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Is Messi becoming the best player ever?

by Bestplayerintheworld.com on March 23, 2010

in Uncategorized

When you use the word “ever”, you really should be in an historical frame of mind. However, Barcelona’s Pep Guardiola and Juan Laporta are not afraid to throw around superlatives, especially after another hattrick performance by their number 10 on the weekend.

Soccernet.com provides the quotes from the Barca manager and president:

Guardiola runs out of words after the last match:

“Put in the superlatives yourselves, I’m running out. It’s already been a while now that he has been outstanding.

“He’s more than decisive in every way. That he’s capable of doing everything that he does at his age is something impressive, that doesn’t make any sense.”

Guardiola on the toothache that almost kept Messi out of the last match:

“For me it’s difficult to leave him out, seeing the form he’s in. He’s an amateur in this sense, he always wants to play.

Laporta on Messi’s place in history:

“Messi has once again shown that he is a wonderful player and that he is, without doubt, the leader of Barcelona. He is the best player in the world and the best in the history of football.

“Along with (Johan) Cruyff and (Diego) Maradona he is the best player we have seen at Barca.”


Tagged as: Lionel Messi

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Expectations rise for Tiger Woods

by Bestplayerintheworld.com on March 19, 2010

in Uncategorized

Writing for the National, former European and US Tour player Philip Parkin talks about his wish for Tiger to be more like Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus in building the sport of golf:

“Tiger loves setting targets for himself, and what an achievement it would be to win all four majors in a season when he played in only four other supporting events, or none at all.

“Whatever schedule he chooses, my big hope is that the best player in the world finds more time for the fans, and for the media, to help repair his badly tarnished image and give something back to the game.”

While Tour player and potential Ryder Cup teammate Corey Pavin hopes that Tiger can summon up the will to play for his country:

“If there’s anybody on this planet that can handle any situation on the golf course, it would be Tiger Woods,” he said.

“He is as mentally tough as anybody I’ve ever seen in my life and I don’t expect for there to be any problems any way. He’s the best player in the world and I want to have him on the team.”

Winning four majors, being more accessible to and friendly with fans and playing for his country – can Tiger pull all of this off? The expectations are high but if anyone can do it – Tiger can.

Tagged as: Wayne Rooney

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Djokovic says Federer is still best player in the world

by Bestplayerintheworld.com on March 19, 2010

in Tennis

Serbian Novak Djokovic is happy for himself and for tennis that he has attained the number two spot in world tennis rankings:

“Right now I think it gets a little bit more interesting for our sport because there’s a bigger group of players, including myself, that is able to win a major event.

But he admits that he still has not reached the level of Swiss legend Roger Federer:

“But still Federer is showing why he is the best player in the world at this moment and probably the best that ever played this game.” (CNN.com)

Tagged as: Roger Federer

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Against Stuttgart Messi shows he is the best

by Bestplayerintheworld.com on March 18, 2010

in Uncategorized

After scoring a hattrick on the weekend against Valencia, Lionel Messi scored two goals against Stuttgart last night to lead Barcelona into the final eight of the Champions League. Is five goals in two matches enough to prove that he is better than Rooney? Here’s how Soccernet.com’s Tom Adams sees it:

“Tormenting the visitors from the Bundesliga with his superior technique and utter genius, Messi was a force of nature. His run and finish for the opening goal was stunning – a mazy dribble followed by a thunderous drive from the edge of the box.

Nine minutes later it was his glorious pass that released Yaya Toure, who squared for Pedro to turn home the second. Messi then made it three in the second half with a quick spin and finish.

Nominally employed in an unorthodox central role in behind Thierry Henry, the reigning FIFA World Player of the Year was given licence to roam the Camp Nou turf and he did not disappoint, exuding threat on either flank or through the middle. But while his masterclass would represent the very peak of excellence for many a professional footballer, for Messi it was not even his best performance in the past week.

On Sunday, he took his league tally to 22 goals in 23 games with a delightful hat-trick against Valencia in a 3-0 win for Barcelona. After Barca’s statement of intent on Wednesday night, he now boasts 29 in 32 games in all competitions. And while Rooney compares favourably in this regard – with 32 in 36 games – there is no disputing that in Messi, Barcelona have the world’s finest player at present.”

Skysports call after Messi’s first goal last night:

“Messi!…Simply the Best!…”

Tagged as: Lionel Messi

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About us

by Bestplayerintheworld.com on March 12, 2010

in About

The general aim of Bestplayerintheworld.com is two-fold: to enable fans to follow the best players in the world in a focused way perhaps not found in the daily news or on sports websites and to help future players become the best players they can be by exposing them to the performances, experiences, messages and lessons of the best.

While our Best Player tag cloud often highlights the top players in the world of soccer / football such as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, increasingly our attention is broadening to other sports like cricket, basketball, tennis, golf and hockey and athletes like Sachin Tendulkar, Lebron James, Novak Djokovic, Tiger Woods and Sidney Crosby.

The term “best player in the world” is in widespread use throughout the sports world. It is the key term used when talking about the great players mentioned above and is a term that young, aspiring players often use. We believe that right now, somewhere some kid is saying to himself, “I want to be the best player in the world”.

Ronaldinho as a boy

Ronaldinho as a boy

Our long-term objective for this project is to build on top of our blog a community in which young players in  a multitude of sports the world over will be able to develop a rich profile and forge relationships with other players, coaches, teams, sports competitions and organizations. It is our belief that while such a community will function within specific sports, it will moreover thrive on sharing across the sports spectrum.

The question we ask is: “What do the very best players in all sports share?”

And sharing is what we hope this project will be all about as we set out to follow and assist the current and future best players in the world.

—

Quote:

Arsenal FC manager Arsene Wenger:

“Life is about performance. It is about hard work. If we live well in society, it is because people before us worked very hard. The guys who invented the vaccine and the aeroplane didn’t lie about. A little boy in a shanty town with belief, talent and attitude can become the best player in the world. With hard work.”   (Telegraph)

Malcom Gladwell, Outliers, p. 285:

“They are products of history and community, of opportunity and legacy. Their success is not exceptional or mysterious. It is grounded in a web of advantages and inheritances, some deserved, some not, some earned, some just plain lucky – but all critical to making them who they are.”

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Will Tiger Woods do a “Kobe” and become the best player in the world again?

by Bestplayerintheworld.com on March 11, 2010

in Basketball,Golf

Dave Perkins of thestar.com asks:

“So what happens if Woods comes back the way Bryant, ultimately, has come back? What if he figures: screw you, I’ll never be what I was before all this hit. But I can still show you all how good I’m going to be.

“Bryant is not the lovable, smiling pitchman any more – if he ever was. He’s kind of a cold-faced assassin, backbone of last year’s championship Lakers team, the guy in whose hands everybody knows the ball is going to be at crunch time. And he still comes through, then acts as if it’s no big deal.”

Perkins could be onto something here. Woods’ situation and his status as best player are very similar to Kobe’s – and so is Woods’ attitude.

So is it only a matter of time before Woods is dominating his sport again in the same way Kobe is dominating his – so long after he was declared the most sinful player in the world?

Tagged as: Kobe Bryant, Tiger Woods

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