Three
way battle for supremacy, featuring all time greats: Thierry Henry vs Ronaldo
De Lima vs Raul Gonzalez.
With the recent
retirement of Raul Gonzalez, it is audible to the deaf, and visible to the
blind that soccer, the most followed sports on planet earth has witnessed the
end of an era. Whenever there is an argument as to who the best striker is,
three names easily come to mind, Ronaldo De Lima, Thierry Henry, and Raul
Gonzalez.
Other strikers like
Alan shearer, Van Nisterooy, Filipo Inzaghi,
Samuel Eto' o fils, Didier Drogba and Andriy Shevchenko come to mind,
but then, none other than the trio of Ronaldo De Lima, Raul Gonzalez and
Thierry Henry distinguished themselves more between the 1990's to 2000's, up to
this moment, 2015 and for obvious reasons, the plethora of goals they scored
for club and country, the amount of individual awards won and trophies, the
beautiful solo goals, the way they decided matches for their teams, with sheer
moment of individual brilliance, breathtaking goals, awesome freekicks, and
when they have injuries, their absence tells on the performances of their team.
So, I have decided to try and halt the dispute as to who is actually the
greatest amongst the trio as they battle for supremacy in this article, let's
see who stands heads and shoulders above the rest, who is the most supreme?
Quick
factfile about those battling for
supremacy.
Full name- Thierry
Daniel henry
Country- France
Clubs played for-
Monaco, Juventus, Arsenal, Barcelona, New York red bulls.
Position- striker.
(Started as a winger for Monaco and juventus)
Career goals for club
and country- over 300
Career
high points: 6 trophies with Barcelona in 2009; the Spanish la liga,
the Copa Del Rey, the UEFA champions league, Supercopa De Espana, the UEFA super
cup, and the FIFA club world cup. EPL,
FA cup winner with Arsenal, member of 49 unbeaten run with Arsenal, record goal
scorer for France, 4 time highest goal scorer in the EPL , World cup1998, EUROS
2000 and 2003 FIFA confederations cup winner with France. Eastern conference
title and MLS supporter’s shield , with new York red bulls. All time highest
goal scorer for Arsenal, has been named in the UEFA team of the year 5 times.
PFA players player of the tear twice, and FWA footballer of the year three
times.
Career
low points:
lost both world cup final with France in 2006, and champions league with arsenal
same year. Never won the FIFA world player of the year award or ballon d’or.
What
others say about him: I have to say I haven’t seen a player like
him. He is an athlete with great technical ability and a tremendous desire to
be the best- Alan Smith.
Full name- Raul
Gonzalez
Country- Spain
Clubs played for-
Real Madrid, Schalke 04, Al Sadd, New York cosmos
Position- striker
Career goals for club
and country-over 400
Career high points: 3 time UEFA champions league winner, multiple
time La liga winner with real Madrid, uefa super cup winner, supercopa de
espana winner, dfb pokal cup winner with schalke 04,dfl super cup winner with
schalke 04 all time highest goal scorer for real Madrid and spain( records now
belong to c.ronaldo and david villa), third highest goal scorer in uefa
champions league history. Scored in two UEFA champions league finals, only player
to be named UEFA club forward of the year three times, in 2000, 2001, and 2002,
never received a red card, 2 time pichichi trophy winner with Real Madrid.
Raul
with the UEFA champions league trophy.
Career
low points:
never won the fifa world player of the year award or ballon d’or, finishing 2nd
in ballon d’or 2001, and 3rd in 2001 FIFA world player of the year.
Never won any major trophies with spain.
WHAT
OTHERS SAY ABOUT HIM: I think he is the greatest player to have
ever played the game. He walks on the turf and astounds. It is utterly amazing-
luiz figo.
Raul Gonzalez
Full name- Ronaldo De
Lima Nazerio
Country- Brazil
Clubs
played for-
Real Madrid, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Ac Milan, Corinthians, psv, cruzerio
Career goals for club
and country- over 300.
