Tuesday 9 December 2014 18:54, UK
Guillem Balague says football fans should be very grateful for the rivalry between two great players like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo....
We should savour every minute of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo’s great rivalry.
Both scored hat-tricks at the weekend, breaking yet more records. The Real Madrid man has now scored three or more goals 23 times in La Liga while a third hat-trick in four games fired Messi through the 400 goal barrier for Barcelona.
In 2008 when Ronaldo won the Ballon d'Or for the first time at Manchester United he didn’t actually see Messi as a great rival - but when he arrived in Spain it coincided with Messi and Barcelona’s dominance of La Liga.
The challenge facing Ronaldo at that time was simply to improve and attain the performance levels that Messi was achieving.
This weekend was the fourth time they both scored hat-tricks in the same weekend and I don’t think it’s a coincidence. If they hadn’t been in the same league the competition between the two would have suffered.
It’s a rivalry that is a weekly one rather than just facing up against one another in the Champions League every year or so.
They need each other to keep motivated and to be the best they can be.
Both were born with a desire to be compulsive winners and to get even better they need to be challenged, whether that be breaking individual records or winning trophies.
This weekend was the fourth time they both scored hat-tricks in the same weekend and I don’t think it’s a coincidence.
Ronaldo has made winning the Ballon d’Or one of his major goals for the season - along with winning La Liga and the Champions League - and although I know there is an impression that Messi doesn’t get motivated by individual achievements, he cares for sure.
Messi’s recent hat-tricks have coincided with Luis Suarez moving to a No 9 position.
The former Liverpool striker’s movement all over the pitch has the ability to distract defenders, which has opened up more space for Messi.
Ronaldo has also progressed in the last couple of years and has evolved from a player that likes to creates all his own chances to become more like a No 9 that relies on other players to set up his goals.
We should be very grateful that this epic rivalry between two greats is taking place in our era.
GUILLEM ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS
Marcelino magic
I watched Villarreal beat Real Sociedad on Sunday evening and thought they looked really good. How impressed have you been with the job Marcelino has done there and what has been the secret to their success after they were promoted back to La Liga a couple of years ago? Tony
GUILLEM SAYS: The main thing Villarreal did was make sure they were financially sound after a period of difficulty. They have managed to pay most of their debt and have a very clever recruitment policy in place in terms of their president, director of football and chief executive all working together. There’s a real vision there with a great academy and it’s a fantastic club. It’s much like the way the club was run back in the successful days.
Atletico's approach
Atletico Madrid seem to have gone under the radar a bit so far this season. How good are they are looking and is the team coming together after the signings in the summer? Johnny
GUILLEM SAYS: Atletico Madrid have had to change the way they have been playing because Diego Costa is not there. With Mario Mandzukic the football is more direct, although they scored a Costa-like goal against Elche last weekend. But generally Madrid need to play more compact and have to keep hold of more possession, utilising the wingers to put crosses in for Mandzukic. The way they have adapted is a credit to Diego Simeone.
The sack race
I have noticed that there have already been a few sackings in Spain this season, compared to England where there have been none yet. Whose job is under threat most now and could be next to go? Ash
GUILLEM SAYS: If he doesn’t get a result in the next game against Elche, Deportivio boss Víctor Fernández could get the sack. After the recent defeat at home to Malaga he said the club are on a “spiral of self-destruction that I haven’t seen before". I think he was pre-empting what may happen regarding his employment at the club.
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