Masterful Messi wins battle of the superstars

LIONEL MESSI’S wonderful goal in Rome not only made him a European champion, but will almost certainly see him tie up the loose ends in a Champions League sub-plot by overtaking Cristiano Ronaldo as the best player in the world.

Such is the glamour factor surrounding the little Argentine midfielder, who earns inevitable comparisons with Diego Maradona, that last night’s match was billed not only as Barcelona v Manchester United but also as Messi v Ronaldo, the battle for the right to be named the world’s greatest star.

Both finalists, of course, are filled with other big names such as Wayne Rooney, Thierry Henry and opening goalscorer Samuel Eto’o, not to mention Andres Iniesta, whose overall performance placed him just above Messi as man of the match.

But it was Ronaldo and Messi whose faces scowled out from posters across the Eternal City, their names on the lips of every child kicking a football in streets all over the world and their interviews beamed to millions in anticipation of a classic final. And they did their best to live up to it.

Ronaldo, who at 24 is three years older than his counterpart, went into the match as the current world player of the year and having scored in last year’s final in Moscow, his experience showed as he imposed himself on the opening stages.

He saw a free-kick nervously saved by Valdes, hit a trademark long-range effort and flashed an excellent left-foot chance agonisingly wide all within the first 10 minutes.

But his reign was short-lived because Barcelona’s break-away goal, against the run of play, gave Messi a chance to ease his way into the match and provide glimpses of the mesmeric dribbling and clever interplay that make him so special.

By the second half the little maestro was becoming the oil that greased the Barcelona machine, and at times it was a joy to watch, not least when he rose to expertly steer a classic header past Edwin van der Sar from a perfect Xavi cross.

Ronaldo, by contrast, was showing signs of frustration as United waned, and was eventually booked as the English side came to terms with the inevitable.

Perhaps we should have known from the start that Messi would edge this personal duel, because some of the statistics bandied about in the pre-match build-up were illuminating.

Messi, it was revealed by Castrol’s performance index, had out-scored his rival this season, was more clinical in his finishing and created twice as many assists for his team-mates – an impressive 16 during the campaign to add to his now 38 goals.

It was only the fact that Messi had failed to score in 11 attempts against English clubs and had been so subdued in the semi-final ties against Chelsea that put him under more pressure going into the final. But in the end his less flamboyant, less individualistic approach won him the medal.

It’s worth mentioning, however, that when the votes do eventually come in for world player of the year there should be more than two names on the list. Because while everyone was talking about Ronaldo and Messi, Iniesta stole in to make his own case, just as he did against Chelsea.

Iniesta, whose last-minute goal at Stamford Bridge got Barcelona to the final, shone again in Rome and there’s something special about the Spanish midfielder that lifts him above even some of football’s biggest heroes.

It was the Spaniard’s burst from midfield and clever pass to Samuel Eto’o that set up Barca’s victory, and he provided the impetus for so many attacks with deceptive pace on the ball and near-faultless distribution.

Perhaps one day the sponsors, headline writers and commercial gurus will recognise his star quality, too. But for now it is Lionel Messi who is the name on everyone’s lips and after helping make Barcelona the kings of Europe it is only a matter of time before he takes Ronaldo’s much-treasured crown to go with it too.