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- FIFA World Cup Analysis | Boria Majumdar On Messi, Ronaldo & Football
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Boria Majumdar, co-author of Sachin Tendulkar’s autobiography and sports journalist
The FIFA World Cup started with controversy. The issue of whether Iranian players will get visas or not remained in the headlines. The discriminatory treatment meted out to him also raised many questions. How the referees’ decisions were going in favor of one team (Argentina) also became a topic of discussion. Trump also got involved in the Balogun controversy and there was a lot of discussion about the conversation between Trump and FIFA President Infantino.
The VAR system continues to be a subject of debate. To this also add the problems related to travel between the three organizing countries and the huge expenses incurred on it. But despite all this, the World Cup cannot be called a failure, because both the level of football and the intensity of the matches were of the highest class.
The final match may have been completely one-sided in Spain’s favor, but on the contrary, this World Cup witnessed many classic matches which will remain in people’s memories for a long time. Be it Spain’s brilliant defensive performance against France or Argentina’s strong comeback against England – this tournament was full of thrills.
Take the example of the semi-final, which is still being discussed in London. England were leading 1–0 and the whole of Britain had begun to dream that the trophy was finally about to return home. Then his coach made the mistake of adopting a defensive strategy and 39-year-old Messi got a new life. Argentina started playing like a team that was obsessed with it. England fell apart and the sounds of Argentina’s supporters echoed in the huge stadium in Atlanta. At that time I was present in a pub in London, where there was silence.
Think about Africa for a moment. For the first time, nine teams from this continent had entered this tournament and they left their mark. Be it the inspiring story of Cape Verde – where the nation of five million took Argentina to the brink of defeat, or Egypt – which ended up losing 2-3 despite leading 2-0 – African teams performed brilliantly throughout the tournament.
Morocco has now set a new standard. After reaching the semi-finals in the Qatar World Cup, he has performed far beyond his potential by reaching the quarter-finals in this World Cup. In the times to come, African players will definitely get more opportunities in the major leagues of the world and this World Cup will be a great achievement for them.
Now let’s talk about Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Lionel Messi. In the first two cases, it was amazing to see both the stars give everything for their respective teams. Ronaldo pushed his physical limits to lead Portugal, but ultimately lost in the quarter-finals against Spain.
Ronaldo’s tearful departure from the World Cup despite giving his best shows just how cruel the game can be at times. Neymar also wowed the fans with a penalty goal in Brazil’s final match, but his farewell was not what one would expect from a legendary player. But that’s the game. And as far as Messi is concerned, the debate is over. Every question has been answered. Every critic is speechless. The way he played and led Argentina, despite losing in the final, has established himself as one of the greatest players of all time.
It was a great World Cup. Despite all the controversies, the football seen on the field lived up to the expectations of every fan. And the kind of passion seen among the fans is a proof of why football is the most beautiful game in the world. We have been hearing complaints time and again that despite being a country with a population of 1.4 billion, we are not able to produce world class footballers.
But if we use OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) and PIO (Person of Indian Origin) players, we can also make it to the World Cup. Then we will be writing about our team also. At present the Spanish Armada is dominant. The torch of leadership has passed from Messi to Lamin Yamal.
It was a great World Cup. Despite all the controversies, the football seen on the field lived up to the expectations of every fan. And the kind of passion seen among the fans is proof of why football is the most beautiful game in the world.
(These are the author’s own views)