Ronaldo Delima
Career
high points: 2 time world cup winner with brazil, 2nd
highest goal scorer in world cup history, fifa confederations cup winner, three
time fifa world player of the year winner, two time ballon d’or winner, 2nd
highest goal scorer for brazil, golden boot winner 2002 world cup, 1998 world
cup golden ball winner, two time copa America winner, dutch cup winner with
psv, eredivisie top scorer in 1995, uefa cup winner, copa del rey and supercopa
de espana winner with Barcelona, European golden shoe winner, youngest player
to win fifa world player of the year at just 20 in 1996, la liga winner with
real Madrid, intercontinental cup in 2002, and Spanish super cup in 2003, two
time pichichi trophy winner.
Career
low points:
never won the uefa champions league.
WHAT
OTHERS SAY ABOUT HIM:
Ronaldo did things
nobody had seen before. He, together with Romário andGeorge Weah, reinvented
the center-forward position. They were the first to drop from the penalty box
to pick up the ball in midfield, switch to the flanks, attract and disorientate
the central defenders with their runs, their accelerations, their
dribbling."
Former France striker
Thierry Henry.
Criteria
to assess supremacy for strikers,
Here are the criteria
that will be used to assess supremacy,
(1)
solo goals/
breathtaking goals (2) one
v one dribbling (3) free kicks (4) positioning (5) finishing
(6) headers. speed and penalty
specialist will be bonus categories to determine in the scenario where it is
difficult to select the overall winner.
LET
THE BATTLE BEGIN
Seasoned sports
analysts who are on air personalities with unilag fm 103.1 have been asked to
pick who is the best in various criteria between the trio of raul, ronaldo and
henry, so, I will sandwich their opinions with mine, alongside bringing back
scenarios of how those players did magical stuffs, enjoy.
Flashback
from the past (Henry’s solo goal against Liverpool)
April
9th 2004, Arsenal vs Liverpool
A game arsenal came
from behind to beat liverpool 4-2 with Thierry henry scoring a hat trick, with
the 3rd goal highlighting the kind of solo goal even your opponents
will never forget, the defenders henry skipped past like they were not there
will never love their children to see the clips of the match, as seen in the match
report of the match on arsenal’s website, picking up the ball 25 yards out, the
Frenchman shrugged off one challenge and then turned on the turbo to weave
through the Liverpool defence. Then he came face-to face with Dudek. But the
keeper had little chance and he stroke home his 33rd goal of the
season, oh my, what a beautiful goal it was.
Flashback
from the past(Ronaldo scoring a memorable goal for Barcelona)
11th
October 1996 scored at SD compostela
As seen on Ronaldo’s
Wikipedia page, having received the ball inside his own half, he evaded a
cynical tackle of the first opponent with a drag back, before running away from
another and ran towards the goal where he went past two more defenders in the
box with close control, and then slotted the ball into the bottom corner of the
net, the camera then cut to Barcelona manager Bobby Robson who had got up off
the bench and clasped his head in disbelief of what he had seen. The footage of
the goal was later used in a nike advert with a voiceover asking: “imagine you
asked God to be the best player in the world and he listened to you”
Flashback
from the past(Raul Gonzalez scoring a wonderful goal against at. De Madrid)
Raul Gonzalez scored
many great goals for real Madrid, but this wonderful goal against the team he
grew up playing for before gaining world wide recognition, Athletico Madrid, in
the 1994/1995 season is one for the ages, may look easy on the eye, but it
takes natural deadly finishers like raul Gonzalez to put in the ball like that,
receiving a pass from his teammate wearing the number 10 jersey, who delivered
a sumptuous pass unto the path of raul Gonzalez, from the left wing about 30 yards out, the ball
reaching Raul just inside the opponent’s box 18, he swept the ball over the
goalkeeper like a lob cum shot, the goalie was left stranded, I tell you, there
is nothing any goalkeeper in the world could have done about that goal, what a
magnificient goal from a youngster that would go on to rule the world of
soccer.
