Best Season Ever?

I have a simple question for all of you loyal Footy Factor readers. Is this the most exciting season of football ever? I think it very well might be – for three simple reasons.

Reason #1. For the first time since anyone can remember, the battle for silverware in the world’s three best leagues is going down to the wire. Over in England, Chelsea currently leads Manchester United by one point with three matches to play. In Serie A, Roma barely leads Inter Milan with four matches left. And in La Liga, Barcelona currently have their noses in front of archrivals Real Madrid with five matches remaining.

Reason #2. The World Cup is right around the corner – that’s reason enough to get excited. Players want to prove themselves so they can claim a spot for their country. (How else to explain Bobby Zamora’s recent form?!!)  This year’s World Cup is especially interesting because it’s the first one ever in Africa. The anticipation is really heating up. After January’s disaster in Angola, many people are even more nervous about security and organization. Can the South Africans pull it off?

Reason #3. We’re witnessing the emergence of true greatness. We’ve always known that Lionel Messi was a pretty good player (!) But this has been the season in which the stocky kid from Argentina has outdistanced himself from Kaka and Ronaldo and every other pretender to the throne of world’s best player. Messi’s performance against Arsenal the other week alone was the stuff of legends. A magical World Cup would cement his place with the greats of the game – Pele, Johan Cruyff, and Messi’s Argentina coach, Diego Maradona. (Although I’m not sure Maradona’s own ego would ever allow that happen?)

Barca president Joan Laporta claims Lionel Messi is the best player ever!

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We are Footy Factor would like to thank Mahinda Ramesh in Mumbai for submitting this article.