Opinion: Debating The Debate [A MUST READ]

Football, the most popular sport in the world enjoys a lot of followership all over the world. Various players enjoy worldwide followership ...

Football, the most popular sport in the world enjoys a lot of followership all over the world. Various players enjoy worldwide followership and are idolised in many quarters. In some cases, players are the ones who attract fans to their various clubs due to their superstar status or loveable demeanour.

This status tends to bring up unending player comparisons and debates among fans, with each set arguing none-end about who is superior to the other, but can this debate ever be objective enough not to be objective enough?

Make no mistake, debate is what brings abut thrill among fans worldwide, especially among fans of rival teams where bragging rights are at stake.

For example, a Liverpool fan visiting a pub in Manchester would argue continuously about how he feels Liverpool is still the biggest club in the country.

This despite the fact that Manchester United have surpassed their longstanding record number of 18 domestic titles, last won in 1991. Point is, rival fans would always feel they have a point and would tend to ignore any form of objectivity in debates.

This is especially apparent in debates that involve player comparisons. For the better part of the last decade, world class phenomena, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have been major topics of arguments these kinds.

The fact of the matter is, both sets of fanboys would vehemently defend whoever they prefer for some reason, and whoever you prefer is better. It is as simple as that.

The arguments always point to one being better than the other, but this particular writer is a verified Ronaldo fanboy and still believes Messi is the more talented player.

These two are as polarising as footballers can get, Ronaldo being the powerful, fit unit, with a great deal of arrogance about the way he carries himself on the pitch. Messi on the other hand, is of the small, nimble, fleet footed type, and mostly viewed as a more reserved and humble footballer.

In the opinion of this writer, people of the world live by different principles, and thus, should be allowed to prefer whoever they want. The fact that you prefer a player doesn’t necessarily mean he’s a better player than the other. It just means he has some qualities that appeal to you.

Another trending comparison this season has been the Alexis Sanchez vs Eden Hazard debate.

Both are similar players and logic states that they could and should be compared, but the fact remains, it is nigh on impossible to get an objective point of view from the 2 major protagonists in this, which are, predictably of course, Chelsea and Arsenal fans.

Arsenal fans would point to Sanchez’ slightly better goal record, while Chelsea fans would point to Hazard’s slightly better dribbling record. Both points seem valid, but they were borne out of a great deal of bias towards their players.

There’s no disputing that both have been vitally important for their clubs this season, but as it is virtually impossible to objectively compare their actual footballing abilities, this writer is of the opinion that player comparison is really just a baseless argument