BusbyMalone
First Man Falling
- Joined
- May 22, 2017
- Messages
- 10,362
He's quickly approaching Mo Salah levels this kid
I have to disagree with this.No one is born to be able to play a sport, sports are not built into human evolution and biology sk to suggest they are born able to kick a ball around is absurd.
Only a goal today, Salah would score 5 against that Basque lot.He's quickly approaching Mo Salah levels this kid
In your opinion.Messi is the best player of the world. No discussion about that.
What a player Ronaldo had people like Zidane & Ronaldinho fawning over him in much the same way as greats like Iniesta & Xavi do Messi. When you command that much respect from genuinely world class teammates, that's when you know you're something special. In a similar vein (although not to Messi/Ronaldo standards), look at all the respect Scholes gets from his former teammates & Fergie.Messi is one of the best players I've ever seen.
All time great.
Only peak old Ronaldo can compare to players I've seen at the highest level.
I see your point and hope you know I mean "El Phenomeno"What a player Ronaldo had people like Zidane & Ronaldinho fawning over him in much the same way as greats like Iniesta & Xavi do Messi. When you command that much respect from genuinely world class teammates, that's when you know you're something special. In a similar vein (although not to Messi/Ronaldo standards), look at all the respect Scholes gets from his former teammates & Fergie.
For me, and I know this is a tad controversial, but I reckon the gap between Messi & CR7 is bigger than the gap between CR7 and the players below/around him.
No thats and 2 become 1Aren't those the lyrics to a spice girls song?!
Free kicks aside this was his first goal from outside the box... and there are 9 games left, he's most likely not scoring 10-15 goals even if he stays in the boxgreat goal today. I reckon if he suddenly decided not to enter the opposition penalty area untill the end of the season, he would still score 10-15 goals in the remaining la liga fixtures.
They're not Brazil but they're Argentina for fecks sake. Are you seriously trying to pretend Argentina should actually be happy with the last 4 tournaments? It's been embarassing. Getting to 3 out of 4 finals isn't an achievement for Argentina... they got 2 Copa Americas in 2 years in a row with Brazil being crap and still didn't win it. The names of the teams they played to get to those finals speak for themselves.
Messi's their best player but he's most certainly part of the problem too no matter how many excuses there are (and there will always be more), he comes nowhere even close to being as good as you just pretended. That fantasy you just created of Messi for Argentina influencing triple the amount of pitch, being responsible for Argentina's great defensive record and constantly making brilliant passes and dribbles for Argentina while their strikers miss everything is bullshit and he's nowhere near as effective at that as he is for Barcelona, his goalscoring numbers come way down too. It's not just the fact he's playing in South America either... Neymar has no problem scoring for fun for example so why does Messi score over once a game for Barcelona and in official games for Argentina he doesn't even score 1 goal every 2 games? Has there ever even been a player whose goalscoring numbers go down by such a big amount when playing for his country?
When people say Messi's poor for Argentina they aren't comparing him to Higuain and Aguero, they're comparing him to all time greats. And they're right to do so. This Messi generation has been an embarassment for Argentina and the World Cup in Russia will be a last chance to redeem themselves, for over a decade I hear Messi makes the players around him better while his Barcelona teammates succeed at anything they do and his argentinan teammates go to shit playing next to him. Great players elevate teams in a way Messi hasn't done for his country. Either him and Argentina have a very good World Cup or he'll have a big stain on his legacy, no matter how many excuses get thrown around.
And just to be clear, I still put him up there with the best that's ever played the game regardless of all of this and I want them to find some redemption in Russia because I think Messi, the other players and Argentina deserve it.
You're the one that should start watching the matches before arguing nonsenseYou're talking biased bollocks. As always. I mean at least I watch the matches before actually having an opinion on them.
Because Neymar never scored for fun in South America, and you'd know that if you spent any time watching games or bothering yourself in knowing about what you talk abouthis goalscoring numbers come way down too. It's not just the fact he's playing in South America either... Neymar has no problem scoring for fun for example so why does Messi score over once a game for Barcelona and in official games for Argentina he doesn't even score 1 goal every 2 games?
