training camp on the beach and friendly matches in excellent stadiums in Cadiz, Spain. Look here for more information. http://orvaz.com/beachsoccer/. Start thinking about sand, sunshine and SOCCER!
	January 8, 2010 01:19 Ademola joel said: Ronldo is best player of the year not lio messi
	January 8, 2010 01:21 BigMatchCentre said: Ronaldo is an incredible talent but, for me, I think Messi just shaded it last year. Messi is an absolute joy to watch and plays the game in the right way: rarely complains, is tough (despite his slight frame) and combative and works very hard for the team. Ronaldo is the greatest of luxuries but, what a player when he is on form. bigmatchcentre.blogspot.com
	January 8, 2010 05:44 Kxevin said: <<Kxevin and Don Cule- are you both actual Barça fans ? it's just you've both debated this topic well and have made good points without resorting to Whinging and name calling.It's very strange and i'm not used to it.>> True indeed, Paul, and thank you for the compliment. I'm in Chicago, but try to get to at least 4 home matches per season. This year, I did the Clasic and Inter Champions League matches. Hell of a week. I guess that with the "mes que un club," I'm referencing not only the politics that make Barca the unofficial national club of Catalunya, but the charitable work, donations, etc. I know that many clubs do similar things without patting themselves on the back, but still. It warms my cule heart.
	January 8, 2010 11:48 Kirkabir said: Tim, you should make a special about spanish refs !