Dubai: They may have not been at their brilliant best at the World Cup in Brazil, but expect the two titans of La Liga, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, to once again prove peerless in the skill and scoring stakes in the new Spanish La Liga season.
That’s the message from Spanish football pundit Guillem Balague, who expects the totemic twosome to swiftly overcome any possible lingering hangover from Brazil 2014, where Messi’s Argentina suffered an agonising extra time defeat in the final to Germany and Ronaldo’s Portugal surprisingly failed to progress beyond the group stage.
Balague said: “Firstly, let me say how surprised I am at just how fit Cristiano Ronaldo looks and so, I think, are the doctors at his club [Real Madrid]. I really hope he keeps it up.
“In the case of Messi, he needed to refresh his mind, which he has done with a month’s break in Argentina and he now knows that the World Cup is over and he isn’t going to have to be fighting for his place because, as [Barcelona boss] Luis Enrique told him he is going to be the focal point, the centre of operations, and he will not want to disappoint and, as such, will strive to perform the task to the very best of his ability.”
Yet while Messi and Ronaldo will remain the main focus of attention in Spain alongside much-vaunted new recruits such as James Rodriguez and Luis Suarez, Balague says La Liga possesses some hidden gems who can scintillate alongside their illustrious counterparts.
He reserves particular mention for Gerard Deulofeu, the 20-year-old Barcelona starlet on loan at Sevilla, whom he believes can become “a top player” if he adds work-rate to his sinuous dribbling and goalscoring ability.
Balague also believes Deulofeu’s teammate at Sevilla, the Uruguayan Denis Suarez, could also seize his chance to impress in the wake of fellow midfielder Ivan Rakitic’s move to Barcelona.
“Defensive midfielder Jonathan dos Santos has left Barcelona to link up with his brother Giovanni at Villarreal, while the 23-year-old Rodrigo Moreno Machado has gone on loan to Valencia via Benfica, where he scored 27 times in 67 appearances for the club,” Balague continued.
“Watch out for Iago Aspas, also at Sevilla, who has much to prove after an unhappy sojourn at Liverpool, and [winger] Isaac Cuenca, who will be eager to show Barcelona that they were wrong to let him go when he lines up for La Liga returnees, Deportivo La Coruna.”
