Cristiano Ronaldo went first, and seven hours later, Lionel Messi followed. Seven thousand miles, an ocean, a continent and a sea apart, on a wild Wednesday of soccer, the two greatest players in the history of the world’s most popular sport strode into champions league semifinals. They emerged from tunnels, and stepped onstage to reinforce their eminence.
This, of course, was the type of stage on which they’d wowed the world and dueled for soccer’s throne. For a decade and a half, they lit up the European Champions League with 141 and 129 goals, respectively, the two best tallies ever.