In today’s fast-paced world of football, with televised matches almost every night and the opportunity to watch top-quality matches on a far more regular basis it is easy to get caught up and consider it the norm. We as football fans see ourselves as entitled, deserving of what we witness and demanding the best because we watch these teams, we buy their jerseys and we purchase (and play to excess) the video games. In a way, this is true; we are entitled to seeing these stars perform again and again, but when you take a step back to truly admire and look at the football world we have at our fingertips, it is truly awe-inspiring.
Of course, top-class football has always been just that, top-class. But the standard of football we are witnessing from the very best players around today surely surpasses that of their predeccesors from generations gone-by. It was while watching the Ballon d’Or ceremony on television that it hit me. The camera panned the crowd of seats which were filled with the likes of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Radamel Falcao, Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta and Neymar. In these players we have those that occupy the very upper echelon of modern football. Those that are at such a high level and from whom we expect such a high level of consistency that we are disappointed and surprised if they go a game without scoring.
And this is why I believe we are living in a golden age of football, and in particular attacking footballers. While these players may not be any more naturally talented than the likes of Marco Van Basten, Luis Figo or (Brazilian) Ronaldo, they are on such a different level in terms of fitness and especially consistency that it’s mind-boggling. Dont’t mistake this as a disregard of those former greats. These men were some of the greatest players to grace football pitches, but the all-round package of today’s top players is attractive, and impressive.
Today’s footballers in general are a different beast to those of yesteryear. That’s obvious in terms of physicality; today’s players have to be athletes, not merely talented players to excel in the modern game. However, it is the mental fitness and clarity of these very top players that sets them apart not only from the greats of the past, but the majority of their peers. There is such a level of scrutiny and dissection placed on every aspect of these players games but despite this, they perform with the consistency that comes only with true focus.
Up until recently, the measure of a consistent striker was roughly a strike rate of a goal every 2 games, but today’s strikers are rewriting the way we look at strikers. While that original strike rate is still massively impressive, Lionel Messi’s 91 goals in 2012 have shown how attacking players have developed over the past decade.
While nothing would make me happier than to roll back the years and watch Fernando Redondo, Luis Figo, Zidane and others play during their peak, I think we should truly appreciate what we are in the midst of. In my opinion, what we are witnessing today is truly special, a time where what we once expected is surpassed, what we thought impossible is the norm. Lionel Messi is the ultimate personafication of this. These are the greatest footballers that have ever been seen, and to be able to watch them week-in, week-out is a gift from footballing gods.
It may take years for us to truly appreciate it, but it’s hard to deny, this is the age of the phenom.
For more football talk and opinions follow @WayneFarry on Twitter.
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Interesting, but is the era of the flair players, i.e. the Ronaldinhos, the Mark Quigleys, the Gazzages, the Zicos also past, and is this necessarily a good thing?