Ronaldo and Messi to miss the World Cup?

Columnist

By Mike Tuckerman, 8 Sep 2009 Mike Tuckerman is a Roar Expert

Tagged:: Argentina, Brazil, Carlos Tevez, Cristiano Ronaldo, diego maradona, football, Lionel Messi, portugal, south africa 2010, World Cup, World Cup qualifying

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Portugal's Christiano Ronaldo reacts after the drawn World Cup group 1 qualifying soccer match against Denmark at Parken in Copenhagen, Denmark, Saturday Sept. 5, 2009. Portugal badly needed a victory in Copenhagen to have a realistic chance of qualifying for next year's World Cup in South Africa. The Portuguese team has won just two of its six qualifying matches and drew another.(AP Photo/Tariq Mikkel Khan/POLFOTO)

The unedifying sight of a gaunt Diego Maradona trudging from the Rosario pitch should serve as a warning. A silly, sentimental choice as coach, Maradona had just overseen his team’s 3-1 World Cup qualifying defeat to Brazil.

It was Argentina’s first loss at home in World Cup qualifying since the Albiceleste were thrashed 5-0 by Colombia in Buenos Aires in 1993.

Meanwhile in European qualifying, a packed Parken Stadion in Copenhagen watched enthralled as Denmark and Portugal played out an absorbing 1-1 draw.

The point leaves Portugal hanging by a thread – with Cristiano Ronaldo and co. now seven points adrift of the group-leading Danes with three games to go.

Things would have been worse had Portugese debutant Liedson not beaten a stubborn Stephan Anderson with three minutes remaining.

The plight of two of the world’s best players goes some way to proving an age-old adage: it’s a team game after all.

Try telling that to Maradona, who has built his squad around the cult of Messi and players of his similarly short-framed ilk.

Sergio “Kun” Agüero is undoubtedly a fabulous player.

But the fact that he is consistently named over free-scoring Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuaín appears to have more to do with his resemblance to Maradona than his goalscoring ability.

When Argentina’s vertically-challenged front line of Messi and Carlos Tevez were being monstered by the powerful Brazilian defence, Maradona predictably had no Plan B.

It didn’t help that Maradona managed to alienate mercurial playmaker Juan Román Riquelme almost as soon as he took charge of the national team.

Riquelme’s international retirement has robbed Argentina of arguably their most influential creative presence – Messi notwithstanding.

Meanwhile Cristiano Ronaldo has never really hit the heights with Portugal that he once did for Manchester United.

Maybe it’s not being surrounded by the sort of players he graced the turf with at Old Trafford – although you’d think the likes of Ricardo Carvalho, Deco and current Real Madrid team-mate Pepe are pretty handy personnel.

Or perhaps it’s the constant pressure of trying to go one step further than former Portugese talisman Luís Figo, who despite all his talent, never won silverware with the national team.

Whatever it is, Ronaldo has never stamped his authority on international football the way he once did in the Premier League.

And now fans in South Africa are in danger of missing out on watching two of world football’s greatest stars strut their stuff.

It’s a sobering reminder that football is a game contested by eleven players each.

Indeed, the contrast with Dunga’s workmen-like Brazil is stark.

Like Maradona, Dunga has fashioned his Seleção much in his own image, with Brazil relying on the hard graft of players like Gilberto Silva and Felipe Melo as much as they do on the individual talents of Kaká and Robinho.

So it’s ironic that Dunga’s job now seems secure given the original howls of protest over his team’s artisanal style of football.

The same cannot be said for Maradona, whose appointment as Argentina coach is looking more like the unqualified disaster that many predicted.

Even if the legendary former midfielder manages to steer his team into the finals, it remains to be seen whether the Argentine Football Association keeps the faith with Maradona all the way to South Africa.

The likes of Argentina and Portugal are always going to be dark horses to win any World Cup tournament – provided they get there.

But with teams like Brazil, Germany and even – dare I say it – Korea Republic building much of their success on team work, both Ronaldo and Messi will need to conjure some personal brilliance to drag their respective sides over the line.

Otherwise the World Cup could be shorn of the sight of two of the world game’s most recognisable players – hardly the festival of football that FIFA are hoping for.