EXPERTS
OPINION AND THEIR CHOICE
Julian ajunwa, OAP
unilag fm- ronaldo de lima for solo goals/breathtaking goals
Ibk sports, OAP
unilag fm- ronaldo delima for solo goals
Dare Italian mafia,
OAP unilag fm says it’s a tie between ronaldo de lima and Thierry henry
Personally, I go for
ronaldo de lima and Thierry henry
The overall winner
has to be ronaldo de lima, when your breathtaking goal is so good it earns you
an advert with nike. Parabenizacao to ronaldo de lima
One
v one drbbling
A finisher or a
striker is not known to be a good dribbler like the average midfielder because
the primary job of a striker is to put the ball into the back of the net, but
this trio have still managed to distinguish themselves from an average striker,
Thierry and Ronaldo Delima were known to do step overs, elasticos, nutmegs,
they are strikers a defender will not want to come up against, ask Carragher
what he went through coming up against Thierry henry while both played for
Liverpool and Arsenal, ask the ghanian defenders what they went through coming
up against ronaldo delima at the second round of the world cup, when brazil met
Ghana, he even still had time to breeze past the goal keeper with some
stopovers.
Ronaldo drbbling the Ghanian goalkeeper at
the 2006 world cup
EXPERTS
OPINION AND THEIR CHOICE
Julian ajunwa’s view,
OAP, unilag fm103.1 on one v one dribbling- ronaldo de lima
Dare’s view, OAP,
unilag fm 103.1 one v one drbbling- ronaldo de lima
Ibukun aluko’s view
OAP, unilag fm 103.1 one v one dribbling- ronaldo delima
My own personal view-
it’s a tie between Thierry henry and ronaldo delima
Results for one v one
dribbling: with 4 votes going to ronaldo, 1 to Thierry henry, and none to raul
Gonzalez, we have a clear supreme striker on one v one dribbling- parabenizacao
to Ronaldo de lima.
Ronaldo
with one of his individual awards.
Team
trophies and individual awards
I decided to play out
a scenario of arguments between the trio of Thierry Henry, Ronaldo Delima and Raul
Gonzalez, they were discussing amongst themselves about who is the most supreme,
who won more team trophies and
individual awards, excerpts:
Lets start with club
trophies achievements says Raul Gonzalez, I won it all with Real Madrid, the La
Liga, about 6 times, the champions league three times, I even scored in two
champions league finals…
Thierry Henry cuts in
abruptly, and says; Raul, halt there, I heard that you never won the Copa del Rey
with real Madrid, what a pity, I transferred to Barcelona and won six trophies
in one year, in 2009, including the Copa Del Rey you failed to win, I won it
with Barcelona, I won the FA cup with Arsenal, won the league in England, and
we went an entire season undefeated, and Ronaldo Delima, I heard you have never
won the Uefa Champions league?
Ronaldo says: I was
unfortunate not to win the Uefa champions league, despite playing for all the
big teams, but then, I won the Uefa cup, the Copa Del Rey, Supercopa De Espana,
La Liga with Barcelona, Dutch cup with
PSV…….lets talk about team trophies with our various countries
Ronaldo de lima says:
I won the world cup with brazil in 1994, as a teenager, lost in the 1998 world
cup final, came back four years later to win the 2002 world cup, I also won the
fifa confederations cup with brazil, who can match that? No one, except the
great Pele.
Thierry Henry says:
wait, I also won the world cup with France in 1998, a match in which my country
France, beat your country brazil, Ronaldo, 3-0 in the final, I won euros with
france in 2000, and I also won the fifa confederations cup with France, and so,
Raul Gonzalez, what do you have to say?
Raul Gonzalez: oh
shit, nothing, it’s a disgrace, my trophy cabinet for the national team, Spain is empty, oh what a shame for a legend like me
*Raul Gonzalez
murmurs to himself; if only I was called up for Euros 2008 at the least*
Raul Gonzalez says,
lets talk about individual awards, I came 2nd in Ballon d’or
rankings in 2001, and 3rd in FIFA world player of the year rankings
in 2001, I am the former all time highest goal scorer for real Madrid and
spain, third highest goal scorer in the UEFA champions league history, only
player to be named uefa club forward of the year three times, in 2000, 2001 and
2002, 2 time pichichi trophy winner, and I have never collected a red card……
Thierry Henry cuts in
abruptly and says: oh raul, so, not collecting a red card is an individual
award? Please spare me, I am a 4 time highest goal scorer in the English
premier league, European golden shoe winner, won the PFA players of the year
award twice, fwa footballer of the year three times, I have been named in the
uefa team of the year 5 times and in 2003 and 2004, I finished 2nd
to both Zidane and Ronaldinho respectfully in the FIFA world player of the year
award…
Ronaldo De Lima cuts
in immediately and says: oh Henry, it’s a pity you have never won the Ballon
d’or and players like Nedved and Owen have, no disrespect to them though, which
of you boys have ever claimed the biggest individual trophy in world football?
