Pavon replaces di Maria. Boca man who were linked to in a 30m pound move in January.

That was a penalty on Pavon on the other hand. He still did everything he could to make it look like a dive but the rerun doesn't lie. Don't think Argentina have a right to complain all things considered though.

Definitely a penalty. But when you go down looking like Deli Alli, the referee won’t even reach out to the VAR.

Pavon has been impressive since coming on. Wouldn’t mind him on our left wing.

1-1. Full time. Well deserved result for Iceland.

These guys are heroes. What is Haldorsson’s story? Two very good saves.

Nigeria will have to do very well to beat Iceland.

Claudius wrote:

Ronaldo’s standing as a football great will be diminished because people are annoyed that he loves himself a bit much.

That's supposes that views here are reflected of a more general view?
 Pretty much everyone I know, regardless of the club they support, think Ronaldo is a great.

The whole loving himself part actually adds to the aura, why shouldn't he love himself?

y va marquer wrote:
Claudius wrote:

Ronaldo’s standing as a football great will be diminished because people are annoyed that he loves himself a bit much.

That's supposes that views here are reflected of a more general view?
 Pretty much everyone I know, regardless of the club they support, think Ronaldo is a great.

The whole loving himself part actually adds to the aura, why shouldn't he love himself?

That’s Claud doing the sarcasm I believe

No. Was serious. Nobody here knows anything about the personalities and characters of Pele, Maradona, Best, Cruyff, etc. Yet, we will allow Ronaldo’s so called ego to cloud how we perceive his position in footballing pantheon just because he lives in an era of always on tabloids and social media.

And for whatever tics he appears to have, he has managed his career exceptionally well; produced stats beyond anyone in the game; and some outsize accomplishments, particularly in recent years.

That's not really true though Claude? Pele is at least as much in love with himself as Ronaldo, Maradona has a big ego and is nuts on top of it, Best was as known for his off the pitch antics as for his ability on it and Cruyff was a notoriously difficult character to deal with for anyone.

Nobody takes anything away from any of them and Ronaldos place among the greats isn't in contention either. Only two things are still talking points for those who aren't nauseated of it already, him being as good or even better than Messi and his overall personality

I don’t believe his standing as a great would be diminished a single iota because of his personality. I think it’s part of his appeal.

See Zlatan for instance. Even Henry was an egotistical and arrogant person to me on the field. I don’t think very many great players are humble, or aren’t full of themselves. Like y va noted, so long as they have the wins and trophies and records and performances to back it up they will be given their due respect, if not immediately, then in retrospect.

Even here, I remember arguing that Ronaldo was number 1 a few years ago, and receiving some backlash after Messi went out and had a spectacular performance that same day. People saying things like “it’s not even close”... I think a lot of it is the aesthetics of Messi and the ease and efficiency with which he appears to perform his magic. But Ronaldo’s sheer will,goal scoring exploits and ability to step up in crucial moments is admirable as well and I hope when the rivalry is over at the end of their careers we can appreciate them both as two of the greatest players ever, rather than being fixated on who was 1 or 2.

Anyway let’s kick this into the Portugal forum please, the Super Eagles are about to take on the world!!!

Well flobs I think that's the exact problem with the debate, why not simply appreciate the player for what he is? People feel the need to degrade Ronaldo in certain discussions because others feel the need to put him on the same level as Messi.

Maybe when people say it's not close it's because they believe it to be the case and because they're not looking at Ronaldos incredible willpower and other intangible assets but at facets to an attackers game except for scoring like vision, short and long passing, dribbling free kicks and so on. Maybe people aren't simply blinded by his selfabsorbed persona and talk of his good looks but genuinely don't rate him as highly as he does himself.

flobaba wrote:

Anyway let’s kick this into the Portugal forum please, the Super Eagles are about to take on the world!!!

Oh no!
Was looking forward to the fancy Nigerian kit.