His playmaking is insane. He sees those gaps so fast and he can put the perfect weight on the ball on a consistent basis. Just too good.
Lionel Messi - Performances
- Thread starter Rado_N
- Start date
One of the points I see sometimes to counter the stuff about the physicality and the pitches is the level of fitness players have nowadays compared to back then.
For all that fitness however there is still an awful lot of strolling around. Check out the Getafe game last night. Center backs if they wished could play return passes to midfielders with a cigar on. The match as a contest was over at 2:0 any player from any generation could have handled the demands of its intensity. Another great thing about Messi (and Ronaldo) is that his fitness, conditioning, and attitude allow him to play so many games. We get to watch him practically twice a week whereas Maradona had long periods out crocked due to unbelievable hackings and assaults from behind. None of that has interfered with Messi's career.
You can claim that with Neymar & Suarez the thing is easier now. But in the biggest matches, and in the most important moments, the one who makes de difference is Messi. In the games vs City and Bayern Messi made ALL the players in the field look like normal guys alongside him (incluiding Aguero, Silva, Neymar, Suarez). They are trully good but Messi is in a level of his own.
And for me it's not casual that he's starting to get in form when the most important matches are coming. I believe he starts to play seriously from january to june.
And for me it's not casual that he's starting to get in form when the most important matches are coming. I believe he starts to play seriously from january to june.
He was in a walk-about last night. He wasn't even bothered to try too hard.
I guess it takes a team like Atletico to make him play on 4th gear.
I guess it takes a team like Atletico to make him play on 4th gear.
His highlight reel post-career will be hours long
Don't think I've ever seen a player who scores when he wants until Messi.
Neymar scored, Suarez scored, so he decided it would be cool to score himself and just did it. For me personally, no matter how good Neymar and Suarez are, they're not even close to Messi, words fail me to describe how good he really is!
I honestly don't see how anyone ever could have been better or will be better than him. He is football, it's that simple.
I used to think that winning a international title with Argentina would be important for his legacy, but I don't feel that way anymore. Quite irrelevant given all he's achieved with Barça.
I used to think the same aswell.
Can't see anyone stopping Barcelona or Messi. A second successive treble looms large.
lovely pass from the quick freekick in the buildup towards the first goal....
Di María off injured, once again, as a result of his trying to play heroball all the damn time... oh well, will be nice to see Ángel Correa link-up with Messi
He's doing everything. It's a shame he can't get the ball as much he should.
This Argentine team is just a mess.
This Argentine team is just a mess.
It's just a normal Messi day with Argentina
He's out of this world
He's out of this world
What's normal is how wasteful his teammates are.
Just stop it Lionel
To be fair... that was a wasteful play
Look at the movement of Argentina's front line there. Like watching United...
No wonder he looks much better for Barca, where the runs come flying from every direction and he can pick out passes instead of having to do absolutely everything on his own.
No wonder he looks much better for Barca, where the runs come flying from every direction and he can pick out passes instead of having to do absolutely everything on his own.
Really phenomenal form heading into El Clasico. Oh how different Argentina could look under Sampaoli or Simeone
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Good performance, no disrespect to Bolivia but El Classico is a different ballgame all together.Really phenomenal form heading into El Clasico. Oh how different Argentina could look under Sampaoli or Simeone
Which is quite amazing given the talent (at least in attack) this team has.
Yup, it's not always about talent though, chemistry and understanding comes into it.
You could have two average wingers and Messi as CF with perfect understanding and that team would win every trophy.
The issue with Bolivia is they didn't know how to stop Messi carrying the ball from midfield. Madrid will (they'll just chop him down).
it's a shame Riquelme wasn't 28 years old in this squad and Cambiasso wasn't in his prime because that would sort the midfield out.
This pretty much sums up this team. And it happens almost every game.
Which makes the WC 2006 a bigger disappointment for Argentina than 2014, imo.
2006 was painful but 2014 was THE worldcup for us. It will never be the same again.
You know what means to an argentine to win it in Brazil? And against a team that scored 7 goals to them? Brazilians were horrified and praying for germany to win the WC. We had like 50.000+ argentines in Brazil, it was going to be historical
You know what means to an argentine to win it in Brazil? And against a team that scored 7 goals to them? Brazilians were horrified and praying for germany to win the WC. We had like 50.000+ argentines in Brazil, it was going to be historical
Too bad Higuain played in the WC and Copa America final, too bad Aguero wasn't 100% fit
Aguero has been a complete flop for Argentina, and can't link-up with Messi. Higuain is way too inconsistent. ADM does his best to remain injured and needs a proper target man in the box to prosper. The whole of Argentina attack is compelte clusterfeck, big names but no co-ordination. Top it with Tata as manager, you have got yourself a recipe for disaster.
Would like to see someone like Dybala playing on top, see if he can score atleast 50% of the chances created for him.
Would like to see someone like Dybala playing on top, see if he can score atleast 50% of the chances created for him.
The ironic thing in that image is there's 7 tears and 1 cartman licking them
I was fortunate enough to be there. Mingled with a lot of Argentines, they were everywhere!
But 2014 was kinda overachieving, hats off to Sabella, while 2006 was a near perfect team that had everything to succeed. Only for Peckerman to screw things up against Germany.
Fair play
got emI was fortunate enough to be there. Mingled with a lot of Argentines, they were everywhere!
But 2014 was kinda overachieving, hats off to Sabella, while 2006 was a near perfect team that had everything to succeed. Only for Peckerman to screw things up against Germany.
Yeah 2006 was the best team we had since 1990. And Pekerman is the best manager we had along with Bielsa. He was unlucky, I don't judge him for that.
Too bad Argentina is in no situation to match what Qatar can offer, and Sampaoli being this money whore doesn't help either.
Simeone sounds more realistic though, and yeah, they could look so much better. The give it to Messi and pray for the best seems to be the only tactic Tata knows.
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Just don't ask him to donate another pair of boots to a charity auction...poor guy must be wishing he hadn't bothered now....
Sampaoli didn't sign for any team in Qatar, I don't know where you got that from. From what's in the news, he's actually close to managing Valencia.