Football fans often debate one question: Who was better at their peak, Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo?
Though the matter remains highly debatable, there certainly are some seasons that make people believe that these two legends have reached the absolute pinnacle of their respective careers. For Messi, that happened in 2012; for Ronaldo, in 2015. If you take a look at their hat-trick achievements within those particular years, then it becomes obvious why this period can be referred to as the Golden Era of Football.
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Lionel Messi’s Miraculous 2012
In 2012, it seems that Lionel Messi had switched his video games to “easy mode”.
That year was full of records, amazing results, and unbelievable performances. While playing for FC Barcelona under Tito Vilanova, Messi showed a level of consistency that is hard to match.
He scored an impressive 91 goals in a single calendar year, a record that holds until nowadays. But that year also became known for its regular hat-tricks.
Despite knowing exactly what Messi is trying to achieve, defenders couldn’t manage to prevent him from getting a hat-trick every once in a while.
A combination of perfect close control, unique vision, insane acceleration, and brilliant finishing skills resulted in the most amazing and dominating year in the history of modern sports.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s Ruthless 2015
While Messi’s 2012 was marked by artistic approach, Ronaldo’s 2015 became famous due to ruthless goal scoring.
Having been playing for Real Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo reached the peak of his goalscoring abilities. At the time, he could score with either of his feet, his head, from outside the box, inside, and even from the most unlikely angles.
2015 showed that Ronaldo managed to turn into the biggest finisher in the world’s football history.
Ronaldo became famous for his record-breaking hat-tricks, which he managed to score regularly.
Most teams that were facing Ronaldo usually tried to avoid a disaster rather than prevent him from scoring goals. Ronaldo combined his unbelievable physical condition, excellent positioning, and unbreakable desire to become a goal-scoring monster.
Why Those Years Were Unique
The reason for which it became so easy to compare Messi and Ronaldo in 2012 and 2015 is their uniqueness.
While Messi managed to amaze the whole football world with his skills and talent, Ronaldo demonstrated how devastating one can be when having a desire to reach the very top.
The one painted masterpieces, the other demolished records.
But both consistently delivered the same feeling, a possibility of a hat-trick in literally any of their matches.
The Golden Era That Went Underestimated
Nowadays, it becomes obvious that fans had been lucky enough to enjoy such rivalry for over a decade.
Each record made by one of the rivals motivated another to break it or improve. The competition raised not only their individual levels of play but also raised football to an incredible height.
Young people started playing football thinking that a season with 50 goals scored was normal.
People believed that they always see incredible things during football matches.
Clubs’ expectations became higher due to Messi and Ronaldo’s outstanding records.
Conclusion
Today, watching the next generation of footballers, it becomes even clearer how unique and impressive the Messi & Ronaldo’s era was.
The stats seem unbelievably good now.Records remain intimidating.And memories are simply unforgettable.
Regardless whether you admire the brilliance of Messi or the mercilessness of Ronaldo, here is the thing:
Both of these players became two of the greatest and most talented athletes in the world’s sports history. And this fact becomes clear while watching them play during those periods.
Perhaps we’ve witnessed a once-in-a-century event. Because such an amazing combination of two geniuses playing at the same time doesn’t happen very often.
Maybe the eternal question of whether Ronaldo or Messi is a better player is wrong.
Instead, it would be much fairer to thank those men for their contributions to modern football.
Since both of them became legendary players for a reason, for reaching the heights nobody had ever reached.
What do you think about that?
2012 Messi vs. 2015 Ronaldo: Peak Hat-Trick Years and the Golden Age of Football was originally published in Coinmonks on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.