Teams Without Glam: Barca without Messi or Real without Ronaldo – Who is better?

The La Liga is a league that commonly witnesses some flamboyant performances, both by teams and individuals. But, of late, the glamorous image that the league is commonly associated with has diminished, largely attributed to mediocre show that its top performing teams have displayed. Two of La Liga’s biggest stars – Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are missing in action. Barcelona are without their star player Messi for quite a while and they look messy and confused. Arch – rivals Real are coming to terms that Ronaldo can’t be their savior always.

Barcelona, in the past few seasons has been in scintillating form. They have won 4 out of the last 5 La Liga titles, with Messi widely credited for the success. The young Argentinian, who joined in 2004, has been a scoring machine, with 223 goals till date. The serial Ballon d’Or winner has been instrumental in netting Barca the treble that they so prize, being the only Spanish club to win one. However, since that fated match against Paris Saing-Germain in the 2012-13 season where Messi suffered a hamstring injury, Barca has never been the same. Messi’s appearances have been irregular, with the recent loss against Ajax serving as a grave reminder of their overdependence on their star forward. They no longer have the brilliance of Pep Guardiola who guided them in their dream run. Nor is their gameplay unpredictable, with opponents able to counter their moves. Long balls have become more common; short passes that players like Iniesta and Xavi perfected have become less lethal. Their loss to Athletic Bilbao in Copa Del Ray is a testimony to the change that has materialized. Top players like Neymar, Daniel Alves and Jordi Alba are injured, rubbing salt on their wounds. Messi’s flamboyance is sorely missed, with Barca struggling to gain its rhythm. Often, a team has an individual who leads the team in times of crisis. Messi is this beacon of light that Barca hope will turn the tide. And Barca need it now more than ever!

The Bernabeu stadium, on the other hand, was all for Real as they thrashed Galatasaray 4-1. Similar to their arch-rivals Barcelona, Real face a growing threat – missing their star Ronaldo. Ronaldo has admitted that he misses Premier league and his previous club ManU publicly; however, his contract with Real has been renewed till 2018. Ronaldo has been to Real what Messi has been to Barca. Ronaldo, who moved to Real from ManU for £80 million has been Real’s golden boy, scoring an enviable 163 goals since 2009. However, a minor injury has ensured that he has been out of action since the last few days. Real is in a fix with 2 of their stars – Ronaldo and Bale injured. Over the years, Real has come to depend on the Portuguese captain for most of their conquests. However, they still have an enviable bench who are in excellent form. Gareth Bale, the young Welsh is seen as an alternative to Ronaldo, with di Maria a close second. This was evident in their match against Galatasaray as Bale and Maria drove home to victory. Unlike Barca, Real has come to accept that Ronaldo can’t always be by their side. And they are taking steps as they know Ronaldo can’t be replaced by anyone immediately. Real’s firepower’s potency can be gauged only when they take on tougher rivals in Champions League as they cruise to the next stage by topping group B.

While Messi and Ronaldo have had a profound influence on Barca and Real respectively, the former had a greater bearing. Considering status quo, it’s a pretty good bet to say that Real would continue to be a force to reckon with, despite the absence of Ronaldo as compared to Messi’s absence from Barca. Either ways, both teams must accept that dependence on a single player can be fatal to the club’s performance. Instead, focusing on steadily developing and acquiring talent like Bayern has done is the way ahead for both the giants.