One of the reasons why we love to play FIFA and Football Manager is that we are given complete freedom to fulfil football dream teams that we normally wouldn’t be able to, and one of the most burning yearnings that football fans possess is having a team with all the best players in it.
In the game, the team becomes invincible with all the best players. In real life, however, the story is completely different as adding all the best in one place is perhaps the last thing one should do.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are the two best players of this era. We are privileged to witness such players at the peak of their powers producing superhuman feats week in, week out. The one question that springs out in every football fans’ mind is what could have happened had these two played in the same team?
I, for one, believe that it would have ended up in a catastrophic disaster and here are the 5 reasons as to why that could have happened…
#1 Unhealthy rivalry
As it is, the two share a rivalry that transcends anything that we have ever seen in the history of football. While it could be argued that Diego Maradona and Pele share something similar, it has to be noted that their competition didn’t take place in the same era.
Pele was the best footballer on the planet in the 60s while Diego Maradona conquered the world in the 80s. Hence, it is impossible to find an era where two players were so pitted against each other in such a relentless fashion like the Portugal captain and the Argentina captain are.
Hence, if these two played in the same team, the rivalry could have gotten to their heads at some point and, in a bid to show their superiority over each other, that could have resulted in the two playing the game to only better the other.
#2 Unharmonious team
Once the rivalry goes to the head, it becomes impossible to play as a team. The Ballon d’Or is the holy grail of individual football awards. On most occasions, the team titles are given the first preference to judge a player’s contribution to the game.
However, if these two were in the same team, the aforementioned criteria of team titles would have rendered futile and then it would be down to individualism. And in that race, each player could be driven by selfish motives of their own, harming the team in the process.
Ultimately, this could have caused a divide among the players where some would be in the Messi party and the others under the banner of the Portuguese—and that is the last thing any team, that aspires to win titles, would want.
#3 Too much limelight
If two of the best players in the world play in one team, the limelight focused on that team could rival that exuded by the sun. The sheer star power of these two stars is such that their image rights alone could generate millions.
While limelight is a good thing, as it helps the club be the focus of the fans around the world, too much scrutiny can be detrimental to the team’s fortunes. It is like when one tries to fly too close to the sun, they are bound to get their wings scorched and fall on the ground as a result.
With so much attention being channelled from various sources to one team, the pressure to perform at an optimum level becomes doubly difficult. One bad game and the critics will be out with sharp knives to cut them open and perform an autopsy in the cruellest of fashions.
#4 Tactical imbalance
This is perhaps the most important aspect when a team is concerned. A team can have all the best players in the world, but it amounts to nothing if there is no tactical balance in the system. The Real Madrid side post-Vicente del Bosque is a testament to the aforementioned statement.
That Real Madrid side had all the best players in the world, but were a sheer disappointment when it came to winning trophies. As the saying goes, too many cooks spoil the broth—and with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in the same team, that could just have been the case.
Both these players are never—or rarely—given any defensive duties by their respective managers. It is simply a waste of their attacking abilities if they have to track back to defend. In such a scenario, playing the two in the same line-up could mean that the system would have two players who do not defend.
Or, each of the two could have to share their portion of doing the dirty work. In any case, it could have invoked a disastrous consequence that could have resulted in the team failing terribly.
#5 Neither player reaching their optimum potential
There are some theories that claim that we are not alone, that our universe isn’t the only one out there. So just imagine a universe were these two players failed to reach their potential. Go on, do it.
Terrible thought, isn’t it? As much as the rival fans have to admit it, these two players make each other better. The competition between them is such that each player pushes himself to be the better one—making them better in the process.
But if they played for the same team, the system would have been carved out in such a way that it forms equilibrium, a balance between creative freedom and tactical stability.
In the midst of all this, both of them would have had to compromise and play within their abilities. The reason why these two players are the best of this generation is that once they began to reach their peak levels, they were handed complete freedom by their bosses in order for them to break the final barrier and reach the ultimate.
That final piece of the jigsaw is only created when the said player is given the freedom to do what he wants. Both Ronaldo and Messi got that at their respective clubs, something which they might not have had if they played in the same team—resulting in them not attaining their best.
Just imagine a world where these two failed to reach their best. Dreadful, isn’t it?
