Having watched Argentina and Portugal over the last couple of days, it's brought back into focus one of the most tiresome and ludicrous arguments in football. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have nothing to prove to anyone. Sure it would be a dream for them and their country to bring the world cup home but the idea that not doing so tarnishes their legacy in any way is a failure on our part. Here are easily the top two players of their generation, with a chasm between they and the rest of the world and instead of celebrating their achievements and goalscoring records (at a rate nobody ever thought we'd see again) there is this need to pick at the one thing that eludes them.
Football has changed. Though the world cup may still be the apex of the international game, the Champions League has pipped it as far as standards go. Look at the defenders and teams Barcelona and Real Madrid have to navigate as opposed to Portugal and Argentina; continental club football puts forth more challenges for Messi and Ronaldo and they've passed those tests on a weekly basis for the last few years. A tournament held every four years cannot define them when there is already a very clear indication of their talent.
If that weren't enough, I think that as club football has evolved as the game has become much more global and as such, the idea that one player can do it all is now nothing more than a myth. Spain have had success in the past decade through very much a team ethos and identity. Going back even further Greece were able to win Euro 2004 without a superstar because they were so tightly knit. Clichéd though it may be, there are eleven men on a team. That doesn't mean we shouldn't celebrate the extraordinary talents of the individual, but even the best can't do it on their own anymore.
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