Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi... before it became all ab

Cristiano Ronaldo v Lionel Messi. The grandfather of all footballing debates. As we take a break from live sporting action, we now have the chance to pause, reflect and enjoy the rivalry that has given us all so much joy over the years. Who is the GOAT? We may never know, but we sure can appreciate both of them. In this series, we look back at the careers of Ronaldo and Messi, through the one aspect that separates them from all the rest. Their numbers. Today, that number is 1. The beginning. The firsts w88 line

A fairly dull trailer for the blockbuster that was to come. Ronaldo came off the bench against Inter in the 58th minute as the two teams played out a goalless draw in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League qualification round tie. (In the second, Inter would beat a Ronaldo-less Sporting at the San Siro 2-0 to advance to the tournament proper) A similarly uneventful introduction. He replaced Deco in the 82nd minute, and pottered around the pitch for a bit as Barcelona saw off a quiet 1-0 league win.



First goal
Ronaldo - Sporting v Moreirense, 7 Oct 2002 Oh, what a fantastic goal. Ronaldo's early career belligerence on full display. He picks up the ball just past the centre-circle, glides past two challenges and throws another off with a quick step-over before powering into the box, sitting the keeper down and slipping it right past him with a cute little dink. This was on league debut, and he would go on and score one more (a powerful header, of course) in a comfortable 3-0 win w88 casino .

There aren't many more iconic debut goals out there. Ronaldinho, King of the world at the time, lifts a delicious ball into Messi as the two play a give-and-go around two hapless Albacete defenders. Messi waits for it to drop, looks up, and calmly lifts it over the advancing goalkeeper. R10 then proceeds to give LM30 a piggyback ride, a mini lap of honour - Ronaldinho's way of introducing his heir apparent to the Camp Nou, and to the world.

Ah, what a farcical sending off. Ronaldo was first booked in the 38th minute for what the referee adjudged to be a dive, well outside the Villa penalty box. (He did trip over his own leg). His second came after he shot at goal, after the whistle had gone for offside. Considering Manchester United were already winning 2-0, at that point...

Getting sent off on debut for Argentina is bad. Getting sent off a minute into that debut? Ouch. Messi comes on in the 64th of this international friendly, starts on one of his now trademark right-wing-to-penalty-box cut-ins, gets entangled with Vilmos Vanczák -- who goes down after a bit of pushing-shoving mid-dribble. Messi stops, presumably thinking the referee is going to give him a freekick for having his shirt pulled, but instead is shown a red for allegedly elbowing Vanczák, in the face w88club mobile .


No one in the history of recorded football has scored more hat tricks than Ronaldo. His first, though, came quite late all things considered. Aged 23, The first is a cheeky free-kick, driven hard and low below a jumping wall. The second is a glorious team goal - Michael Carrick pings a pass into Wayne Rooney, who touches it to Carlos Tevez, who guides it perfectly into a rampaging Ronaldo, who kills it with his first touch and smacks it past Shay Given with his second. The hat-trick comes in the 88th minute. A half-blocked shot falls at his feet inside the box; he sits one defender down with a feint before smashing it in.