Can Lionel Messi claim true greatness? With his unexpected retirement from international football following Argentina's loss to Chile in the Copa America final, will his reputation as one of the greatest to have played the game be compromised, leaving him a rung lower than players sucs as Pelé and Maradona and alongside similarly thwarted footballers such as Johan Cruyff?
That would be a particularly harsh judgment. For all the adulation lavished on its stars, football is at heart a team game. As the saying goes, a champion team will always beat a team of champions and the tactical nature of the modern game means a single player’s brilliance might not fix the deficiencies of the team.
So should Messi languish with a metaphorical asterisk next to his name? We say his personal ability is best reflected in his record as the only footballer in history to win five Fifa Ballons d’Or, the top male footballing award, even if his unimpeachable individual skills did not lead his country to similar heights.
Company%20Profile
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Building boom turning to bust as Turkey's economy slows
Deep in a provincial region of northwestern Turkey, it looks like a mirage - hundreds of luxury houses built in neat rows, their pointed towers somewhere between French chateau and Disney castle.
Meant to provide luxurious accommodations for foreign buyers, the houses are however standing empty in what is anything but a fairytale for their investors.
The ambitious development has been hit by regional turmoil as well as the slump in the Turkish construction industry - a key sector - as the country's economy heads towards what could be a hard landing in an intensifying downturn.
After a long period of solid growth, Turkey's economy contracted 1.1 per cent in the third quarter, and many economists expect it will enter into recession this year.
The country has been hit by high inflation and a currency crisis in August. The lira lost 28 per cent of its value against the dollar in 2018 and markets are still unconvinced by the readiness of the government under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to tackle underlying economic issues.
The villas close to the town centre of Mudurnu in the Bolu region are intended to resemble European architecture and are part of the Sarot Group's Burj Al Babas project.
But the development of 732 villas and a shopping centre - which began in 2014 - is now in limbo as Sarot Group has sought bankruptcy protection.
It is one of hundreds of Turkish companies that have done so as they seek cover from creditors and to restructure their debts.
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