El Clasico Can Give Glimpse into Life Beyond Cristiano Ronaldo vs. Lionel Messi
They've been inseparable thus far, their excellence so unwavering it's been almost frightening. Leaders, commanders, they've put others on their backs and marched ahead, their current dominance unquestioned, their names unable to be mentioned without the other.
And like everyone else, you know exactly who they are.
Neymar and Luis Suarez, that's who.
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"The goalden boys," said an impressed Marca in the capital. "Show-stopping partners in crime," it added. Over in Catalonia, Sport said "Neymar has exploded," while Villarreal manager Marcelino labelled the Brazilian "the most decisive player in the league." Alfonso, who played for both Barcelona and Real Madrid, went even further, saying "Neymar is making people forget Messi."
That's not strictly true, of course; Lionel Messi will never be forgotten. But the point still stands that in the Argentinian's absence, Barcelona's excellence has been founded upon others in a way that it hasn't been at any point in the current decade.
Right now, Neymar leads the hunt for the Pichichi, and it's team-mate Suarez who's right behind him. Between them, they've accounted for every single goal Barcelona have scored in the league since Messi's injury on September 26. In all competitions, they've netted 20 of the team's 23 goals in that period. What's more, Barcelona have won eight of the nine games in that stretch and now sit top of the league heading into Saturday's Clasico at the Santiago Bernabeu.
In short, Messi hasn't been around, but it hasn't hurt in the way we expected.
Over at Real Madrid, meanwhile, circumstances are different, but there's a similar feeling.
For probably the first time since his arrival, Cristiano Ronaldo hasn't been his club's outstanding figure. Instead, Keylor Navas has, and behind him are perhaps Karim Benzema, Casemiro and Marcelo. Ronaldo still has 13 goals in all competitions, yes, but eight of those came in the space of four days, and he hasn't quite been the Ronaldo we know; the sensations have been off. "Bad vibes," said Marca.
Suddenly, then, there's a different feel about the Clasico. A different whiff about it. Though Ronaldo and Messi still rule their respective kingdoms, you can see change coming for the complexion of this duel. As others step up and ascend to prominence, there's evidence visible that points to a not-too-distant future in which the Clasico is not defined purely by football's most famous two-man battle—in which Real Madrid vs. Barcelona is not seen through the prism of Ronaldo vs. Messi.
We're not there yet, of course, but in being about other stories and other men, Saturday's Clasico will be the first step in that direction.
A new direction.
As recently as October 7, 2012, this rivalry had bordered on being a boxing match, a heavyweight title fight: Two in the ring, a colossal audience watching on and everything on the line.
In the two years prior to that clash at the Camp Nou, Ronaldo and Messi had made the Clasico theirs: Messi had dominated the 5-0 thrashing of Real Madrid in late 2010; they'd both scored in a 1-1 draw in the next league clash; Ronaldo scored the winner in the 2011 Copa del Rey final; two weeks later, Messi's two goals decided the teams' Champions League semi-final meeting.
And it kept going.
In August 2011, both men scored in the second leg of the Spanish Super Cup, but it was Messi's brace that won it; Messi's sublime run and assist for Alexis Sanchez was pivotal in a 3-1 victory for Barcelona at the Bernabeu; Ronaldo then bagged two goals and Messi bagged two assists across their Copa del Rey quarter-final tie; later that season, it was Ronaldo's winner at the Camp Nou that effectively clinched the league title; at the beginning of the following season, both men scored twice across the two legs of the Spanish Super Cup.
And then October 7, 2012, arrived.
It was the ultimate Ronaldo vs. Messi showdown: Ronaldo scored first. Then Messi. Then Messi again. Then Ronaldo again. In possibly unprecedented fashion, two behemoths of their sport went blow for blow on the same stage, the pair somehow managing to eclipse all else in a contest that eclipses all else.
"Monsters, Inc.," said Marca. Monsters, alright. The four goals took the pair to a combined 100 strikes for that calendar year.
But it was more than just their dominance. It was that they achieved it as staggering personifications of their respective clubs—Messi is Barcelona; Ronaldo is Real Madrid—every fibre of each man coming together to form a modern representation of his club's identity.
It was, therefore, inescapable: The Clasico had become about them.
But not so much this time.
When Real Madrid and Barcelona walk out onto the Bernabeu pitch on Saturday, the feeling will be different to what we've grown accustomed to.
Still recovering from injury, Messi isn't guaranteed to start and might not hit top gear even if he does, while Ronaldo enters this clash on the back of two extremely peripheral performances and a sense of discomfort surrounding him.
Consequently, others matter this time in a way they haven't before. Others such as Navas. Such as Casemiro. Such as Benzema. Such as Sergi Roberto. Such as Suarez. You know who aren't making all others irrelevant, and it's evident everywhere you look. On the day of writing, Sergio Ramos is on the front cover of Marca, Navas is the focus of AS and Suarez's picture dominates the front cover of Sport. The stat sheets are led by other names, too.
But more than that, this time, because of form and an injury layoff, it's not Ronaldo and Messi who feel practically guaranteed to decide the game's outcome. For the hosts, it's James Rodriguez who feels most threatening; for the visitors, it's Neymar. Two 20-somethings, the Colombian and the Brazilian already feel like the future of this contest, maybe its next two-man battle, and Saturday's meeting could very well signal the beginning of a shift in the Clasico landscape.
It won't happen overnight, of course. It won't happen this year. It won't happen this season, even.
But it will happen.
At 28, Messi is still in his peak years, but on the other side of the divide, Ronaldo is approaching the latter stages of his.
Now 30 and soon to be 31, the Real Madrid icon has already passed through an evolutionary period in his career—something that inherently points to a player progressing beyond their physical peak—the foundation of his game changing from power to precision and therefore forcing changes around him.
Most notably, there's now increased responsibility on the shoulders of others: Benzema is critical to the system's fluency, Rodriguez links the attack with the midfield and Gareth Bale has become important to team's athletic definition.
More than it has been previously, then, Ronaldo's effectiveness has become intertwined with those around him, his team's success no longer entirely built upon his vicious boots. So while it's uncomfortable to contemplate for Madrid and those connected to the club, the reality is it's unlikely the Portuguese will retire in Chamartin; the demand for unrelenting dominance doesn't allow for greats to enjoy twilight periods.
Just look at Alfredo Di Stefano. Or Raul. Or Emilio Butragueno. Or Pirri. Or Hugo Sanchez. Or Fernando Hierro. Or Michel. Or Guti. Or Iker Casillas.
The precedent is there.
As such, we're steadily progressing toward the date when the Clasico will be without Ronaldo. Without one of half of what has defined this rivalry for the better part of a decade. Without the in-house heavyweight title fight. Without the most compelling two-man battle football has ever seen.
Without Ronaldo vs. Messi. And the latter will one day follow his great rival off the stage.
It's unavoidable. But the Clasico will live on anyway, and Saturday's meeting between this pair of colossal clubs might just give us a first glimpse into that future. A glimpse of a Real Madrid-Barcelona future led Rodriguez. Led by Neymar.
Led by others. Others who matter as well.
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