Once again, Henrik Larsson has been at the centre of football talk having unveiled his four best teammates of all time and left out Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the list he created which generated controversy.
The Swedish legend had been co-playing with Messi in the Barcelona campaign to win the champions league in 2005-06 and was later on playing with Cristiano Ronaldo under Manchester United in 2006-07 season. Although these partnerships have existed historically, Larsson himself gave four names to his career when appearing on the Stick to Football podcast.
Instead of basing the choices on personal brilliance, the choices of Larsson were said to have been made based on influence, working hard, and why the respective players brought the whole team up. His method is a refreshing change to the current focus on targets, statistics, and personal recognition.
The career of Larsson was in top clubs in Europe and he was usually used as a supporting player which required an intelligent, disciplined and adaptable player. These were his experiences that determined his way of evaluating greatness in team mates not on the headlines but what goes on the back stage and the training field.
The exclusion of Messi and Ronaldo has brought out contention. There are fans who believe that it is impossible to look down on any two of the greatest footballers of all times, and some also argue that this was a chance given by Larsson to place personal attachment and responsibility above the reputation of the world.
The credibility of Larsson makes his opinion interesting. Not many players will be able to talk about both Messi and Ronaldo authoritatively. His remarks emphasize the fact that it does not necessarily make one the most famous teammate to be the best one.
With football still celebrating personal legends, the thoughts of Larsson provide a unique insight into how even the top professionals define greatness in a different way, which is the trust, leadership, and the overall performance of the team.