I'm not pretending anything, I'm just citing facts.Are you seriously trying to pretend Argentina should actually be happy with the last 4 tournaments? It's been embarassing.
Still butthurted here
His goal record in tournaments is still better than Messi's and he's playing for Portugal...
Oh yeah of course, I agree with what you are saying here.Not saying he's "born to play football". That would be ridiculous. Still I believe his biological traits like a low center of gravity, muscular structure, sense of balance etc. in that exact composition are an integral part to his capabilities as well as his limitations as a player. I doubt someone with the built of Drogba would be able to replicate Messi's playstyle to the same degree of effectiveness simply because of physical limitations like inertia.
You probably disagree with the man himself :P@Ishdalar
It's a pretty big opinion to say Messi has put Argentina at the heights of Germany or Spain and it's certainly not a fact. I'd call it a wrong opinion
Fair enough on most of the rest, I disagree with some of it but won't repeat myself.
Yes, I disagree and it seems that in Argentina they also disagree then. If they had gotten to those finals playing a different set of teams it would have been different imo.You probably disagree with the man himself :P
"In Argentina it seems that arriving to 3 finals is meaningless. If we dont win this WC with Argentina, I wont play again for the NT".
I should be payed for saying what he thinks even before he says it
Wonder if this will be like his last retirementYou probably disagree with the man himself :P
"In Argentina it seems that arriving to 3 finals is meaningless. If we dont win this WC with Argentina, I wont play again for the NT".
I should be payed for saying what he thinks even before he says it
Not only him, that the thought in this generation of Argentina players is that if they don't win the WC, they won't return to play in a team where some people (he says that's a minority, but fueled by some of the press) don't want them.Yes, I disagree and it seems that in Argentina they also disagree then. If they had gotten to those finals playing a different set of teams it would have been different imo.
Did he actually say he won't play for Argentina again?
They have a Copa America in Brazil in 2019, I'd be very surprised if players retired from the national team before then, especially Messi.Not only him, that the thought in this generation of Argentina players is that if they don't win the WC, they won't return to play in a team where some people (he says that's a minority, but fueled by some of the press) don't want them.
I hope he continues to play after 2018 but honestly, I feel like the Argentina players really hate playing for the NT. Those penalty losses to Chile really did them in on top of the world cup. I can't even fault them for the world cup, Germany were heavy favorites in that match and Di Maria being injured really sucked the life out of them. The Chile matches were the ones they should've won (especially the most recent one) and even Mascherano says putting on the Argentina jersey is like putting on a curse.They have a Copa America in Brazil in 2019, I'd be very surprised if players retired from the national team before then, especially Messi.
He could easily still be playing at a high level in Qatar
I don't know if you understand Spanish or watched the whole interview, but it's another bucket of "Leo, save us but you're not really the Leo we're waiting for".They have a Copa America in Brazil in 2019, I'd be very surprised if players retired from the national team before then, especially Messi.
He could easily still be playing at a high level in Qatar
I seriously have no idea how you guys will handle his departure. What he has been doing the past 10 years practically and aesthetically is just insane.Ohh Messi, My Messi. Sometimes I wonder, do I just watch Barcelona just to see him play? What will I do when he retires?
Within all the arguments, I just wonder how can some not enjoy what they see him doing, how can some just waste there time arguing. As there is only a couple of years left to enjoy this etherealness on the pitch. So enjoy while you can, cuz after 4 years or so he's only available on the Youtube clips.
What a strange thing to say. It wasn't just a bicycle goal. It was one of the best bicycle kicks in elite (televised) football history, one of the best goals in Champions League history, his 10th scoring game in a row in the Champions League (stretching back to his 2 goals in the CL final agains the same team), and his 25th goal in 2018.
Pretty much sums this place up. After a bicycle goal from his adversary they created a separate thread for that occasion and his "nemesis" is now in the contention for the greatest of all time. I think someone mentioned that in Messi vs Ronaldo thread the gap between Ronaldo and Messi decreased by 10% after his goal.