Messi vs Ronaldo by Luca Caioli

Author:Luca Caioli [Luca Caioli]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781785784446
Publisher: Icon Books Ltd
Published: 2018-01-06T16:00:00+00:00

Leo Messi: Barcelona vs Getafe, Copa del Rey semi-final, 18 April 2007

‘Twenty years, ten months and 26 days later, Messi repeats Maradona’s goal,’ reads the headline on the front page of Madrid sports paper Marca. The morning after the 2007 Copa del Rey semi-final, the press is bursting with headlines, commentaries and linguistic inventions of all shapes and sizes, from ‘Messidona’, to ‘The Foot of God’, and ‘Messi shocks the world’.

Here’s what they are all shouting about: in the 28th minute at the Nou Camp, Leo Messi runs 65 yards, dodges round four opponents and the goalie, shoots with his right foot – unusual for him – and scores. For everyone watching, it immediately evokes the ‘goal of the century’ that Diego Maradona scored against England in the quarter-finals of the 1986 Mexico World Cup.

The 53,599 Nou Camp spectators are on their feet, grabbing hold of anything that can be waved, from the newspaper to the programme, a handkerchief or a scarf, waving en masse. And those who do not have anything of the appropriate colour still partake of the collective ritual, applauding until their hands hurt. A full-blown tribute. On YouTube, the goal stirs up plenty of debate. It is viewed thousands of times, as well as alongside Maradona’s goal. It opens up an online debate as to which of the goals is better. Everyone has their own opinion, from expert ones to impassioned ones, while the media compares the two clips from every possible perspective, praising Leo’s performance. ‘Was Messi trying to imitate Maradona? Was it or wasn’t it a big coincidence?’ The man of the hour plays it down. ‘Perhaps the play was similar, I have only seen it once on television,’ declares Messi, ‘but I never thought it could be the same as Diego’s goal. They told me afterwards, but at that moment I wasn’t thinking about anything, only of the joy of having scored a goal.’

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