The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

Posted: 03 Dec 2012 03:44 PM PST

DEC 4 — By his own extremely high standards, Cristiano Ronaldo has endured a relatively disappointing season.

True, he's the second top scorer in La Liga as well as registering a hat-trick against Ajax and a last-minute winner against Manchester City in the Champions League, so his campaign has hardly been a disaster.

But the Portuguese ace has rarely been able to grab hold of games and force them to follow his preferred path, as was so often the case during Real Madrid's brilliant title campaign last season.

Ronaldo celebrates after scoring a goal against Atletico Madrid during their Spanish first division match at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid on December 1, 2012. — Reuters pic

A decent number of his goals have been penalties, and many others have been scored at fairly insignificant moments in games that had already been easily won. With a few exceptions, on the occasions that Madrid have really needed their star player to step up and deliver — in the losses against Sevilla, Betis and Getafe, for example — he has failed.

That all changed on Saturday. In a local derby against Atletico that Madrid absolutely had to win to preserve their slim chances of challenging for the title, Ronaldo was simply magnificent, reminding us all once again that he is a truly exceptional player.

He made a quiet start as Atletico narrowly edged the tense early exchanges, but then Ronaldo single-handedly changed the course of the game: first he won a free-kick 25 yards from goal with a cheeky bit of keepy-uppy, and then he thrashed home the set-piece with one of his trademark dipping, fizzing strikes.

It was unstoppable, breathtaking and sublime; a magical piece of football that very few players who have ever laced up their boots could have replicated.

And there was more to follow as Ronaldo produced a majestic second-half performance, creating his team's second goal for Mesut Ozil to seal the victory and then twice hitting the woodwork as Madrid attempted to rub salt into their neighbours' wounds.

By the end, Ronaldo was looking like his old self — showboating with a series of hip-wiggling stepovers to delight the Bernabeu crowd and infuriate the vanquished opposition. The old strut and swagger were back; the arrogance and unshakeable self-belief that helps set Ronaldo apart from most of his peers.

But in the four words at the end of that sentence lies the inescapable problem that Ronaldo will probably never overcome: "most of his peers". Most of them, but not all... because Ronaldo is destined to spend the rest of his career living in the considerable shadow of the incredible Lionel Messi.

The very same Messi who, earlier on Saturday evening, scored two more goals for Barcelona to take his personal tally for 2012 to an astonishing 84 — just one short of Gerd Muller's all-time record for a calendar year. Even on one of Ronaldo's most magical evenings, Messi had found a way to claim a share of the spotlight — and you can bet your bottom dollar that Cristiano absolutely hates it.

Gary Neville, Ronaldo's former teammate at Manchester United, recently wrote in his newspaper column that the young Ronaldo, shortly after arriving at Old Trafford, regularly spoke to the other players at United about his desire to become recognised as the greatest player in the world.

It was a revealing insight because players rarely leave themselves so open to the ridicule and scorn of their teammates by making such conceited boasts in the "banter"-dominated environment of the dressing room. The done thing is to show a bit more humility, even if it's fake. Even if you think you're a much better player than the other guy who's got your place in the team, you keep quiet and wait for your chance to prove it.

Not Ronaldo, though: he wanted to be the best and he had no problem in telling everyone within earshot — even battle-hardened fellow professionals like Neville. His confidence in his ability was so high that he was perfectly prepared to put his neck on the line and declare exactly how good he thought he was.

And in most generations, his wish would have been realised. Ronaldo is a phenomenal talent, balancing exquisite ball skills with brutal physicality and raw speed. He can shoot with force and accuracy, with either foot, from any range or angle; he heads the ball with violent accuracy (probably his most under-rated asset); he possesses an unquenchable appetite for goals and glory; and he boasts an unmatched level of fitness.

If Ronaldo was living 10 years ago, or 10 years from now, he would indeed be the best player in the world. The problem is, he's not; he's living here and now, in an era that will always be remembered as belonging to Lionel Messi.

When the FIFA Ballon d'Or award for the world's best player is presented in January, it will be an enormous surprise if Messi doesn't get the nod to become the first player to ever win the award for four consecutive seasons (Michel Platini won it three times in a row in the Eighties).

