Is Ovi NHL's Ronaldo?

[Fire Sweeney]

You have it backwards. Both Messi and Crosby have achieved more than their rivals and are considered better by the majority of people. Why would they be the sour ones?

How did Messi fare in the EPL, Serie A or Bundesliga ? Oops.only played in the weaker ligue 1 and mediocre mls where he can't keep up with the best.

 

[JoVel]

How did Messi fare in the EPL, Serie A or Bundesliga ? Oops.only played in the weaker ligue 1 and mediocre mls where he can't keep up with the best.

As opposed to the incredibly competitive Saudi Arabian league.

I don't think there's much of a discussion to be had between the two of us here when I see you post nonsense like this.

 

[BMann]

Is Ovi NHL's Ronaldo? Many people won't like this cross sports comparison but I will try

Obivously Ronaldo is greater in his own sport as he arguibly the GOAT or close 2'd behind only Messi. While Ovi is barely a Top 10 NHL player ever but there are a lot in common between the two.

- They are both (left) wingers who LOVE to score goals
- Both had a breakthrough season in 2007/08 season
- Both have aged gracefully and still scoring goals. Ronaldo in Saudi and Ovi in NHL (The best hockey league by far) in 2025

Ronaldo is not arguably the GOAT or close second to Messi. In fact there are far better players than Ronald including the real Ronaldo for a start, Maradona, Best, Garrincha, Corbatta, van Haneghem, Zidane, Platini, John Charles, di Stefano, Sivori, Baresi, Beckenbauer & so on.

 

[BMann]

How did Messi fare in the EPL, Serie A or Bundesliga ? Oops.only played in the weaker ligue 1 and mediocre mls where he can't keep up with the best.

Just in case you are suffering from selective amnesia as is common with Messi detractors Lionel destroyed teams from those leagues in the CL.

 

[Fire Sweeney]

Just in case you are suffering from selective amnesia as is common with Messi detractors Lionel destroyed teams from those leagues in the CL.

"Destroyed", yet so far away from the best.

 

[booyakasha]

Is Ovi NHL's Ronaldo? Many people won't like this cross sports comparison but I will try

Obivously Ronaldo is greater in his own sport as he arguibly the GOAT or close 2'd behind only Messi. While Ovi is barely a Top 10 NHL player ever but there are a lot in common between the two.

- They are both (left) wingers who LOVE to score goals
- Both had a breakthrough season in 2007/08 season
- Both have aged gracefully and still scoring goals. Ronaldo in Saudi and Ovi in NHL (The best hockey league by far) in 2025

not "arguably"
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro IS the greatest all time!!

 

[Summer Rose]

"Destroyed", yet so far away from the best.

View attachment 1006572

Isn't this because Lionel Messi is more of a playmaker than a goal scorer? I'm genuinely curious since I don't know a lot about soccer.

 

[JeffreyLFC]

Isn't this because Lionel Messi is more of a playmaker than a goal scorer? I'm genuinely curious since I don't know a lot about soccer.

It's a fake debate.

It would be like calling Ovechkin the GOAT because he scored the most goals in history.

CR7 has incredible longevity and career but in term of achievements, awards and just overall talent. Messi is clear.

I have no issue with people preferring CR7 because he is their idol but they over do it to make it seems like Messi does not exist or as if his achievements are banal which is crazy.

 

[User9992]

Isn't this because Lionel Messi is more of a playmaker than a goal scorer? I'm genuinely curious since I don't know a lot about soccer.

Messi is the greatest goalscorer & one of the greatest playmakers ever.

He is also the greatest dribbler ever. In his prime you couldn't take a ball away from him without fouling him. He could easily dribble the whole opposition squad & score a goal. The most composed player I've ever seen.

 

[Signupnow]

Messi is not a playmaker he is a lazy sloth on the pitch but a better fotball player by definition than Christiano, Like how i feel Ronaldinhio is a better more complete player than Messi. There is no doubt in my mind that 11 Ronaldinhio would beat 11 Messi if it was clones on the pitch.

