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Think Lionel Messi and you see blue and red. Think Cristiano Ronaldo and you see a pearly white. That’s how it has been for a while now, and that’s how it will be for the foreseeable future.What would happen, then, if we were to go ahead, defy the status quo, and along with it the laws of logic, and change that future – in the present?The players, you see, are merely professionals doing a job – as much as some fans would like to think otherwise. Imagine then, if you will, two of these star players swapping teams. How would they fare individually? What would the effect be on the playing style and formations of their respective teams?Here is a conjecture of six such possibilities, and their likely consequences.Note – “Conjecture” – as defined by the Oxford Dictionary – to form an opinion or supposition about (something) on the basis of incomplete information. No one knows exactly what could happen in such scenarios, so it would be wise to take all of this with a pinch of salt.
#1 Luis Suarez and Diego Costa
Suarez with Chelsea
Tireless, stubborn and utterly committed, Luis Suarez is the embodiment of all the qualities that Jose Mourinho loves in his footballers. While having the Uruguayan in his team would deprive Mourinho of the type of physical spearhead (read, Didier Drogba) he so craves for, his qualities as a footballer would ingratiate him to the Special One like no other.
Suarez would add a whole new dimension to Chelsea’s attack – they can retain the 4-2-3-1, and with the winged feet of Eden Hazard and Juan Cuadrado/Willian flanking him, and Oscar/Cesc Fabregas feeding him pass after magical pass, the man from Salto would love it in West London.
Besides, as he has shown in his time with Anfield, he is perfectly capable of dominating any defence the Premier League can throw at him.
Costa with Barcelona
Gruff, strong on the ball and off it, an ideal target man – almost tailor made for a windy Tuesday night in Stoke – Diego Costa is as anti-Spanish a footballer as they come.
This has been starkly evident (in the admittedly short time he has had) with the Spanish national team, for whom Costa has looked about as comfortable as Eoin Morgan has Down Under this cricketing season.
While Barça wouldn’t have to change their stock formation of 4-3-3 (or Luis Enrique’s new-fangled 4-3-1-2) to accommodate him, he would offer them a lot less fluidity and flexibility within that front trio. Barça’s lack of reliance on crossing and traditionally poor set-piece play may mean that Costa would find himself in a position where he is not quite as pivotal to the game-plan as the last time he played for a team in La Liga.
Then again, with the ever-changing scenario at the Nou Camp, a bit of good old-fashioned spite and bite might just be what the Blaugrana need.
Who would do better?
Suarez with Chelsea. If Branislav Ivanovic doesn’t kill him, that is.
#2 Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Sergio Aguero
Zlatan with Manchester City
Any description of the ideal striker for the English league has always, still does, and probably always will, read “tall, strong in the air and built like an ox”. Add eccentric footballing genius to that line and you’d get Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Adapting to the English game, then, should not be too much of a bother for the man who has been crowned champion in four different countries with six different clubs.
Naturally the target striker, he may make Edin Dzeko feel more useless than he already does, but he would also make for an ideal partner for Steven Jovetic. David Silva and Samir Nasri shouldn’t find the Swede too far off their wavelength either. And in Yaya Toure, Zlatan may well have found a long lost twin brother (the skill, the ego, the ability to own a football pitch, the lazy arrogance).
Manuel Pellegrini, then, would find it easier than ever to switch between 4-4-3 and 4-4-2/4-4-1-1, as the need arises.
Besides, as monumentally temperamental as the Swede is, he has got nothing on Man City, the club. Zlatan and ‘Cityitis’? A match made in entertainment heaven.
Aguero with Paris Saint Germain
No one in world football is quite as ruthless in front of goal as Sergio Aguero tends to be when his hamstrings let him take to the field. Fielding the diminutive Argentine would virtually guarantee PSG a 20-odd-goal-a-season return, but almost as importantly, would free up the magnificent Edinson Cavani, a man who has become nigh invisible living under the shadow of Mt. Zlatan.
What’s more, the time-tested big man – little man combination would work brilliantly with Aguero’s runs and Cavani’s ball control making for a perfect partnership
This would mean Laurent Blanc could shift to a more conventional 4-4-2 (with Lavezzi and Lucas on the wings – phew!). Aguero’s aggressive off the ball running, as compared to the Swede’s more laissez-faire approach, would also mean the collective work rate of the PSG team would raise more than a notch – allowing the Parisians to initiate pressing right from the front.
