Is Ribery Really That Good?

First Zinedine Zidane said that Franck Ribery is better than not just Cristiano Ronaldo but also, hold your breath, Lionel Messi. Now this opinion can seem biased because Zidane is a Madridista and an ex French national. Yet it is the opinion of the greatest player of the last 15 years.

Then Marc Overmars said that Ribery is equal to Kaka. Now I really thought enough was enough. Overmars is a true Cule at heart – why would he go on championing what Madrid are saying? Besides even if Ribery is also a Barca target, his first preference is clearly Real Madrid and Barca just do not want to spend the kind of money needed.

So how much of this hype am I supposed to believe? I have to admit that I have hardly ever watched Ribery play for Bayern Munich. The last time I observed him well was in WC 2006 where he was a promising talent but did not suggest anything to justify the kind of statements that have been made above. Then I saw him in Euro 2008 where he was nothing great but then who in the French team was, least of all their “great” coach. So has he really grown leaps and bounds during his two years in the Bundesliga? It seems he has.

It’s so much now that he is the number one transfer target left in the market pushing even Zlatan Ibrahimovic to second place. The other three top targets are David Villa, Cesc Fabregas and Sergio Aguero in that order.

So where do I stand on this? First of all Ribery needs to convince me that he is as good as and in fact better than Arjen Robben not least because the latter ate him alive in their match in Euro 2008. Then he needs to convince me that he is as good as or better than Andres Iniesta (if at all that is possible for anyone). The only reason that I can think of for Iniesta not being hyped much by pundits is his relative low scoring record because other than that there is virtually nothing he can be said to be lacking. If Ribery really crosses this level, only then will I accept him to the final test – a head to head with Ballon D’or 2009 incumbent Lionel Messi.