Cristiano Ronaldo took time out from the Champions League final to settle a personal score. While Barcelona were hogging the real ball out on the pitch, he picked up a stray one and drove it carefully, beautifully, straight into Barca's dugout. It was typical of the man.
In Rome on Wednesday night, there was a match within the match. It pitted Ronaldo versus Lionel Messi for the title of European Player of the Year 2009, or, more simply, best footballer on earth. Both had their moments, but both also exposed mental flaws.
As so often, Messi dribbled too much. One afternoon last year Barcelona's then manager, Frank Rijkaard, had sat in his cellar office and lamented: "I've seen matches where it looked as if for 90 minutes he was playing one against 11."
Rijkaard said he was busy teaching Messi to dribble less, "not always make the same move, and next time just lay the ball off and move on".
Those lessons were not evident in Rome. Rijkaard's successor, Pep Guardiola had pulled Messi back into midfield to spare him the battle with Manchester United's left-back Patrice Evra that the Argentine had lost last year.
Messi loves the ball so he embarked on a project to win the game flying solo.
But United kept mustering four defenders against him, and he kept losing the ball.
In the first half, Messi excelled in the improbable guise of defender. He is a rare striker who always presses opposition defenders, buzzing around them like a bee when they have the ball. Nemanja Vidic, not a man at ease in possession, was often discommoded.
In the second half, Messi demonstrated the other facet of his game: goalscoring. Few players can dribble past defenders, and few of the ones who can are natural scorers, but Messi - like Ronaldo - is dribbler and finisher in one. His header over United's keeper Edwin van der Sar, left him highest scorer of this year's Champions League with nine goals.
Not only did Messi beat Ronaldo in Rome, but he also won a battle against a ghost. Everyone who sees the tiny one-footed Argentine is reminded of Diego Maradona. For long, the debate has been whether Messi might ever be as good as Maradona. That remains unclear, but what we can now say is that he might achieve more than Maradona. At 21, he has won a European Cup - Maradona never did. And because he plays in a better team than Maradona ever did, and is the saner person, he may go on to build a larger trophy cabinet.
Ronaldo was not left for dust in Rome. When in possession he is often brisker than Messi, freeing space to shoot instantly; and that shot may be the best in football.
Ronaldo's first-minute free-kick could easily have gone in.
What lets the Portuguese winger down is his personality. After he had dominated the game's first 15 minutes, Barca's coach Josep Guardiola deputed Carles Puyol to mark him. Suddenly Ronaldo was trapped. His instinctive response was not to demand every ball and lead his stricken team back into the game, but to sulk. He sulked at Puyol, sulked at his teammates, and sulked at his manager.
"The tactics were not good," Ronaldo said afterwards.
He was the only player on either team booed (by Barca's fans) when collecting his medal, which he quickly stuck away as if it were infected.
Asked later if he would be at United next season, he said: "I don't know." Chances are that from this summer, his ego will belong to Real Madrid.
When Messi collected his medal, Michel Platini, the Uefa president, tapped him on the head as if to anoint him. The Golden Ball for European Player of the Year already assuredly belongs to the Argentine, and probably not for the last time.
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About Takalam
Date started: early 2020
Founders: Khawla Hammad and Inas Abu Shashieh
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech and wellness
Number of staff: 4
Funding to date: Bootstrapped
Four-day collections of TOH
Day Indian Rs (Dh)
Thursday 500.75 million (25.23m)
Friday 280.25m (14.12m)
Saturday 220.75m (11.21m)
Sunday 170.25m (8.58m)
Total 1.19bn (59.15m)
(Figures in millions, approximate)
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
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The stats
Ship name: MSC Bellissima
Ship class: Meraviglia Class
Delivery date: February 27, 2019
Gross tonnage: 171,598 GT
Passenger capacity: 5,686
Crew members: 1,536
Number of cabins: 2,217
Length: 315.3 metres
Maximum speed: 22.7 knots (42kph)
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Under 19 World Cup
Group A: India, Japan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka
Group B: Australia, England, Nigeria, West Indies
Group C: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Scotland, Zimbabwe
Group D: Afghanistan, Canada, South Africa, UAE
UAE fixtures
Saturday, January 18, v Canada
Wednesday, January 22, v Afghanistan
Saturday, January 25, v South Africa
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The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
SPECS
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
FIVE%20TRENDS%20THAT%20WILL%20SHAPE%20UAE%20BANKING
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TOURNAMENT INFO
Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier
Jul 3- 14, in the Netherlands
The top two teams will qualify to play at the World T20 in the West Indies in November
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (captain), Chamani Seneviratne, Subha Srinivasan, Neha Sharma, Kavisha Kumari, Judit Cleetus, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Heena Hotchandani, Namita D’Souza, Ishani Senevirathne, Esha Oza, Nisha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
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