Agencies/London
Who is a better player, Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo? That is an unending debate within the football world. But Chelsea midfielder Willian feels that former Brazilian forward Ronaldinho was a better player.
Willian, who idolises Ronaldinho, pointed out that the period from 2003 to 2005, when Ronaldinho won the Champions League, Spanish League and Spanish Super Cup with FC Barcelona, were his peak years when he displayed better skills than Messi and Ronaldo.
“Ronaldinho is the biggest idol in football for me. I like him a lot. I’ve met him, but I never got to say that he is my idol. In my opinion, I think that Ronaldinho, at that time (between 2003 and 2005), was bigger than Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo,” the winger told goal.com.
“Of course, Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi make a lot of goals, but what Ronaldinho used to do was unbelievable. He used to be amazing on the field, and also scored a lot of goals. As his fan, I think he stopped (playing at the top level) a little early,” he added.
“If he continued to play he would certainly be three, four, five times in a row the best player in the world. He was two times (the best player in the world), and then I don’t know what happened, but if he wanted to continue that way, he would certainly be five times in a row the best in the world.”
Willian went on to state that Messi -- the superstar in the current Barcelona squad -- is a better player than Ronaldo.
The 27-year-old also heaped praise on Chelsea teammate Eden Hazard and asserted that the Belgian has the ability to be the best player in the world in the future.
He also felt that fellow Brazilian Neymar will also be in contention for the Ballon d’Or award.
“They are players of great quality. Although they have different styles, in my opinion. Both are very skilled and have a lot of quality, but I think their styles are a little different. But I would choose both of them in a game to play in my team, for sure,” Willian said.
“I think so (Hazard and Neymar can win the Ballon d’Or). They are two great players. I think it depends on them, but they have great potential to reach that level. So I think if they continue to develop, continue to grow, certainly they will have everything to achieve this award.”
Nicaragua stun Jamaica in World Cup qualifying
Nicaragua scored a shock 3-2 away win over Gold Cup runners-up Jamaica on Friday to open the third round of CONCACAF qualifying for the 2018 World Cup. “Today we stole the eagle’s eggs,” Nicaragua’s Costa Rican coach Henry Duarte said after his side put themselves in a strong position to progress when the teams meet again in the second leg in Managua on Tuesday.
Nicaragua, who won all four matches in the opening two rounds of the competition, raced out to a 3-0 lead with captain Manuel Rosas scoring from the penalty spot in the fifth minute, Carlos Chavarria finding the back of the net three minutes later and Luis Galeano striking in the 48th minute. The Reggae Boyz, who had reached a new high meeting Mexico in July’s CONCACAF Gold Cup final, fought back in the final 22 minutes with goals from Darren Mattocks (68th) and Adrian Mariappa (78) but it was not enough.
“I was sure the lads would do a good job,” Duarte was quoted as saying in the Nicaraguan newspaper El Nuevo Diaro (www.elnuevodiario.com.ni). “It was a match with a very intense rhythm and today Nicaragua were up to it,” he said.
A lack of fitness in his players allowed outright favourites Jamaica, who reached the 1998 World Cup finals in France, to hit back, he said. “The problem wasn’t tactical but of conditioning. If we’d had more (fitness) level we’d have won this match by four or five (goals), but when the lads had legs they played good football and made Jamaica look poor.”
A total of 12 teams are contesting six, two-legged series to determine the teams that will join the six seeded sides in the next phase. Canada, who have only once qualified for the World Cup in 1986, thumped Belize 3-0 with Tosaint Ricketts scoring on either side of the break and Atiba Hutchinson adding an injury time goal. Haiti also scored a comfortable 3-1 away win over Grenada. Jean Eudes Maurice, Mechack Jerome and Duckens Nazon each had a goal for Haiti while Anthony Straker scored from the penalty spot for Grenada.
In other action, Myles Weston’s 72nd minute penalty earned Antigua and Barbuda a 1-0 win over Guatemala while Larin’s goal in the 12th minute stood up as the winner as El Salvador beat Curacao 1-0. Saint Vincent were a 2-0 winners over Aruba.
Former Brazilian forward Ronaldinho