*Thierry henry and
raul gonalez keeps mum* only managing to stutter.
Ronaldo continues,
you see my friends, I am the most supreme in this category, check my career
high points in this article, I am also a European golden shoe winner, youngest
player to win the fifa world cup, 2nd highest goal scorer for the
Brazilian national team, 2nd highest goal scorer in world cup
history, golden boot winner at the 2002 world cup, 1998 world cup golden ball
winner, what more guys?
*ronaldo drops mic*
Curtain closes.
Ronaldo Delima kissing one of his famous
individual awards.
FREE-KICKS
Battle for the dead
ball specialist
Julians view- Thierry
henry
Dare’s view- Thierry
henry
Ibk sports- Thierry
henry
My personal opinion-
Thierry henry
It looks like we have
a clear cut winner in this category, felicitations Thierry
POSITIONING
This is a big plus
for any striker, right place at the right time, avoid getting trapped by the
defenders, lets see who is the king at positioning?
Julian Ajunwa says- Raul
Gonzalez
Dare Italian mafia
says- Raul Gonzalez
Ibk sports says- Ronaldo
My personal opinion-
Raul Gonzalez
The clear winner of
this category is the Spainard raul Gonzalez, felicitation
FINISHING
Its one thing to be
in the box at the right time, its another thing to be able to finish properly,
how good are you at converting half chances?
My personal opinion-
Raul Gonzalez
Ibk sports- Ronaldo
de lima
Dare Italian mafia-
Raul Gonzalez
Julian Ajunwa-
Ronaldo de lima
So, it’s a tie, I am
surprised Thierry does not get any nod in this category.
HEADERS
Another good quality
of a striker, every coach loves a striker who can compete against the defenders
for air ball, and accurately convert a nice cross with his head…
My personal opinion-
Raul Gnzalez
IBK SPORTS- Ronaldo
Julian- Raul
Winner of this
category, Raul Gonzalez.
Raul Gonzalez
SUMMARY
OF RESULTS
Categories won bt
raul Gonzalez- headers, positioning
Categories won by
Thierry henry- free kicks
Categories won by
ronaldo de lima- one v one drbbling, solo goals/breathtaking goals.
Category with a tie-
finishing, a tie between ronaldo and raul.
In all, it’s a tough
one to pick from the trio, but from the summary of the results, since we have a
tie between raul Gonzalez and ronaldo de lima, based on the fact that the duo
won two categories each, the final attribute I will use to judge are: SPEED and PENALTY SPECIALIST
As evident in most of
the great goals scored by Ronaldo during his career, it takes someone with
great speed to score them, and truth be told, from their style of play, raul
Gonzalez was not that striker to bank on his pace to get past defenders, while
ronaldo always wants to put the ball on the run and use his pace to beat
defenders.
The penalty
specialist between ronaldo de lima and raul Gonzalez has got to be ronaldo de
lima
. So there we go, THE OVERALL WINNER
OF THIS BATTLE FOR SUPEMACY STRIKER’S
EDITION IS RONALDO DE LIMA with RAUL
GONZALEZ 2ND and THIERRY
HENRY 3rd.
Hope
you enjoyed the very first edition of battle for supremacy?
Watchout for the
attacking midfielders edition feauring Ronaldinho vs Zidane vs Dennis Bergkamp.
Gracias
As written by;
Adekanye Opeoluwa(West)
08085552449
@adekanye52 on
twitter
Adekanye52@gmail.com
Henry is good raul is good ronaldo is the best and rossi ojo is world best
ReplyDeleteLMAO, what is a Rossi Ojo? Lol, thanks for reading the article, bless up
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