Why the Premier League Needs Deco More Than Cristiano Ronaldo
By: Daryl | July 1st, 2008
Hear me out. I’m not necessarily saying Deco is a better player than Cristiano Ronaldo. Both are fantastic footballers.
But Chelsea signing Deco for £7.9million will improve the quality of the Premier League in ways that Ronaldo can’t. So if the ins and outs of the summer mean Cristiano Ronaldo leaving England and Deco coming in, then the Premier League will be better off for it.
Maybe not in terms of reputation. I’m sure Premier League chief moneygrabber Richard Scudamore would prefer to see the biggest name in football stay.
There’s no doubting C-Ron’s effectiveness and star power. But it’s based on a very direct style of play. Get the ball, run at defenders, shoot (and oftentimes, score).
And exciting and end to end as the Premier League can be, there’s often a lack of craft, a lack of old-fashioned playmakers enjoyed by seemingly every other league. Deco, or Magico as they call him, is different. He’s a number 10. He’s the type to put his foot on the ball. The sort of little fella that hasn’t always been at home in the Premier League.
And no team needs a Deco more than Chelsea. Though there’s been a lot of success at Stamford Bridge in recent years, it hasn’t always been pretty to watch. Chelsea’s game under Mourinho was based on a strong, hard-working midfield and lung bustingly powerful performances of Michaels Essien and Ballack, plus Frank Lampard. And direct balls to the talented muscle mountain that is Dider Drogba.
Avram Grant briefly tried a more expansive approach, but found Mourinho’s methods were the most effective. You can’t blame the man for sticking with what worked, but can’t help look forward to seeing a less direct version of Cheslea.
So if Ronaldo leaves, then he leaves. The Premier League will lose a big name and a medium sized forest worth of tabloid headlines. But Man Utd will continue to play good football. With Deco coming in (and Lampard and Droga on the way out) the Chelsea of 2008/9 could also start playing some good football. And a more entertaining Chelsea means a more entertaining Premier League.
So though losing C-Ron and gaining Deco is a step back for the Premier League in terms of star power (superstar leaves for more money, ageing superstar comes in for one last big paycheck) it’s should produce a step up in the quality of play. And if it does take the Premier League down a peg or two, then that can’t be a bad thing either.
Category: English Premier League
Tags: Chelsea, Cristiano Ronaldo, Deco, English Premier League, EPL, Man Utd, Manchester United, PremiershipSubscribe
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Comments | Add your comment
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I would never say a word against Deco for all he has given Barcelona (and not even thinking of Real Madrid when leaving), but you seem do have a genuine dislike for CRon..
.blog after blog criticizing him, when he used to dribble he was called a show pony.. when he became more direct retaining all the other skills.. now you say he is too directPosted from
United States
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C Ronaldo is an amazing player but he is way too cocky and way to outspoken. Do you ever see Messi say “I played well but my team didn’t.”.
No
But CRonaldo has not trouble saying it. And he is too direct and dribbles way to much. He shows off his moves when the game is about to finish for no reason. Do you ever see Ronaldinho, Messi, Zidan (at that time), Zlatan do those things? NO. But they CAN do them. They are all amazing players but they dont’t show off what they can do if it’s not going to help the team.
I am hoping that in time CRonaldo will learn and not be such an asshole.
But yes he is amazing in terms of skill.
-HawkPosted from
United States -
I’m excited at the prospect really, I know who is the first name on my Fantasy Team sheet when the time comes.
Posted from
United States -
hawk i can perfectly remember a champions league game this year where zlatan was trying little flicks (liverpool)…and ronaldinho has made a career off of trying shit no one else would during a game…it’s what made him great. and what any of that has to do w/ the original post i have no idea.
but anyhow…daryl will always find a way to try to diminish cr7 but in this case i kind of agree. if deco turns chelsea into a team that’s a little more like arsenal or united in terms of attacking football that’s actually worth watching instead of what they’ve been putting out there (they’re like the san antonio spurs of the prem)..and teams start to copy that? and sign playmaker types to fit in and change these systems??? …more power to them
you could also argue that teams are doing this already w/ lower level stars to decent effect…everton w/ mikel arteta, villa w/ barry and young, and even middlesborough w/ stuart downi….ok got a little crazy there.
Posted from
United States -
I think you’re comparing apples and oranges with Deco and Ronaldo. Ronaldo isn’t a playmaker in terms of laying the ball off for teammates who convert; he likes to run the wing and create for himself. Deco’s job is up the middle of the field, creating openings and making smart passes. I think they’re complementary players despite their lack of production at Euro.
Posted from
United States -
Deco is certainly more creative than Frank. But will he score 20 goals a season like superFrank?? I don’t think so. Anyway, EPl is certainly going to be exciting.
Posted from
India -
in complete agreement with daryl.
Posted from
United States -
Mike, I totally agree that it’s apples and oranges. That’s really the point. If Deco is an apple (playmaker) and C-Ron is an orange (winger) then the Premier League needs more apples.
So even though Cristiano Ronaldo is probably the superior player, I think it’s great that the Premiership is getting more apples.
Posted from
United Kingdom -
Hawk - you make a great point regarding Cristiano Ronaldo’s selfishness. When I read those comments, I was hopeful I had made a error or took them the wrong way because it is precisely what you don’t want a great player to say (and believe of course). Now if Chelsea can only add Andrei Arshavin…
Posted from
Germany -
Nonsense.
