Five forward duos who could initiate a classic rivalry in the near future
Whenever we think of football, we think of certain names. More often than not, we think of two players who have graced the game for over a decade -- Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. However, when we turn to our elders who have been following football even before we did, they talk about different players. Pele and Garrincha are a duo that people, who used to follow Brazil, will usually name. Others would turn to Maradona and Cruyff.
Simply speaking, there would always be a duo who people would have at the tip of their tongue. When you say football, they would simply name the duo. There have been many great duos that we have witnessed in this generation itself. Xavi and Iniesta are one such duo. Zidane and Makelele are another. However, both are midfield duos not forwards.
When we speak of forwards, we mostly would name, Henry-Bergkamp, Robben-Van Persie, and above everyone and everything else, Messi-Ronaldo. But what will the next generation speak of? Kids, who are about 10 years old, would probably witness Ronaldo for another two years and Messi for another four years. What happens next?
Thus we will have a look at five forward duos who could form a big rivalry in the future.
#5 Gabriel Jesus and Marcus Rashford
Both Jesus and Rashford play in the same league and better still, they play for two arch-rivals from the same city. The Manchester Derby has seen some world-class strikers play for both teams. Robin Van Persie, Wayne Rooney, Sergio Aguero, all are among some of the best forwards to take the pitch when it is derby day.
With time, the day won't be long when Gabriel Jesus and Marcus Rashford are the spearheads in the attack for both sides. The playing positions of both players are also almost identical. They can play on either side of the wing and also in the middle as center-forward. In a total of 29 games in all competitions, Jesus has scored 15 goals and got 2 assists. Rashford has played in 28 games, scored 9 and assisted 6.
Their playing style depends on chance creation as well as conversion. While Rashford is really good when it comes to taking opponents on and dribbling, Jesus, although not a better dribbler, has better control of the ball. (Bad control per game: 2.6 for Rashford, 1.2 for Jesus via whoscored.com)
The United-City rivalry will remain for all eternity and maybe the Rashford-Jesus rivalry will be the one that defines it for the next decade and a half. It is taking shape. Think back to Ronaldo Nazario and Michael Owen, two great strikers from Brazil and England.
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