FLASH
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Football has changed radically in the last two decades, but Lionel Messi continues to be the reference point for every generation of players...
It's 2026 and about half of the matches of the biggest World Cup in history have been played. The tournament's main stars are the same as they were 20 years ago. Lionel Messi continues to break through the defence, while Cristiano Ronaldo scores for Portugal.
When they started doing this two decades ago, they were still in their early stages. At that time, the stage belonged to the great playmakers of the game: Zinedine Zidane with France, Ronaldinho with Brazil, Xavi and Andrés Iniesta with Spain, Luís Figo with Portugal, David Beckham with England and Andrea Pirlo with Italy. In attack, Didier Drogba, Miroslav Klose, Samuel Eto'o, Thierry Henry and the Brazilian Ronaldo stood out.
For this very reason, even today many fans believe that football reached its peak between 2006 and 2014.
This perception is fueled by pop culture, nostalgia and memories of those years. The music, the jerseys and the excitement of the tournaments of that era continue to evoke nostalgia. However, there is also an element of truth to this belief: the level of individual talent that many of the players of that era displayed has yet to be seen in the same form at this World Cup.
However, to say that one period was better than the other is difficult. The reason is simple: the game itself has changed.
Would Kylian Mbappé be able to attack with the same speed if his team built the action with 30 passes? Would Kaká have the same elegance to organize the game if the opponents constantly put him under pressure? It is enough to watch the final of the 2012 European Championship, where Xavi, Iniesta and Sergio Busquets moved almost without hindrance in the Italian midfield, to understand that the comparison "better" or "worse" is no longer appropriate.
Even today, there are teams that try to tire their opponents out through possession. However, most aim to win the ball as quickly as possible and send it straight to the opposing goal. This has made football more dynamic, but also less elegant.
In his outstanding performance against Brazil in the 2006 World Cup, Zidane performed more technical moves and dribbles than were seen in over 54 matches of the 2026 World Cup.
The pace of the game has become so fast that today's football almost feels like a different sport. Nothing an amateur footballer has experienced compares to what Mbappé, Erling Haaland, Vinícius Júnior or Lamine Yamal do on the pitch. They represent the best strikers of the era of the counter-attack with a frenetic pace.
However, there is one name missing from this list: Lionel Messi.
The Argentine was a protagonist even when football was played differently. He was the best player even in the era of passing dominance, between 2010 and 2014. Even today, while the pace of the game has accelerated and everything develops with greater intensity, the game continues to focus on him.
His small, precise and elegant movements have survived every change in football. They transcend the ages. Regardless of the way it is played and regardless of the names that take to the pitch, there is still one case where the assessment "the best" can be used without hesitation: the greatest player in the football timeline has always had the same name - Lionel Messi. /Adapted from Süddeutsche Zeitung/
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