Who would do better?
Aguero with PSG. While we would all love to see Zlatan face up to the Smallings and the Lovrens of this world day in and day out, Aguero would let PSG take their game to the next level.
#3 Sergio Busquets and Nemanja Mati
Busquets with Chelsea
Sergio Busquets kept, and continues to keep, Javier Mascherano – the world’s best defensive midfielder – out of his favourite position. That should tell you all you need to know about the man.
The Spanish midfielder’s ability on the ball is supreme, as anyone who has played el rondo (pig in the middle) with him will attest to. Busquets’ tactical nous often lends itself to the uncanny ability of making him appear everywhere.Now, if anyone thinks the lack of a more physical presence will blind Mourinho to the gifts of this most technical of footballers, all they need to is look up his original Chelsea teams of 2004-05 to 2007-08 and scan that vintage for a certain Claude Makélélé.
Busquets would do rather well with Mourinho’s Chelsea, is what I am saying.
Mati with Barcelona
Nemanja Mati is to Sergio Busquets what Daniel Craig is to Pierce Brosnan - a lot less suave, and a lot more direct. A tough, no-nonsense midfielder with a penchant for tackling hard, and tackling well, Mati has evolved into the fulcrum of the current Chelsea side.
Busquets’ role with the Blaugrana involved not only breaking up attacks, but also starting them – an incognito deep lying playmaker, if you will. While the Serbian has many qualities, his ball playing skills cannot stand the test of a match-up with Busquets.
This is why he would face a tough time nailing down a place at the Camp Nou. After all, if you want a tough tackling, no-nonsense midfielder in your team, you’d always pick Javier Mascherano over anyone else in the game today.
Mati then, would either be sat on the bench for the main or come on and play as centre-half (a role he is well equipped to play, it must be said).
If he were to start, Barça would need Ivan Rakitic or Andres Iniesta to drop a little deeper than they would normally like to, but he would bring about a refreshing (and rare) physical presence in the middle of the park for the Catalans – his aerial ability, considerably increasing their potency/efficacy while attacking/ defending set-pieces.
Who would do better?
Busquets with Chelsea. Again, refer Makélélé and his stint at the Bridge – like the great Frenchman, Busquets’ physical appearance belies his strength and willingness to get stuck in.
#4 Gareth Bale and Marco Reus
Bale with Borussia Dortmund
The sheer athletic tour-de-force that is Gareth Bale is very much a one-man army. His best performances have come for teams, and in games, where he would swoop in and save the day all by his lonesome. Take any of his best displays for Tottenham or Wales, or even that Copa Del Rey final for Madrid – all the qualities that make him such a potent weapon have blossomed when he is allowed to do just whatever the hell he wants to do.
That, however, is not how Borussia Dortmund works.
Of course, Bale’s untouchable combination of speed and power would bring something completely different to the table for Dortmund and his ability to pop up with goals at the most opportune moments could make him an instant cult-hero with the Yellow Wall, but the torture that is Gegenpressing may not exactly appeal to the Welshman’s sensibilities.
It is this mad-cap, collective pressing that defines the men in yellow and black, and it would probably be the undoing for Bale if he were to join Klopp and his acolytes by the banks of the river Ruhr.
Reus with Real Madrid
Fast, incisive, equally capable of producing assists and goals, but not above putting in a shift for the team, Marco Reus is the kind of player that gives managers wet dreams.
Though slightly less direct than Bale (bunt and run - no one else can be that direct) Reus offers remarkable tactical flexibility, with his adeptness on the wings and in central positions. This would give Carlo Ancelotti license to tinker with his formations and provide more fluidity in an attack that is at the moment dominated by the positional rigidity of Ronaldo, Bale and Benzema – something that would appeal to the likes of Isco and James Rodrigues. And Cristiano Ronaldo would love the freedom that the German’s defensive work-rate would give him.
In a world of superstar egos, he is also a lot more unassuming – and his understated style (the kind they had earlier with Di Maria) is what appears to be missing in the Madrid camp these days. Sometimes, a player can be good for a team not just tactically, but psychologically as well.
Who would do better?
Reus with Madrid. If the ridiculously mercurial Bernabeu faithful let him be, of course.