After all, how on earth could you vote against Messi at the end of a year that will inevitably end up being the most successful 12 months of goalscoring in the history of the game? Ronaldo is great, of course — but Messi is greater still. And for a man who has so openly spoken of his desire to be acknowledged as the very best — not the second best — that's got to hurt.

On Saturday night, Ronaldo produced a stupendous performance. He was the difference between the two teams and it's probably fair to say that without him, Real wouldn't have won. It was a thrilling reminder of his awesome talents. However — and time may prove this theory to be false — it's impossible to escape the conclusion that whatever Ronaldo does, Messi will always do something slightly better.

Ultimately, Ronaldo is blessed because he's one of the greatest footballers in the history of the game; but he's also cursed in equal measure because he'll always be remembered for being not quite as good as Messi.

* The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

Figuratively speaking

Posted: 03 Dec 2012 03:33 PM PST

DEC 4 — Reading the news about Pahang Mentri Besar Adnan Yaakob teaching Bahasa Inggeris to his fellow Malaysians, particularly his critics, made me rush to my dog-eared dictionary to check on what "figure of speech" really means because for a fleeting moment I dreadfully thought that it was also synonymous with a particular hand gesture. But, alas, it was not the case.

This came about when, approached by reporters during the recent Umno general assembly, Adnan insisted that Barisan Nasional (BN) would not lose the parliamentary seat of Bentong, Pahang because of the controversial Lynas plant in the state. And it appeared that he was so cocksure that he promised to cut off his ears and jump into the Pahang River if rival DAP did win the seat in the forthcoming general election.

True to his confident self, he adroitly deflected criticisms against his seemingly arrogant remark, which instantly became viral. Anyone proficient in the English language would have unconditionally concurred with him that his statement was indeed a figure of speech. Only those whose grasp of the language is weak — and there are many in our country as the Pahang gentleman would attest to it — would have missed his skilful use of English.

Adnan's subsequent retort isn't really an indication of a person who's chickening out, metaphorically speaking. But given the kind of politics that prevails in our society, his detractors would predictably disagree with him till the cows come home — no conscious association with, or reference to, cows living in condos though.

Students of English, be they in schools, colleges or universities, should take note of this incident as a lesson to be learnt. Clearly, Adnan has fallen victim to linguistic quibble. Surely they are aware that there are expressions in the English language where certain words cannot be taken literally. One should not see the word, I mean wood, for the trees.

Take the example of the expression "going the extra mile". Adnan is correct in concluding that the long walk undertaken by the Kuantan folks to Kuala Lumpur recently, who staged a protest over the issue of the Lynas rare earth project, technically did not take place. He should know better than many of these walkers that "going the extra mile" is merely a figure of speech — and if you don't get it, you'd stick out a mile. Furthermore, the mentri besar would also understand that a miss is as good as a mile.

And if one were to go the whole hog — and this is not being irreverent, am not trying to attach the pig label to anyone — the possible industrial leakage that has become the deep concern of residents of Kuantan and around it, environmentalists, social activists and politicians is surely not the same as the sort of "leakage" expressed some time ago by the present Kinabatangan MP. Neither is the Kinabatangan notion the same as the "financial leakages" that have been bleeding the country dry.

Doubts about the safety of Lynas obviously have bedevilled the residents in the area notwithstanding the assessment conducted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). This certainly isn't a case of "it's better the devil you know than the devil you don't" because, as they say, the devil is in the details (and not the one with two horns and green in colour to boot).

Finger-pointing at the outsiders of Kuantan as a way of locating the cause of these doubts, as Adnan did, is as much a figure of speech as it can be a literal action. The Pahang politician, whose forte is hand gestures, would know this better than anyone who thinks that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush! And here Heaven forbid those who even ponder whether to take this proverb literally.

Perhaps what is sorely needed here is for the local leaders like Adnan to have a face-to-face meeting with the local communities in the area concerned so that what is articulated by the two parties does not fall on deaf ears. It is absolutely crucial that this issue at hand be addressed adequately. And, to be sure, we haven't even started talking about body language here.

Some people may still insist that this brouhaha is the price to be paid for a politician like Adnan who has purportedly become cocky.

I wouldn't venture into this metaphorical area if I were you as the seasoned politician from Pahang may well spring into action yet again.

You might just find yourself, consequently, losing your marbles.

* The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

Selasa, 4 Disember 2012

The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

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