Columnists, Sports

The Mezzala: Records, Rivalries, and Controversy

Connie Dai | DFP Staff

Late drama

Der Klassiker — the biggest rivalry in German football historically between the top two teams in the Bundesliga — was played this weekend for its 107th iteration. Bayern Munich traveled to Dortmund to play in front of the 81,365 fans who eagerly waited for the match to begin.

Over the past year, both teams have changed drastically with their respective top strikers relocated — Bayern’s Robert Lewandowski signed to Barcelona, and Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland signed with Manchester City. Both sides have had a relatively disappointing start to their domestic campaigns as neither team is in the top two in the table. Regardless, the quality of both teams is unquestionable. 

The game kicked off with the Dortmund fans creating an eerie atmosphere, especially the Yellow Wall chanting violently as usual. Bayern dominated for most of the match and, with just over 15 minutes left in the game, they found themselves up 2-0 thanks to Leon Goretzka and Leroy Sané.

The atmosphere among the players suddenly changed when Dortmund’s Anthony Modeste found his 17-year-old striking partner Youssoufa Moukoko, who finished the ball into the bottom corner. Less than 10 minutes later, the home fans were outraged at Modeste, who squandered a follow-up opportunity just a few feet in front of the net. With a game so intense and stakes so high, the 34-year-old was sure to face a large magnitude of verbal abuse following the match if he didn’t remedy his blunders.

In the dying minutes of the game, Nico Schlotterbeck amazingly placed a cross right in front of Modeste, who headed it in the goal, saving Dortmund from dropping all three points in the derby. Oliver Kahn, former Bayern captain and current CEO, was visibly furious at the result as he fell back in his seat, surely cursing up a storm as the ball made its way into the Bayern net. 

Henderson frustrated

Liverpool has had a rapid collapse this season, going from one of the top teams in Europe to now sitting in 10th in the Premier League.

In their fixture against Arsenal, who sit at first in the table, the Reds had an opportunity to show that they were not yet finished, and the beginning of the season was just a small bump in the road. Despite keeping the game competitive, it was yet again the Liverpool defense that was lacking in the 3-2 loss.

I have always been a skeptic of Trent Alexander-Arnold and this match further solidifies my view of the English wingback. During the whole match Arsenal winger Gabriel Martinelli ran circles around Alexander-Arnold. Alexander-Arnold’s defending was nothing short of disappointing, and it did not help that Virgil Van Dijk, who was once considered one of the best defenders of all time, was little more than a dried dirt wall in the sun, standing at the edge of the penalty area.

Liverpool’s frustration climaxed when Jordan Henderson got into an argument with Arsenal defender Gabriel. Gabriel, a Brazilian native whose English is extremely limited, was suddenly filled with anger after words were exchanged between him and the Liverpool captain. Both Henderson’s teammates and Arsenal players seemed to look at Henderson in disgust. The current speculation as of now is that Henderson might have said something racist towards Gabriel. This would be especially disturbing as Liverpool has an extremely diverse team, some of whom could also be hurt by the words of Henderson. The situation is currently under investigation by the English FA, and nothing has yet been confirmed. 

700

Cristiano Ronaldo’s goal against Everton marked his 700th career club goal, becoming the first player to do so in the history of football. Ronaldo is a freak of nature and a valuable asset on any team. His tenure so far at Manchester United has me thinking about the age-old question of who the greatest footballer of all time is.

In celebration of this miraculous event, we are once again forced to think about the great career of Ronaldo. But as always, when talking about CR7, you must always think of his competitor, Lionel Messi. Across all sports, there is the question of who the greatest athlete of all time is. 

While I am a firm believer in appreciating both while they are still playing, I simply cannot see how the debate is still so closely contested. Comparing the two with no bias would lead one to see that Messi is the more impactful, valuable player for whatever team he plays on. This topic could be a whole column in itself, but for now, I will phrase it like this: Ronaldo is the greatest human to play football, but Messi is not human.

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