When it comes down to it, international soccer is about the players, as Wayne Rooney and Ronaldinho, two of soccer's most famous, proved this weekend.
Manchester United sent Arsenal packing with a 4-0 victory in the fifth round of the FA Cup thanks to a strong effort by Rooney, who was the star of the match with a goal and an amazing display in which he completely outclassed the opposition.
Meanwhile, Ronaldinho came off the bench late and scored the decisive penalty goal in Barcelona's 2-1 victory against Zaragoza, which closed the gap to five points behind La Liga leader Real Madrid.
Rooney started out playing for Everton in 2002 and came to Man U in August 2004 at 18 years old. Ever since, he has excelled and proved that he belongs in one of the most famous clubs in the world. His performance for England in international competitions has been nothing short of heroic, and his brilliant chip goal against Portsmouth last year will be remembered for decades.
This weekend's game against Man U's arch rival, Arsenal, was evidence in and of itself of the talent within this young player.
Back in Spain, Ronaldinho showed he's still got the incredible skill that even Americans have learned to admire. After scoring the penalty goal in the 83rd minute, Barcelona took the win, leaving Real Madrid with a little less breathing room in the standings. Barcelona's success has been in great part due to Ronaldinho, not to mention other fantastic players like Carles Puyol, Samuel Eto'o and Deco.
All of these players are similar in that they became successful playing for Barcelona. Ronaldinho left Paris Saint-Germain in 2003 to join Barca just in time for its successes in the Spanish Liga. Real Madrid, on the other hand, made the mistake of signing once-incredible players that had earned their fame elsewhere, giving Barcelona the reign from 2004 until 2007.
At one point, Real Madrid had David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane, Fabien Barthez and Ronaldo in the same squad. Each player is a legend on the European stage, but by the time they joined Real, they had passed their prime. They excelled as expected because they were fantastic soccer players, but a team cannot be comprised of the most famous all-stars. When it does, it does not succeed.
Manchester United and most other English teams are aware of this. Wayne Rooney is not the only young star with many years left to play. The 23-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo, as well as veterans like Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville, began his rise to fame playing for Man U.
As a result, the club is now the defending League champion and just defeated one of its biggest threats in the FA Cup.
Barcelona used to be the same, but the signing of Thierry Henry last summer has created the question of whether Barca really needs him. Henry, an astounding French striker who earned his reputation playing for Arsenal, left the English League to join an already stacked Barcelona lineup. Real Madrid, having learned from its mistakes, is now developing youth players more effectively and is comfortably at the top of the league despite their loss to Real Betis this weekend.
As the Spanish giants are aware, players have to learn and improve as a team if the club is to succeed. A collection of the most famous players in the world will not guarantee a victory and can often lead to a second-place finish at the end of the season. As the examples of Wayne Rooney and Ronaldinho suggest, it is more important for clubs to cultivate their own young talent and contribute to the team's success over a long period of time.
