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The Ultimate Showdown - Cairo vs. Messi: Messi or Ronaldo?
The Ultimate Showdown - Cairo vs. Messi: Epoch-ShapingRivalries
The Ultimate Showdown - Crow vs Messi: Crow, Not Just Showboat
The Ultimate Showdown - Cairo vs. Messi: Cairo, Manchester United No. 7
During the 2004-05 Premier League season, Manchester United fans were waiting for their golden boy, Crowe, to shine, but apart from some sporadic sparks, Crowe didn't score his first goal of the season until Southampton in early December, and his struggles on the pitch were obvious, as although he was strong in all areas of his 'battle value', he just couldn't seem to get those elements to work smoothly together to create a contribution to the team on the field. After the Southampton game, he went another month without a goal, and didn't score again until mid-January against Aston Villa, but the highlight of his season is about to come as United face their biggest rivals Arsenal in the next league game!
As mentioned earlier, Ferguson's Manchester United and Wenger's Arsenal are the most anticipated match in the Premier League, which will be known as the Battle of Highbury, and even before the whistle was blown, the two sides were clashing in the players' tunnel or on the pitch, with the captains of the two sides, Roy Keane (United) and Patrick Vieira (Arsenal), unwilling to meet in front of the referee to throw the brass plate and of course shake hands. Patrick Vieira (Arsenal) are not willing to meet in front of the referee to throw the copper plate, of course, also not willing to shake hands, so that the presiding judge Graham Poll can only choose their own side, their own throw the copper plate for the two sides to decide. Crow did not directly join these clashes, but he was on the field to show his speed, physical confrontation and ball control, and a lot of Arsenal's close to the defense, but also to test the toughness and perseverance of Crow. Crow's toughness and perseverance. Arsenal scored first and had taken the lead twice in the first half, but Crowe scored twice in the second half, both goals were passed through teammate Ryan Giggs, the first ball he shot into the net with a powerful shot inside the penalty area, confirming that after scoring the goal to face the Arsenal fans screaming all over the stadium, he used his index finger in front of his mouth to make the gesture of "boo" several times! This passionate battle ended up with United taking down Arsenal 4-2 away from home. However, in the following months, Ronaldo's performance returned to mediocrity, no matter it was in the Premier League or the Champions League round of 16 against AC Milan, he couldn't give the fans any more eye-opening performances, United came third in the league that season, and exited the Champions League in the round of 16, and although they made it to the final of the FA Cup, they lost the PKs to Arsenal, and didn't have the chance to win the Championship. Looking at Cristiano Ronaldo's 2004-05 season, he played a total of 50 games and scored 9 goals. He did show some dazzling footwork and attacking skills, but some people have commented that Crow is not yet a finished product. After all, dazzling is one thing, but if it can't be converted into goals or victories, then what's the point?
In the summer of 2005, it was rumored that Real Madrid was very interested in Ronaldo, and although it ended up being a case of hearing the stairs but not seeing the man come down, the new season for Crowe would have to be a struggle to prove himself. Just coincidentally, during his away expedition with the Portuguese national team, he learned that his father, Dinis, had passed away due to physical injuries caused by long-term alcoholism. This news was told to him by Luiz Felipe Scolari, the head coach of the Portuguese national team at the time, as well as by Luis Figo, the captain of the team, and Crow's reaction at the beginning was quite shocking, saying that he couldn't feel anything. He said he couldn't feel anything, that his head felt like a balloon bursting, that he couldn't think about anything, but he told Scolari that he wanted to finish the game, that he wanted to honor his father's memory through that goal. Of course, since he was a child, Cairo had to live with his father and his father's addiction to alcohol, and in his autobiography and other interviews he always brings up memories of his father playing soccer with him as a child, and he always proclaims that he loved Dinis very much, except that his father wasn't always a "bright" person for him, but maybe that's the reason why he has that must-have-it-before-you-get-there attitude. But maybe that's why he's so determined to succeed, because he can't let his family's life, which has been thrown into crisis by his father's incapacity, be further destroyed. ......
In addition, Roy Keane, the Manchester United captain whom Crowe admits was a major influence on his early career, also left United to join Celtic in the Scottish Premier League that summer. Events both on and off the field seemed to cast a dark shadow over Crowe's new season before it even began. In a Champions League group stage match against Benfica of Portugal in December 2005, United lost and Crowe became the scapegoat, his teammate Rio Ferdinand said in his autobiography later that Crowe was full of thoughts that he only wanted to show his personal best performance in front of the Portuguese folks, and completely ignored the teamwork, even Alex Ferguson was furious, you kicked yourself! I'm not going to be able to do that. Who do you think you are? ...... Crowe was so angry that he cried in the players' lounge, but his mental toughness is extraordinary, and he has often been caught in storms in his life, and he has almost always fought back successfully. Ferguson knows Crowe's personality very well, and there are some players who would not be able to accept this kind of treatment and would doubt themselves, or even fall apart. Some players doubt themselves because they can't handle such treatment, but Crosby uses the criticism as fuel, and naturally, he knows Ferguson's intentions. If Ronaldo's relationship with Ferguson is a bit like that of a father and son, it's the kind of father-son relationship where the father takes care of his son and the father and son understand each other fully. Ferguson encourages him to show his talent and ability, but doesn't coddle him and allow him to get privileges. Among Ronaldo's United predecessors, there were some players whose 'attention' was beyond the club's control, such as George Best's sex and alcohol problems, or David Beckham's taste for showbiz and his involvement with the regal hottie Victoria (which annoyed Ferguson, and greatly affected his relationship with Beckham), but Ronaldo's father's relationship with his son, Ferguson's father, was one of understanding. ), but Ronaldo's circle of close friends is relatively small - just his mother, his cousin Nuno, his sister Katia, his son-in-law Ze, and Carlos Pereira, a friend from his Sporting Lisbon youth team days - and he doesn't belong to the partying, partying, partying species, either. After all, Ronaldo spent a lot of time training himself at the gym or swimming in the pool outside of team practice. His ego and self-restraint were quite clear at the time, and as a result he never had the image of George Best as a man who liked to indulge, and maintained a good relationship with the United management in order to avoid the Beckham situation happening to him. The young Cristiano Ronaldo wanted to look immaculate, he always wanted to wear very clean boots in training, the right equipment, the perfect haircut and the perfect shirt, and as he became more comfortable with English, he became more accustomed to the culture of the English soccer lounge, his confidence grew, he could take the abuse from his teammates, and was even willing to be funny, making himself a part of the lounge. Be funny and make yourself the 'punchline' of the lounge ......
