Was Blatter Right About Messi & Ronaldo?

Now that Argentina has qualified to the World Cup ensuring the presence of star player Lionel Messi, barring any injury or outlandish suspension,  how does one evaluate the comments made by FIFA President Sepp Blatter? Prior to the decisive qualifiers which yielded  Argentina’s qualification to South Africa as well as Portugal’s opportunity to do so through a  two-legged playoff clash with Bosnia & Herzegovina, Blatter declared that the World Cup will not be affected if Messi or Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo were missing.

Obviously, some will attribute Blatter’s remarks as a way to minimise the adverse effects the World Cup tournament might have suffered had any star players missed on South Africa. On current form, Messi is probably one of the world’s best players if not the best and he is listed as a nominee for the title of world footballer of the year by French magazine France Football which hands out the Ballon d’Or. Also on that list is current holder Cristiano Ronaldo who joined Real Madrid for a record fee. With Messi’s presence in South Africa 2010 now guaranteed, will the tournament need Ronaldo to be a successful one in terms of TV viewership, sponsorship and overall appeal or will his potential absence be overcome by Argentine Messi’s qualification?

The World Cup is by far the most prominent football trophy and is considered the top attraction for fans worldwide so it would have been unlikely that Messi’s or Ronaldo’s absence could drastically affect the event. The very talented and much-maligned French team of 1994 missed on the World Cup and yet the tournament was not doomed. The World Cup itself serves as a stepping-stone and centre stage for emerging and unknown talents with the likes of Italy’s Salvatore ‘Toto’ Schillaci and Russia’s Oleg Salenko claiming the scoring crown  in 1990 and 1994 respectively yet failing to shine afterwards. Thus, the tournament is a distinct feature from club football and most of the club and international football matches which took place prior to the event are set aside and considered meaningless. It can be argued that missing Ronaldo and Messi would have been damaging, yet Blatter might have a point this time when he claims that the World Cup would not have been hindered by their absence.