By UZOMA AHAMEFULE

The winning of the Ballon d’Or by Dembélé made me remember the duo of Ronaldo and Messi. Without taking anything away from Dembélé, if 2025 should be one of those days of Ronaldo and Messi he would have ended up as a mere Ballon d’Or nominee. While I congratulate him, his success equally made me feel pity and sorry for Neymar whose talent and achievements were dwarfed, overshadowed and enveloped by the extra gifted, blessed, lucky and equally favored Messi and Ronaldo.

The names of Ronaldo and Messi have struck fear into the hearts of defenders and opponents for years – and perhaps even till today, and they need to be remembered at this juncture of Ballon d’Or. They were so special that even in their worst playing moments, their coaches fielded them because their presence alone on the pitch was dreaded like the way the influence of lions scares hyenas and buffalos to go close to an apparent sick and a dying lion waiting for the last breath.

Therefore, this is a tribute to the best years of Messi and Ronaldo.

In the history of football there has never been a time when two people dominated the world stage like Ronaldo and Messi did. For more than 13 years the duo shared the stages of winning the Ballon d’Or, the most prestigious individual award in football. They caved this niche that they had only themselves to challenge at the highest level.

They punished their opponents for any slight advantage gained and inflicted injuries on them by creating terrible situations out of ordinary circumstances that would not have been hazardous with any other player. That was why they were exceptional and on the lips of every football fan, a threat to every defense and a nightmare to all goalkeepers. Ronaldo and Messi are so famous that they are equally household names even among those who are not football lovers.

It is true that in football, a match cannot be said to have been won or lost until the final whistle, but with Ronaldo and Messi it became even more tense as expectations were higher. They were very dangerous with every touch of the ball and could perform magic with every move.

It was not that the world had never witnessed great players before, after all a player like Maradona was one of the greatest that could even be considered the best player of all time, but his involvement in illegal drugs made nonsense of whatever his talent brought to him. However, these people were not only extraordinarily gifted and worked extra hard as they kept on creating new histories and smashing every known world record, but they were also very disciplined and avoided controversy and scandal. No one achieves great things in life without determination, perseverance, self-control and discipline.

The shots from Ronaldo’s right and left legs were always like thunderbolts and most times accurate like bullets from a machine gun. He jumped so powerfully as if he had natural springs fitted to his heels. He was too fast and smart with the ball switching from left to right. His acrobatic and volley goals set the standard of measurement today. He was a utility player.

For Messi, he may look small in the eyes of some people, but he was full of qualities and too solid to be pushed down. Whenever he moved with the ball, he moved like the soles of his feet were rooted to the ground making it difficult to bring him down with a mere push – stockily solid on the ground and very hard like a rock. The way he played, he made football look easy and very attractive to watch.

The proficiency and the versatility at which these two people switched their movements when they had the ball could be likened to the speed at which chameleons change colors. They were sometimes very slippery like a snake and extremely flexible like a cobra fighting for survival against a mongoose. When the occasion demanded ruggedness, they moved like buffalo, making their opponents look amateur as they pierced and inflicted injuries, regrets and pains on the opposing teams, much to the delight of their fans. And when it became necessary to run faster, they wore the clothes of antelopes and galloped like cheetahs leaving their opponents struggling to catch up behind them.

Succinctly, the moves and the pace of these two outstanding world-record-setting and -breaking footballers were unpredictable. Their passes within the penalty box were classical, precise and often regarded as half goals as their teammates only had to tap them in. They were team players, unselfish, very entertaining, glamorous in dribbling, and delightful to watch.

Within these periods they mesmerized the world with their skills, destroyed opponents’ defense and delivered lethal terror in goalposts – or even before then – we proportionately had equally great players, amazingly talented too like Ronaldiho, Okocha, Zidane, Platini and Neymar etc. Neymar who was very unlucky to be born during the reign of these two extraordinary great players, is unarguably one of the greatest players of all time and equivalently one of the most decorated in the world, but his unfortunate injuries, Messi’s and Ronaldo’s clinical finishes and the special favors that followed them denied him the Ballon d’Or award. What a fate!

Comparatively – like I said earlier – if today had been one of those best years of Ronaldo and Messi, Dembélé would have been good enough only as a Ballon d’Or nominee.

Whatever Ronaldo and Messi achieved in life through football was definitely not by accident, they worked very hard for it, and paid the price too, because talent alone in any field is not enough to bring anyone to world recognition. They were dream players of every coach. If they were cars they would be best described as “full options”. Consequently, whatsoever you do, put in your best and do not be discouraged because of challenges. With consistency, fairness and a never-give-up spirit, you shall overcome.

Will the world be lucky again, to see such players at the same time? I doubt it. But If such should ever happen, I do not see that happening within the next hundred years.

Next year’s 2026 World Cup will probably be the last of the two super stars at the world level. I wish to see them play.

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•Uzoma Ahamefule, a concerned patriotic citizen, and a refined African traditionalist, writes from Vienna, Austria.