Messi has always been a group stage player who choke in the important games. even in world cup except for 1 goal when he won the shit he did not score much up to that point , in fact the year he won the award i dont think he scored a single goal outside the grpstage against african nations. And if he did it was like 1

 

[JeffreyLFC]

Messi is not a playmaker he is a lazy sloth on the pitch but a better fotball player by definition than Christiano, Like how i feel Ronaldinhio is a better more complete player than Messi. There is no doubt in my mind that 11 Ronaldinhio would beat 11 Messi if it was clones on the pitch.

Messi has always been a group stage player who choke in the important games. even in world cup except for 1 goal when he won the shit he did not score much up to that point , in fact the year he won the award i dont think he scored a single goal outside the grpstage against african nations. And if he did it was like 1

Look I would take the words of people that played with Messi and trained with him over somebody making things up.
Ronaldinho HIMSELF said Messi was going to be the GOAT when he was 17 years old. He trained with him and he saw it first hand. The guy is not just great, he was impossible to stop.
Thierry Henry said the samething that in training for barcelona after he joined from Arsenal Messi would casually beat all the barca players on the pitch and score goals for fun in training. All Barcelona players laughed at Henry when he suggested this is impossible (Messi was 20 years old at that time). You can hate on Messi because for some reason you don't like him but any players that had the chance to play or train with him would say fabulous things about him.
Mourinho famously said if you are 1 on 1 with Messi you are dead. His plan to prevent Messi while he was Real Madrid manager scoring was to tackle him or take him down as soon as he received the ball.

 

[Sol]

You have it backwards. Both Messi and Crosby have achieved more than their rivals and are considered better by the majority of people. Why would they be the sour ones?

Relax there bro. Crosby might be a bit more complete player but Ovechkins prowess outshines Crosby’s game. You can even say that Portugal didn’t even really have a good team at all if it wasn’t for Ronaldo.

 

[Signupnow]

Look I would take the words of people that played with Messi and trained with him over somebody making things up.
Ronaldinho HIMSELF said Messi was going to be the GOAT when he was 17 years old. He trained with him and he saw it first hand. The guy is not just great, he was impossible to stop.
Thierry Henry said the samething that in training for barcelona after he joined from Arsenal Messi would casually beat all the barca players on the pitch and score goals for fun in training. All Barcelona players laughed at Henry when he suggested this is impossible (Messi was 20 years old at that time). You can hate on Messi because for some reason you don't like him but any players that had the chance to play or train with him would say fabulous things about him.
Mourinho famously said if you are 1 on 1 with Messi you are dead. His plan to prevent Messi while he was Real Madrid manager scoring was to tackle him or take him down as soon as he received the ball.

Yeah but this was a fictional scenario where we put 11 Ronaldinhio Vs 11 Messi. Now you have to understand that R10 is just as talented with the ball as Messi, he is taller, stronger, he is a midfilder who can score goals. Messi is a midget who would have a real hard time when R10 Do crosses and headers well above messis head, Plus messi is lazy as hell and do not run very much.

Messi is a product of his enviroment, If everyone was 160 tall on his team barcelona wouldnt have won so much.

Dont get me wrong i do think Messi Is "better" but he needs a team around him to achieve this that has other qualities than himself while R10 Would be more likely to have a more complete team with 11 clones of himself making him a more complete player. Its like comparing Crosby and Ovie here.

 

[JeffreyLFC]

Yeah but this was a fictional scenario where we put 11 Ronaldinhio Vs 11 Messi. Now you have to understand that R10 is just as talented with the ball as Messi, he is taller, stronger, he is a midfilder who can score goals. Messi is a midget who would have a real hard time when R10 Do crosses and headers well above messis head, Plus messi is lazy as hell and do not run very much.

Messi is a product of his enviroment, If everyone was 160 tall on his team barcelona wouldnt have won so much.

