Page 4 - CSA INDEX - Spring 2019

The Beautiful Game

Commissioning specialists are the

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo of

construction project teams

he phrase “The beautiful game” has been attributed to one of football’s greatest ever players, the Brazilian
Tstriker Pele. He described football as “Jogo bonito”, meaning “The beautiful game”. Pele played the game
with integrity, passion and joy and as a lifelong-obsessive of this wonderful sport, I sense this beauty too.

Throughout the history of football, players like Pele, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have been the game’s
superstars and their team’s most valuable assets. They put the ball in the back of the net. They are the marksmen,
the goalscorers, the finishers, the match-winners.

Players like Messi and Ronaldo convert the work that they and their 10 teammates do into a meaningful resolution
- goals. These two men are exceptional at it too: Ronaldo scored 451 goals in 438 appearances at Real Madrid.
Messi has scored 585 goals in 668 games at Barcelona.

Lionel Messi playing for Barcelona Cristiano Ronaldo playing for Real Madrid

Messi and Ronaldo’s incredible ability to finish translates into the only important statistic in football, the number
of matches won. Winning matches delivers success for the teams they play for. Since Messi’s Barcelona debut in
October 2004, they have won 9 Spanish League titles, 4 Champions League trophies and 3 Club World Cups.
Ronaldo had an equally impressive record at Real Madrid and Manchester United between 2003 and 2018;
4 Champions League trophies, 3 Club World Cups, 2 Spanish League titles, 3 Premier League titles, 1 FA Cup &
2 League Cuptrophies.