Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Guillermo Ochoa are a special breed of footballer; the first two are known virtually everywhere—to the point where they are icons of football history. While “Memo” is a more localized figure, he has always enjoyed special affection and recognition in Mexico.
All three will be present at this summer’s World Cup, each playing a very different role. Messi will be Argentina’s standard-bearer, the player aiming to make *La Albiceleste* the team to beat. Cristiano will also lead Portugal—though not alone—arriving at the tournament intent on finally securing that coveted World Cup title. Meanwhile, Memo has made Mexico’s squad and will bid farewell to the national team in a role that remains an open question, as the possibility of him seeing game time in a match cannot be ruled out.
Messi, Ronaldo, and Ochoa belong to the “Class of 2006”; it was at that World Cup in Germany that all three first stepped onto the sport’s biggest stage, and now, twenty years later, they are saying goodbye to it.
Football is at peace with Messi
Back in 2006, Leo was just emerging; no one yet had an idea of what his career would become or what kind of player he would turn out to be. His talent was already recognized, but he did not yet hold a prominent position at either Barcelona or with the national team.
As football evolved, so did Leo. With every World Cup he attended, the eternal debate arose: could he be the new Maradona who would lead Argentina to World Cup glory? It was a heavy burden that grew weightier every four years, as time seemed to be working against him.
The endurance and resilience of CR7
Cristiano Ronaldo is a footballer who has polarized the sport; there came a point when people had to decide whether they supported the Portuguese star’s cause or stood against him.
There is no doubt that Cristiano is an exemplary footballer—a man who, ever since Germany, has been determined to be one of the best players on the planet. And he succeeded, though along the way he has had to reinvent himself time and again—especially when results with the national team weren’t going his way.
He has played in five World Cups, displaying immense effort in every one, yet that alone isn’t enough; at times he has been a lone soldier in trench warfare, while at others he has run out of ammunition in decisive battles.
No one can deny that Cristiano embodies pure persistence, having given his all on the pitch to lead his national team to the promised land; yet, as other key figures retired, he was left to shoulder the burden alone. He has been Portugal’s spiritual leader, though on the pitch, he has lacked that final stroke of luck.