If you truly believe that Messi is lazy than you very misinformed or very young.
Messi was the most difficult player to cover because of his movement, pace and directness of his play, his run and his press made him the most dangerous player in the world at a very early age. Messi as he got older and started to get injured more. Because of his important to Argentina and Barcelona they changed his game/role to be more 'effective', run less, protect him and prevent injuries but lazy he was not. As for the 11 vs 11, it's quite ridiculous talk and pure fantasy. Messi is not a product of his environment he was just the smarter player to ever played football as well as the most complete. He will be remembered as such.

If we go with the Gretzky analogy, it would be like categorising Gretzky as lazy because he was not the most intense player, not the fastest and not the best stickhandler. He was just superior in reading the game just like Messi was in the later part of his career and widely considered the GOAT by all because of his superior talent just like Messi. If you are 5'7 and you can dominate and humiliate the modern day players which are vastly superior on athleticism, training and nutrition than what it used to be than you are very special.

 

[Signupnow]

If you truly believe that Messi is lazy than you very misinformed or very young.
Messi was the most difficult player to cover because of his movement, pace and directness of his play, his run and his press made him the most dangerous player in the world at a very early age. Messi as he got older and started to get injured more. Because of his important to Argentina and Barcelona they changed his game/role to be more 'effective', run less, protect him and prevent injuries but lazy he was not. As for the 11 vs 11, it's quite ridiculous talk and pure fantasy. Messi is not a product of his environment he was just the smarter player to ever played football as well as the most complete. He will be remembered as such.

If we go with the Gretzky analogy, it would be like categorising Gretzky as lazy because he was not the most intense player, not the fastest and not the best stickhandler. He was just superior in reading the game just like Messi was in the later part of his career and widely considered the GOAT by all because of his superior talent just like Messi. If you are 5'7 and you can dominate and humiliate the modern day players which are vastly superior on athleticism, training and nutrition than what it used to be than you are very special.

Its not about being missinformed.
On average, Messi tends to cover around 7-9 kilometers (4.3-5.6 miles) per game. This is a bit lower than many other outfield players, particularly midfielders who often cover more ground.


For comparison:

• Average football players (outfield players) typically cover 10-12 kilometers (6.2-7.5 miles) per match, especially midfielders who are constantly running between defensive and attacking positions.
• Midfielders might average the higher end, often ranging closer to 11 or 12 km in a game.
  
  Go to Barcelona forum and check the well now somewhat old posts about messis work ethics on the pitch and they will tell you the same. Ive watched every barcelona/madrid game since 2006 and its well known messi is not a workhorse , and this i understand that he preserves his energy for offense but he sucks at his defensive duties too , he sucks scoring with his head as well and both the defensive factor and the fact that he sucks in the air makes him incomplete if anything even tho other aspects may weigh up for it such as ball handling, dribbling etc.
  
  And to compare him to players of todays era with Athlesism is not a fair take. Even Marcelo from Real madrid have more talent in his pinky toe than 99% of the current fotball world.

 

[stator]

The 16th toughest soccer league in the world is about a thousand times more competitive than the 16th toughest hockey league, so this is just a terrible comparison. Also, as someone else pointed out, he still plays for the national team and does well there.
He is not in the Saudi league because he is completely washed up, but more so because he has such an ego that he still thinks he should be played and paid a lot more than what he is currently worth, which is not something the bigger clubs were interested in at the time. Hed likely still be playing in one of the major European leagues if he was a bit more humble, but he wouldn't be as dominant as Ovechkin currently simply because of how much more competitive soccer is in comparison to hockey.

But Ovechkin is not playing in the 16th best league in the world.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

Looking at football history,
Ovechkin is more like hockey's Ferenc Puskas.

Both kept scoring lots of goals in their 30s when past their peak.

I really like the Puskas comparison. Puskas has the award for goal of the year named after him and Ovechkin scored the goal of the century against the Coyotes in his rookie year.

If the NHL had an equivalent to the Puskas award, surely it would be named after Ovechkin.