In 1976, when James Hunt came third in the Japan Grand Prix grabbing 4 points which made him the champion edging by 1 point ahead of his far better friend and rival than anyone can get, Nikki Lauda, people thought they are witnessing a rivalry of a lifetime. But many did not know the greatest of all is yet to take a step on earth.
On 18 April 2007 the players of Getafe were not ready, just like the rest of the world, for a 19-year-old kid to go past half of the team to score a goal which showcased the whole new magic one can do with a football on his feet. But no one really imagined how much this kid is going to change the art of football. Somewhere else in Manchester, England, a kid has already become a hero. For a team that has given the likes of Giggs and Scholes, Sir Alex Ferguson found a wonder kid at Sporting who is going to surpass them all. When the Men in Red won the Champions League against Chelsea in May 2008 everyone knew they are seeing a legend in making. But what kind of rivalry it is in which another remains quiet for much longer. The header by 1.7 m tall Lionel Messi in the final of the Champions League, in 2009 gave Barcelona the lead which was never recovered by the champions of 2008. This is still the only final which Cristiano Ronaldo lost and more for the misery, to lose against his greatest adversary. Anyhow, this was only the start of 10-year long journey that every football fan is going to experience which can most certainly be called “A thing in a Lifetime”.
In 2013, a film was released on a similar kind of rivalry between two F1 racers, James Hunt and Nikki Lauda, named “Rush” which was directed by Ron Howard and being a football fan one cannot help himself by not comparing the two racers with the two football giants. And for some strange reason both the characters resemble the two to a mind-bending extent. James Hunt had a charming, athletic, and stud-like persona whereas Nikki was short and never great with the ladies. But Nikki knew everything there is to know about cars and was consistent throughout his career. James won his only championship in 1976 and retired three years later. But this is nothing to the resemblance they show on a much deeper level.
Ronaldo is 33 years old now but still, no one can say he is even a bit slower than when he was 25. What makes a man still work this hard when he has achieved almost everything? That almost. People like him don’t accept anything less than everything. And that is the reason he is still dreaming of that last cup for his enormous cabinet. Goals are not a thing for them that they dream about, they prefer them in reality. Hunt’s only goal was to defeat Lauda and to see that final look on his face. That desire made him do things that no one ever expected. That final race was everything that mattered. Maybe it was a quest for them to be mattered.
How many times have we seen Messi play and then be left with eyes and jaw wide open? Countless. Each move with the football seems like magic performed in front of the eyes with the same question in mind -How did he do that? Maradona is a god to Argentine fans for his unbelievable feat in the 1986 world cup. But did they think that they will produce a player from their own streets like this little genius? There is not a single term in attacking football in which he has not achieved perfection. Precise passing, impossible vision, a prolific goal scorer, and dribbling skills never ever seen of are the kind of terms used for his daily job. A Genius of a century. Genius is also the word used by Ferrari when asked about Nikki Lauda. He was nothing short of a miracle to occur for them. Nikki had a scar left by the burnings in a race which gave Hunt a chance to catch up to him. Where is that scar in the other case? The scar is much deeper than we imagine. Lionel Messi achieved everything with the club by the age he was 25. He was being compared to the giant of Pele, Maradona. Then came the 2014 world cup. An event that he wouldn’t want to remember and will never be able to forget. Argentina was not as complete as Germany or Brazil for a team but still was one of the prime contenders only because of one name. They lost in the finals and it left Messi one shot away from that last feat. Had he had that one last move and the debate might have been over. The scar enlarged as he lost two consecutive Copa America finals, with the wounds of that penalty missed never to be healed.
This also affected the form of Barcelona in the European tournament. Losing in three consecutive quarter-finals where all three were won by their arch-rivals Real Madrid with Ronaldo outperforming Messi in all of them. Maybe he lost some faith in himself after the three defeats. Maybe he is afraid of getting those wounds again which cannot be healed. Maybe, because of his pure genius, we got addicted to the things he did. One thing which seems certain is that we will never again see him playing like he used to do when he scored 91 goals in a year. And this whole time has maybe given Ronaldo a chance to show the world how much greater a contributor he is to world football.
Maybe this debate of the greatest will never end. But what this rivalry has given to football is impossible to replicate. It is easier to find a comet than two find players with the kind of geniuses they are at the same point in time. And we can only hope that after their retirement someone will make a film with Hans Zimmer score behind showing the greatest rivalry a game has ever seen to fill some decimal of void that will be left after the legacy they will leave.
Beyond Minute 90 