By: Dr. Talal OsmanIt was never in my nature to love Lionel Messi.Not because the man lacks anything, but because I am a son of the Brazilian school the school of free play, joy, dance, and a ball that is played like music, not just kicked.It is natural for a son of Samba to differ from a son of Tango. Footballing passion is like emotional passion… it cannot be explained, only lived.However, I am also not one of those who hide behind numbers.
Numbers are a cold, rigid language that neither resembles what the eye sees nor what the heart feels.
Football is not an accounting table, but a living art.
The great player is the one who adds to the game before he adds to his tally.And yet…When Messi becomes the all-time top scorer in the World Cup,
this is not a number polished by the media,
nor an achievement born out of nowhere.
It is the natural extension of a player who never needed a number to prove himself.I, who adore Brazil from Pelé’s generation to Vinícius’s generation,
passing through everyone who carried the spirit of Samba…
say it clearly today:
In this tournament, Messi has turned the page on any comparison with anyone.Not because others are lesser,
but because the man has reached a realm that only those who possess
talent + consistency + awareness + the ability to reinvent themselves can reach.As for the Phenomenon Ronaldo, he has his own circumstances and fewer World Cups, and he is a special case that cannot be compared to anyone.And Klose?
He doesn’t even enter the context of my talk.
For him, the number is the result.
For Messi, it is a small detail in a much larger painting.Messi deserves the record,
and he deserves to be told that he broke the ceiling the world thought could not be broken.Legends are not measured by what they scored,
but by what they left in the game.And numbers…
were made to be broken. But creativity…
was made to remain.
Numbers are a cold, rigid language that neither resembles what the eye sees nor what the heart feels.
Football is not an accounting table, but a living art.
The great player is the one who adds to the game before he adds to his tally.And yet…When Messi becomes the all-time top scorer in the World Cup,
this is not a number polished by the media,
nor an achievement born out of nowhere.
It is the natural extension of a player who never needed a number to prove himself.I, who adore Brazil from Pelé’s generation to Vinícius’s generation,
passing through everyone who carried the spirit of Samba…
say it clearly today:
In this tournament, Messi has turned the page on any comparison with anyone.Not because others are lesser,
but because the man has reached a realm that only those who possess
talent + consistency + awareness + the ability to reinvent themselves can reach.As for the Phenomenon Ronaldo, he has his own circumstances and fewer World Cups, and he is a special case that cannot be compared to anyone.And Klose?
He doesn’t even enter the context of my talk.
For him, the number is the result.
For Messi, it is a small detail in a much larger painting.Messi deserves the record,
and he deserves to be told that he broke the ceiling the world thought could not be broken.Legends are not measured by what they scored,
but by what they left in the game.And numbers…
were made to be broken. But creativity…
was made to remain.
