It used to be a highlight of my Saturday or Sunday night. After about 70 minutes of watching Eto, Ronaldinho and Deco toy with the opposition, the 4th officials board would go up with the number 19 and the night would start all over again. The first time I saw Messi play there was a rapturous applause. At first I thought it might all be for the departing Ronaldinho after yet another sensational display, however there was also appreciation as Messi entered the fray – the Camp Nou knew there was something special going to happen.
That’s all I remember from his first season; cameo displays in the last twenty minutes where he would make and be given a plethora of chances – he’d take a few of them as well. It was the ease in which he’d beat a player that was so breathtaking – at just 17 people were already starting to talk.
Five years later and Leo Messi is a regular in the Barcelona team and in contention for the Ballon D’Or again. Highlights have included three La Liga titles, two Champions League wins and a Copa del Rey, which completed the treble last season. These titles have come with some unreal performances along the way – especially one night at the Bernabeu.
I wrote about how Del Piero received one of the highest accolades in football – a standing ovation at the Bernabeu for his displays last season, but for a player from Barcelona to receive it is something else – only Ronaldinho had achieved such feat in recent years. The Bernabeu know their football and can accept when they’re in the presence of greatness.
I think Leo Messi is the most gifted footballer currently playing the game. His touch, low centre of gravity and zero back-lift combined with his excellent footballing brain and his confidence in placing his shots instead of hammering them make him one of the most deadly and prolific players in today’s game.
I’m a Manchester United fan and a massive fan of Cristiano Ronaldo – but there is something that Messi offers that draws me in even more so. I’ve always wondered which is better; a player that is unpredictable and therefore unstoppable, or a player like Messi who is slightly more predictable, but nevertheless, unstoppable.
The ‘Maradona’ tag has been lambasted around too often. Pablo Aimar, Javier Savola and many others have accrued to this name but after much analysis it’s clear to see Messi comes closer than all of them. He’s even replicated Maradona’s two (in)famous goals. Beating the same amount of players and running roughly the same distance for his wonder goal and for the other, using his hand. Let’s be fair though, Messi is a great player in his own right.
If Maradona is the acid test at International level then Ronaldinho holds that mantle for his time at club level. Comparisons of his impact can be made to Ronaldinho having achieved the same at club level.
Nicknamed the “Messiah” he saved Barcelona a few times last season. The Champions League game against Shaktar the most memorable – 1-0 down with 15 minutes to play – enter Messi.
It has quickly become Messi’s team following the departure of Ronaldinho – and his levels of performance for his club team are not in question here – the ultra critical eye will look towards his tenure with the national team.
Last month in his hometown of Rosario, Messi was frustrated as Argentina lost to Brazil. He showed clear signs of disappointment due to the lack of quality from his team mates. It’s fair to say Argentina aren’t the best side in the world at the moment but would Maradona have acted in the same manner? Something which Messi has to learn when playing for his country is that he has to take on more responsibility.
Messi’s tendency to stay out wide could be considered a limitation. Cristiano Ronaldo for example often swaps flanks, goes down the middle and appears in the box. Messi does sometimes drift but he spends the majority of the game out on the right wing. This limitation may occur due to the nature of his Barcelona team, regardless it does restrict his impact on a game from time to time. It’s not a problem when Xavi and Iniesta are pulling the strings but the boy who moved to Spain at 11 to treat his growth hormone deficiency must adapt all over again because great players pull through no matter the circumstance.
Messi recently said he admired Rooney’s passion for the game.
“When he loses, it hurts and those are the sort of players you want to be playing with.
“I can understand the pressure on him, but to be honest, from what I have seen, Rooney is the sort of player who would thrive playing under pressure.”
That’s built in to Wayne Rooney it’s not something you learn, but something you have and the same could be said about Maradona. The question is, when it goes down to the wire can Messi put in that performance or score that goal that makes the difference on the International scene? Only then will he be considered truly one of the best – but time is on his side.
But you’d have to doubt Messi at your peril as he takes in a good goal scoring record to Argentina on Saturday where lowly Peru will undoubtedly struggle with a player that’s in a different league.
Written by Steven Jones
Tags: Argentina, Leo Messi, MAradona, messiah, ronaldinho, Ronaldo, rooney, world cup 2010
This entry was posted on Friday, October 9th, 2009 and is filed under Argentina, FIFA, Spain. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
It’s hard to critcise Messi but I know where you’re coming from. He had a good game at the weekend but didn’t steal the show.
I think there’s too much pressure on Messi like there has been on Kaka recently but he has 2 more world cups after this one, one in South America to prove himself.
Interesting article. I think as Messi matures he will have the same impact at international level, as he does at club level.
He only needs to look at Maradona as an example of a player who had to ‘grow-up’ a bit on the international stage. Diego let his frustrations get the better of him at the ’82 World Cup and ended up with a red card against Brazil. Four years later he had a different attitude and the rest is history.
Interesting comments from Cesar Menotti – kind of the point I was trying to make.
http://www.goal.com/en/news/12/spain/2009/10/13/1558038/lionel-messi-cannot-orchestrate-for-argentina-cesar-menotti
Messi is exceptional, growing up at Barcelona and coming through into the first team means that pretty much all of Europe has seen him grow and blossom into the player he is today, and rightly everyone is excited at the prospect of seeing him play.
The number of people you speak to who say do you remember watching him at the World Cup in Germany or for Barcelona is frightening. His talent was such that his reputation preceded his rapid ascent to the upper echelons of footballing society, and as such he has done fantastically well to have remained grounded and kept up his work ethic.
He is still very young however, I think Argentina miss a player in midfield who retains possession and brings others into play, a la Riquelme say. Spain is the template at the moment, they don’t look to a star, they play as one, and even without a single player in their starting line up would be a formidable side. That Fabregas, Alonso, Mata, Navas, Joaquin, Arteta, Negredo, Bojan, Riera, Raul etc aren’t automatic first choice speaks volumes of their quality.
Firstly I will quickly weigh in on the Ronaldo v Messi debate. Both fantastic players and Messi will win the Ballon D’Or this year – deservedly. However, who would I want in my team…Ronaldo (I think – took me a while to write these seven letters).
Ronaldo for me brings with him the same individual brilliance that Messi brings but with more of a bang. By that I mean that the brilliance can come from nowhere whereas with Messi you can see the attack. In most cases it is no less effective but Ronaldo has the ‘goal out of nothing’ about him. Also, he is better in the air and I would imagine quicker(?).
I was not fortunate enough to see Maradona on the international stage, highlights yes but not a full game. He played in a number of tournaments for Argentina but only won one World Cup. No matter how good the individual player is he needs a team around him and a good coach. I have written about what I think needs to happen to the Argentinean system to accommodate Messi. Playing him centrally does not work; he needs the space and angle to attack. The petulance of Messi is frustration born out of a coach that is stifling the best player Argentina have had since him. Also, the Messiah turned his back when he failed a drug test.
Just thought of what a psychologist would make of Maradona’s actions…maybe trying to show the world that either Messi couldn’t do it so he is the best, or that if they do it, it was without Messi, so he is still the best.
[...] I recently wrote how Messi has simply had too much to do in the Argentina team, the workload increased even more so when Veron was suspended due to him having to employ the playmaker role. [...]
[...] I recently wrote how Messi has simply had too much to do in the Argentina team, the workload increased even more so when Veron was suspended due to him having to employ the playmaker role. [...]