#5 Neymar Jr. and Arjen Robben
Neymar with Bayern
The Brazilian’s outrageous array of skills, combined with a supreme confidence to execute them in high-pressure situations make him completely unpredictable. While on the surface, this would make it appear as if the Brazilian was the very antithesis of Guardiola’s Collective football philosophy, they have both, have shown a remarkable ability to adapt and mould their game/philosophy to what suits the team best - Neymar who plays second fiddle to Messi and Pep, who these days gives Robben the freedom of the park.
Bayern’s main issue would come in getting the right balance – “Robbery” is near perfect – and ensures that they uses the full width of the pitch. But as Pep showed with his Barça’s dream team, you don't necessarily need true wingers for that – that’s what attacking full-backs are for. And where Messi had a free hand in Pep’s Barça in the false-nine position, Neymar would be ideal for a similar role with Bayern. Robert Lewandowski would love playing alongside him, as would Mario Gotze and/or Thomas Muller.
4-3-2-1, 4-3-3, 3-4-3, 3-4-1-2: whatever unique combination of numbers Pep pens down, penciling in Neymar shouldn’t be much of a problem.
Robben with Barça
Unlike the unpredictability of Neymar, everyone - his teammates, the spectators, the coaches, the defender marking him, the defender’s grandmother – knows exactly what Arjen Robben will do with the ball at his feet – run fast, cut in sharp, shoot hard. As with Neymar though, there is precious little anyone can do about it. The Dutchman is at his frightening best when he gets the ball at his feet and starts tearing up that right wing.
Problem is, at the Camp Nou, that role – the role of the man to whom the ball is passed – is played by a certain Lionel Messi.
While Messi remains, gaining any sort of hegemony over the possession of the ball would prove offensively elusive.The Catalans could still play 4-3-3, and Robben would add an incredible new dimension to their attack – his unnatural pace and supreme dribbling is never anything other a potent weapon – but he may just struggle in the one place he knows he isn’t the best dribbler on the team.
Who would do better?
Neymar with Bayern. Joga Bonito, Bavaria!
#6 Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi
Ronaldo with Barcelona
The interesting thing with Barcelona, is that no matter how much they talk about how their team is more about the collective, the indisputable fact is that the team revolves around one man. Just like at Real Madrid.
The fundamental difference, of course, is in the style of play around that central figure – while Los Blanco’s quick, incisive counter-attacking football plays spectacularly to the strengths of the super-athlete that is Ronaldo, Barça’s slower tempo will be a whole new ball game for the great man.
However with the changing of the guard at the Camp Nou – the new guys, Neymar, Suarez, Rakitic & co. - are more flexible in their ability to adapt to (and are a lot more open to the idea of) a changing style. Sure, it would involve the overhaul of what the club and its fans claim to be is its identity, but a middle ground of Fergie/Wenger – style possession cum counter attacking football could enable the man from Madeira to come into his own.
Barça could retain their favoured 4-3-3, Ronaldo, Suarez and Neymar interchanging at high speed (think Fergie’s United vintage of ‘08 and the magic of Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez).
Messi with Real Madrid
Lionel Messi is a genius. Real Madrid though, are used to having those around.
From the days of Alfredo di Stefano, down to Ronaldo today (through Zinedine Zidane. et al), they have always moulded their teams around a master footballer.
And with Toni Kroos, James Rodriguez, Luka Modric and Isco all as ingenious, and as comfortable, on the ball as anyone in midfield back in Catalonia, is it really too much of a stretch to imagine Madrid slowing their game down just a bit to accommodate that unique mix of leisurely ease and bursts of rat-a-tat excitement that is Messi on his A-game? Especially when you realise that Carlo Ancelotti specialises in adapting his tactics to suit that of the best player in the team.
The wily Italian’s formations could remain 4-3-3 or become a 4-3-2-1/4-2-3-1 (with Messi given the freedom of the park in any of these formations. Obviously.).
Who would do better?
As much as the mind boggles at the prospect of this hypothetical comparison, I would have to go with Messi and Real Madrid, simply because of his relatively greater adaptability as compared to the Ronaldo of today. But if the Portuguese were to rekindle and bring back that flying winger-striker hybrid role of old, it would be positively impossible to pick a winner here.
