Messi is Barcelona’s best ever - but is Ronaldo Madrid’s all-time greatest?

Cristiano Ronaldo is now officially the greatest goalscorer in the history of Real Madrid. The Portuguese forward scored after just half an hour against Levante on Saturday to surpass Raul's record of 323 goals for los Blancos. But is he the greatest player to ever represent the club?

Over at Barcelona, there is no such debate about Lionel Messi. When Madrid coach Rafa Benitez surprisingly said recently that Ronaldo was not necessarily the best he had coached, eyebrows were raised. Asked the same question about Messi the following day, Barca boss Luis Enrique had no doubt. "I don't like to compare them," he said. "But Messi is the best in the world and the best in history. That's my opinion."

It is the opinion of many. Yet while the Argentine attacker is often described as the best player to ever grace the game, few have dubbed Ronaldo the finest footballer in history. One notable exception is Jorge Mendes, but he is Cristiano's agent and personal friend, bigging up his prized asset whenever he has the chance.

Could John Obi Mikel still be Jay-Jay Okocha’s heir?

The best decision Sunday Oliseh could make right now is to reinvent Chelsea 's John Obi Mikel as Nigeria 's deep-lying playmaker.

In the past, the suggestion might have seemed ridiculous—how could Mikel seek to emulate deities of the game such as Andrea Pirlo?

How can the Nigerian hold a candle to the Italian great? Indeed, perhaps the role of the regista should be re-christened the ‘Pirlo role’ in homage to the New York City FC midfielder.

If there’s a Makelele role, there should surely be a ‘Pirlo role’ as well; the Juventus and Milan great dominated matches with his baton of a boot, conducting and controlling proceedings like an orchestral piece played in pianissimo while being able to take a game from adagio to prestissimo with a single weave of his enchanted foot, leaving spectators breathlessly in awe. The magical melodious piece itself ending in a crescendo; “Bravo maestro, Bravo” scream the crowd in acknowledgement of his bravura.

Tech: Twitter to allow users to create polls

Twitter Inc said it is rolling out a service that would allow users to run polls on their profile, in a bid to improve user engagement on the microblogging service.

The poll will allow users to ask a question with two choices as answers, and will remain open for 24 hours, the company said in a blog post on Wednesday.

Polls were already being tested on Twitter since late September with certain media professionals and Twitter employees, including Chief Operating Officer Adam Bain, sending out polls.

Twitter is working overtime to boost user growth under Jack Dorsey's second stint as CEO.
The service will be rolled out over the next few days, Twitter said.

(Reporting by Anya George Tharakan in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)

FA suspends Platini support

 

Michel Platini's wounded bid for the Fifa presidency suffered a new blow on Friday when the English FA suspended support for the French football legend because of new information on his legal battle.

Suspended Fifa leader Sepp Blatter added to the turmoil surrounding football's governing body when he said a two million dollar payment made to the Uefa president in 2011 was "a gentleman's agreement."

Pressure mounted on Platini, who was suspended by Fifa alongside Blatter, only a day after Uefa's 54 members gave support.

The FA said it had been told of more information "relating to the issues at the centre of this case from Mr Platini’s lawyers" at the Uefa meeting on Thursday.

Because of the information the FA board has "concluded that it must suspend its support for Mr Platini's candidature for the Fifa presidency until the legal process has been concluded and the position is clear," said a statement.

Bayern confident Pep will stay on

Bayern Munich are confident coach Pep Guardiola will stay on at the German champions past the end of his current contract next year despite reported interest from other major European clubs, CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said on Monday.

Guardiola, who won more than a dozen titles in his four years at Barcelona, joined the Bavarians in July 2013, winning dominant back-to-back Bundesliga titles in his first two season in charge.

Undefeated Bayern are already seven points clear at the top of the league after a record-breaking nine-match winning start as they chase an unprecedented fourth consecutive Bundesliga crown and the third under Guardiola.

Video: U.S. military is on its way to getting its Iron Man

After an American commando died kicking in a door during a raid in Afghanistan, the top commander of U.S. Special Operations vowed to prevent similar tragedies.

Two years later, the U.S. military is closer than ever to putting Iron Man on the front lines -- or at least something that closely mirrors the superhero's tech-forward suit of armor.

Unlike Hollywood's, the suit won't give its operator the ability to fly, but the real-life body armor may have one leg up on the fictional version: The military's suit will be made of liquid armor that can solidify on command.

Fitted with the protective gear -- the Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit, or TALOS -- troops would be more lethal and better protected, particularly the vulnerable first soldier to breach a compound.

An amalgam of academics, defense industry types and Pentagon personnel are trying to fine-tune the battery-powered exoskeleton, which would reduce strain on the body, provide superior ballistic protection and in-helmet technologies to boost communications and visibility.

Tech: HTC's new phone looks like an iPhone, but it's way cheaper

HTC has introduced a smartphone with a flat aluminum back, curved edges, antenna break lines near the top and bottom and a camera that bumps out very slightly at the top. It has a speaker grille and a headphone jack on either side of the power port on the bottom.

The new HTC One A9 smartphone is a dead-ringer for the iPhone 6S in virtually every way -- except for its price tag. It costs just $400, compared to the iPhone's $650.
HTC said it was a coincidence that the new One A9 follows the same design guidelines that the iPhone (and to a large degree the Samsung Galaxy S6) hold to.