What the Premier League needs is insight.
Which means realizing that with rheir continuos purchasing international soccer mercenaries they will continue to keep the standard of the English national side as low as it is, if not worse.
Young fresh English talent is needed - I guess it is there - and must be given a chance to develop into international calibre.
Posted from
United States -
I do not know why my post is marked as coming from the US. I am - thank God - here in sunny Bavaria, not in sombre Bushland.
So: POSTED FROM GERMANYPosted from
United States -
Ah well, I give up.
Posted from
United States -
I’m not sure if you bash Ronaldo because of genuine dislike or because of the hits and posts that you get with any mention of the boy.
Regardless, I don’t think Deco will be able to cut it in the EPL…he’s been fading over the past few years and a newer, faster league is not really what he needs.
I hope I’m wrong, but I see another Sheva in the making
Posted from
United States -
im really struggling to see how the best player in the world right now (like him or loathe him, its more or less true) leaving the premiership in order to be replaced by a player who spent half a season at barca allegedly missing training to go clubbing, can be considered a good thing for the premiership. is reference to ronaldo even necessary in this article? because your basic argument that the premiership needs more no.10s is an interesting enough point in itself without throwing ronaldo´s name in there.
Posted from
Argentina -
Sorry, but this seems to be a bit of a “moot” point. Manchester United have Scholes to play in the same role as Deco. And he’s arguably just as good. Arsenal have Fabregas, again, pretty much on par with any other playmaker out there. Chelsea have Ballack, so Deco won’t be doing anything “new” at the Bridge. Liverpool have Xavi Alonso and Gerrard. Even “lesser” clubs have decent midfield playmakers : Elano and Geovanni at City, Arteta at Everton, Petrov and Barry at Villa, Kranjcar and Diarra at Portsmouth… Sure, Deco will instantly be one of the best playmakers in the Premier League, and his style is slightly different to Ballack’s, Elano or Arteta’s. But Scholes and Fabregas play in the same style. So it’s certainly not a “new” position nor a “new” kind of player that the Premier League “need”.
Cristiano Ronaldo is a completely different kind of player. Yep, you’re right he’s full of himself. He is. But he’s 23, and scored 42 goals in the club season. He was second in the Ballon d’Or last season, and with such radical improvement this season, it’d be almost criminal if he didn’t win it by a country mile. Simao was a dissapointement at the euro, and quite a few portuguese players were. Ferreira was playing out of position, but he didn’t put in good games, and Petit, Moutinho, and even Nuno Gomes seemed to be distinctly “average”… In my opinion at least. Ronaldo is best when he is given the chance to run at defences. Deco played superbly with him, but it didn’t work as well as it did with Man U. Bad luck? Worse players around him? Dip in his playing level? I don’t know.
However, saying he had a “poor euro” is… Surprising. Sure, he didn’t bang in goals left right and center like he did with Manchester, but he never played as a striker, and Simao took too many poor free kicks… Whilst Ronaldo is perhaps one of the best set piece takers right now. After all, Ronaldo only played three games at this Euro, and he was constantly dangerous. Against Turkey, he provided the second goal (burst down the left wing, passed to Moutinho at the penalty spot, who passed on the turn to Meireles), and had hit the post in the first half, whilst the scores were still 0-0. If Simao had let him take them all, he might have ended up scoring one… Instead of seeing Simao blast them all over the stadium. But he also made the cross that lead to Nuno Gomes hitting the crossbar a little later. Against the Czech Republic, it was just more of the same. Deco tapped in an early goal after Ronaldo got through on a one-on-one with Cech, curtsey a nice one-two with Nuno Gomes. Fifty minutes later he got his only goal, assisted by Deco to beat Cech, before getting his only official assist by gifting Quaresma an open goal twenty-five minutes later. After a one-match break against Switzerland, Portugal were against Germany… And again I’m surprised to read he had a bad game. Sure, he didn’t dominate the game… But that was Deco’s role, not his. And even so, he was central to keeping Portugal’s hopes alive, with the run and shot that lead to Nuno Gomes tapping in his goal. But with two goals conceded on almost identical defensive set-pieces, where’s he to blame? Should he have been covering Ballack or Klöse? Nope. And after having Friedrich walk over his ankles, it was amazing how much stick people were willing to give him. Had Messi been stepped on, people would have excused a less brilliant second half, and asked for a public lynching. With Ronaldo, he’s a diver, so who cares. Not that it stopped him from being important as Portugal tried to level the score. All in all, the only “half” where he was slightly under par was the second half against Germany. Where he had his ankle stepped on after barely 3 minutes. Every other half he provided at least one goal chance for Portugal, if not two or more. How is that a “bad” Euro? How many wingers can you say had better Euros? Schweinsteiger? I didn’t see how he was good at any point in the group stages, nor in the final… So that’s two good games. Just as good as Ronaldo. Arshavin? Again, two good games (Netherlands and Sweden), before dissapearing into a vague state of non-existance against Spain. Silva is the only winger I found performed consistently better than Ronaldo.
But I’m sure all this will fall on some people who genuinely dislike Ronaldo and think that Deco is going to bring something completely new to the English league that’s all about strength, and where the players have any technique whatsoever.
Posted from
France -
I think cee R is running for the MAGICO[DECO] who plays good football for what it is.
Posted from
Nigeria
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