The Definite Article

Cristiano Ronaldo isn’t the best player in history. In fact, he’s not even one of them. Last Thursday night, in a glitzy ballroom in Paris, Portugal’s very own living hero Cristiano Ronaldo picked up the prestigious Ballon D’or, drawing him level with Lionel Messi, with both players now having clasped their hands on the trophy a record five times. Since 2008, a staggering ten Ballon D’Ors have been handed out by FIFA and France Football comparably (feel old yet?), but between then and now, football’s most worthy individual prize has been shared by just two players: Ronaldo and his greatest rival and adversary, Lionel Messi. This isn’t a debate piece on who is better – that sort of thing is getting old. Instead, the focus will be on this year’s recipient of the award – and the subsequent discussion that has surrounded his victory in the two days since. After the award, his manager at Real Madrid, Zinedine Zidane, himself regarded as one of history’s best players, ha...

Fernando Torres was once one of the world's best football players. He was the spearhead of Liverpool and his national team and reknown around the world. But his £50m move to Chelsea in 2011 saw his career hit the ground. But what really happened to cause such a drastic change in his form? Today, you get the truth. On the 23 rd April 2011, on a wet, gloomy day in South West London, Fernando Torres sat disheartened on a cold bench in Chelsea’s dugout, as he watched his team face West Ham. Didier Drogba was the club’s first choice striker, and it was the fifth game in a row he had started on the bench. In the 76 th minute, ‘El Nino’ – the kid, finally got his break. He replaced Drogba, and trudged onto the sodden Stamford Bridge turf to try and seal the victory. Chelsea were already one-nil up after a Frank Lampard goal in the first half. The 84 th minute. The ball drops to Nicolas Anelka in the West Ham half. He sends it through to Torres. Now he’s one-on-one wi...