Follow Mike on twitter @Mike_Tuckerman

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The Crowd Says (56) | Page 1 of Comments

Tifosi said | September 8th 2009 @ 6:31am | Report comment

Ronaldo will miss out

Messi will be there. Just.

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Robbos said | September 8th 2009 @ 7:29am | Report comment

Sad, very sad to see the 2 best players in the world miss out, however, i too think Argentina will just scrape in.
The WC will be all the poorer, but that is the way the ball bounces.

BTW Mike, Ronaldo has played in a WC semi & European championship final in the last 5 years with Portugal, so not sure about your comments about Ronnie not having the players around them in Portugal. I don’t know too many othe Man U players with a better CV at int’l level.
No doubt they are poor this campaign.

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Pippinu said | September 8th 2009 @ 8:08am | Report comment

ronaldo loses the opportunity to overturn his embarrassing performances at the last WC

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Brett McKay said | September 8th 2009 @ 8:23am | Report comment

I’m still struggling to comprehend Portugal is now ranked lower than Australia, let alone them not qualifying for the WC…

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- dasilva said | September 8th 2009 @ 9:19am | Report comment
  
  Easy
  3-2 loss to denmark
  
  0-0 draws with sweden x2 and most shockingly a 0-0 draw with Albania
  now a 1-1 draw with Denmark
  
  If you can’t beat Albania at Home then you really have no reason to complain about not qualifying to the World cup or being ranked below Australia.
  
  Nevertheless, Portugal are not out of it yet. They have to beat Hungary twice and then beat Malta and hope Sweden drop points against Denmark and Portugal may sneak in a play off spot.
  
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Viscount Crouchback said | September 8th 2009 @ 8:37am | Report comment

The fewer diving Latin cheats, the better.

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- Art Sapphire said | September 8th 2009 @ 9:08am | Report comment
  
  That’s a bit rich…considering the English have perfected the art.
  
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  - Viscount Crouchback said | September 8th 2009 @ 9:29am | Report comment
    
    Hardly. Diving has crept into the English game, sure enough, but we all know where it came from.
    
    Reply
    - Art Sapphire said | September 8th 2009 @ 9:39am | Report comment
      
      Damn those pesky foreigners Viscount. A once pround nation has succumbed to their nefarious ways.
      
      Just look at Rooney. A once proud British Bulldog of tough working class stock.
      If it was not for the evil influence of that greasy Latino, Ronaldo, there is no way he would be winning dodgy penalties for England and Man U.
      
      You lost an empire and now you resort to cheating on the football field. Where will it all end? Sob, sob!!
      
      Reply
      - dasilva said | September 8th 2009 @ 9:47am | Report comment
        
        That recent rooney dive was unbelievable. He manage to pull the shirt of the other player, tackle his legs and then when both fell ot the floor, Rooney then appealed for the penalty. It was absolutely astonishing
        
        at least most of the time with diving, you are just trying to win the penalty. I haven’t seen many dives where you foul the other player and then dive and win the penalty. Rooney is taking diving to a new level for me.
        
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        Art Sapphire said | September 8th 2009 @ 9:58am | Report comment
        
        dasilva – the Slovenes were furious. Not only did they have a penalty given against them.
        Rooney’s tackle also injured Slovenian player’s ankle, he had to go off the field.
        He will miss their next qualifier.
        
        FIsher Price said | September 8th 2009 @ 3:27pm | Report comment
        
        Worth noting is Eduardo (in that single infamous incident a few weeks ago) did NOT:
        
        a) foul an opposition player;
        6) Sneer, wave his arms about and protest for a foul to be awarded.
        
        Rooney is a protected species and this ought to be more of a theme in the press.
        
        dasilva said | September 9th 2009 @ 3:31am | Report comment
        
        England are too honest to dive.
        
        http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/sep/04/england-slovenia-diving-john-terry
        
        Bit ironic that Terry said this before the Slovenia match
      - Viscount Crouchback said | September 8th 2009 @ 10:29am | Report comment
        
        You know what they say: If you can’t beat ‘em…
        
        But shame on UEFA and FIFA for permitting this ghastly practice to become so insidious that even the once noble English have succumbed.
        
        Reply
        
        Robbos said | September 8th 2009 @ 12:16pm | Report comment
        
        What about Gerrard in the champions league final against Milan afew years ago to get a penalty to get it back to 3-3. Not a word from the English marketing media about Gerrard’s dive.
        It’s a fallacy that the English don’t dive, it’s just that the Latins do more theatricially.
        
