There is more to Football (Soccer) than the World Cup

They are fleet footed, skilled, and intense and entirely unstoppable when at top flight. Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are the two best footballers in the world, as ranked by the FIFA 2008 Player of the Year rankings, and they play for Manchester United FC and Barcelona FC respectively, the two teams that will face each other in the UEFA Champions League final this Wednesday May 27th, at 10:30 A.M. PST.

For one month every four years, North Americans take notice of the world’s most popular sport when the FIFA World Cup of Football takes place. Aside from that, the average American or Canadian all but forgets that another form of football exists, thinking there’s no point in watching unless the best of the best are representing their countries at the world’s largest sporting event. Newsflash: high level football exists outside international competitions, and in many cases, club teams are even better than even the best national side.

In sports like basketball, hockey, and baseball, when international competitions occur, it is a chance for a particular country to assemble their best players, and in such cases as Canadian Hockey and American Basketball, they are basically all-star teams – a combination of the NHL or NBA’s best players all on one roster. In football, this may actually be reversed, as the most powerful clubs actually pick the best and brightest players from all the football playing countries in the world and combine them on to these super teams. Manchester United and Barcelona are two such powers.

United’s Ronaldo, the Portuguese superstar, is widely regarded as the best football player in the world. During his 2007/08 season, he scored 42 goals in 46 matches, showing that his heart matches his skills. Barca’s Messi, at just 21, is perhaps more skilled, and even faster than his counterpart, and it’s likely only a matter of time until he overtakes Ronaldo as the world’s best. The Argentinean has already scored 41 goals in 56 matches in his most recent season, and at such a tender age, it is just a sign of things to come.

Manchester’s all-star supporting cast is led by Messi’s country-mate, Carlos Teves, and the English superstar, Wayne Rooney, two players who would headline any other team they played for. Add the 2009 PFA Player of the Year, Ryan Giggs, and the best defensive squad in football, featuring Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra, and it’s easy to see why United are the defending champions.

Barcelona has a reputation as being able to score their way out of any trouble they find themselves in. Never was this on greater display than during the Champions League Semi-Final against Chelsea, where Barca, down by a man due to a red card, needed one goal to make it to the final. In the 93rd minute of the match, Spaniard Andres Iniesta, finished off a wonderful pass from Messi – an incredible last gasp that landed the team in the championship match. Indeed, the team offers many scoring options, as they boast four players ranked in the top 10 of FIFA’s 2008 Player of the Year rankings. Along with Messi and Iniesta, Cameroon’s Samuel Eto’o and Spain’s Xavi Hernandez Creus, are members of that exclusive list. Add Thierry Henry, the French striker who has scored 42 goals in a season, and it is clear why Barcelona’s front line is the most feared in the world.

The odds-makers are calling Manchester United the favorite, based on an all-rounded team, but Barcelona will counter with more fire-power up front. With so much talent on one field, it promises to be a wonderful match, one every sports fan should be watching.