        Viscount Crouchback said | September 8th 2009 @ 2:30pm | Report comment
        
        I know the English dive nowadays. I’ve already said as much. But a) they are still nowhere near as bad as the Latins; and b) they only do it because they were giving away a 10% edge by being so honest.
        
        If the Canadians, Americans and Australians all played football in a serious way – and enjoyed commensurate political influence – then diving would be nothing like the problem it is. Instead, the English and Scots are the only ones who give a fig about the issue, and they have been fighting a losing battle for years.
        
        Colin N said | September 8th 2009 @ 10:18pm | Report comment
        
        I think that Gerrard one was a penalty actually, but he is one of the worst for it. He did it in a friendly against Paraguay I believe, and also against Athletico Madrid to win the game for them. There are other ones, but those are the ones that immediately come to mind.
    - FIsher Price said | September 8th 2009 @ 3:25pm | Report comment
      
      Rubbish. English players were diving prior to influx of foreign talent.
      
      Reply
      - Viscount Crouchback said | September 8th 2009 @ 3:40pm | Report comment
        
        The odd player, such as Franny Lee or Rodney Marsh, dived in the 1960s and 1970s, but they used to spend 90 minutes trying to evade serious injury, so it seemed like a reasonable way of getting their own back. And such players were the exception.
        
        English football is traditionally honest. That’s not myth-making, or indulging in wishful thinking, it’s a simple statement of the truth. One can accuse English football of being many things – brutal, functional, whatever – but it has always been hard but fair.
        
        Reply
        
        Rooster said | September 8th 2009 @ 4:16pm | Report comment
        
        “The odd player, such as Franny Lee or Rodney Marsh, dived in the 1960s and 1970s, but they used to spend 90 minutes trying to evade serious injury, so it seemed like a reasonable way of getting their own back.”
        
        Really? you can say the exact same thing of Ronaldo’s time in the EPL.
        
        Players who dribble the ball and run at defenders draw more fouls. It’s just that the more technically gifted players happen to be “latin” (as you label them)
        
        When you place those players in a league where defenders have carte blanche to tackle players it’s emphasized even more.
        
        If refs called every foul committed against them there would be no reason to dive. Even with the odd dive here and there they’re still on the losing end of the equation.
AndyRoo said | September 8th 2009 @ 8:59am | Report comment

Doesn’t matter how good you look on paper if you lose games you lose ranking points.

Croatia, Serbia and the USA are all ranked above us but are probably arround the same as us on paper.

Then of course we will lose points because we lost to Korea.

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Worlds Biggest said | September 8th 2009 @ 9:14am | Report comment

Argentina not qualifying for the World Cup ?. That is unheard of however putting Maradona in charge had disaster written all over it from the start. He must go even if they qualify. Portugal are an enigma and always have been, they have so much talent yet can’t seem to gel when it matters. How do you lose to Greece at home in a Euro Final 04. Yes they made it to the semis in WC 06 but got past a pedestrian English Team in the Qtr Final and came up short against France in the Semi.
I agree Ronaldo doesn’t replicate Club form at International Level and don’t know why. Ditto Thierry Henry et al

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Mike Tuckerman said | September 8th 2009 @ 9:54am | Report comment

An interesting take on things from Matthew Hall: http://www.sbs.com.au/sport/blog/single/112812/In-the-hands-of-God

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Timmo said | September 8th 2009 @ 10:16am | Report comment

Big deal I will glad to see teams like Hungary, Denmark and Romania back in the world cup!

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Ben of Phnom Penh said | September 8th 2009 @ 10:17am | Report comment

Luckily we had the game live here on one of the local channels in stormy Phnom Penh. The overlaid Khmer commentary was interesting however the game itself did not exactly show Maradonna as the manager he thinks he is. Great individuals however at times a shambles.

Argentina have to play Paraguay away next. No easy task especially given that a win will guarantee Paraguay a place in South Africa. After that it is a home game to Peru and another tricky task with a trip to Uruguay. With Colombia and Ecuador only two points behind Thursday morning may prove a difficult day for Argentinian football.

Echoes of 1970 perhaps.

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