Lionel Messi - Performances

I really wish there is a striker in the future who's a donkey on the ball but scores 5 goals every game while leading both his team and country to every title possible.
What a depressing thought.
 
It's impressive but not some mind blowing phenomenon. In fact in that time a lot of other Italian clubs were complaining that Napoli were trying to buy the league and they were actually more like City at that time.
It's a pointless comparison, really. Maradona won 2 titles when he faced probably the best club side ever in AC Milan, Platini's Juve (on a decline), Matthäus' Inter etc., that's all that matters. City didn't have the same competition, not even close.
 
I haven't really thought about it, but I think the allure for me as a viewer is watching players at the top level of technique and/or physicality. Players that are average, in both, but just extremely intelligent aren't as nice to watch.
 
not having a good day but then he produces this, amazing.
 
It's a pointless comparison, really. Maradona won 2 titles when he faced probably the best club side ever in AC Milan, Platini's Juve (on a decline), Matthäus' Inter etc., that's all that matters. City didn't have the same competition, not even close.


Another revisionism. Best club side that won 1 league title in their cycle? Not a chance. Plus Europe was weaker as English sides were banned and the great Everton side that was being built was dismantled. That Milan team has too much nostalgia attached to it. They Had one fantastic season and laboured in their second European Cup season iirc. Thefootball they played was great when it worked but they were to inconsistent in the league. My point of comparison was that Napoli spent an extraordinary amount of money relative to the time whether Milan were great or not and Silvio B was ironically one of the people that complained. Ironically Maradona was not even rated as the best player in his team by all the most prominent Italian papers in his first mythical season at Napoli.
 
Another revisionism. Best club side that won 1 league title in their cycle? Not a chance. Plus Europe was weaker as English sides were banned and the great Everton side that was being built was dismantled. That Milan team has too much nostalgia attached to it. They Had one fantastic season and laboured in their second European Cup season iirc. Thefootball they played was great when it worked but they were to inconsistent in the league. My point of comparison was that Napoli spent an extraordinary amount of money relative to the time whether Milan were great or not and Silvio B was ironically one of the people that complained. Ironically Maradona was not even rated as the best player in his team by all the most prominent Italian papers in his first mythical season at Napoli.

Maradona struggled a fair bit when he first arrived in italy.
 
Still in October but as is the case each year, no one has had a better year
I think that has been the knock on him the last couple of years. Messi has been great when it doesn't matter, Ronaldo has been great when it does.

Personally, I think they are both superb footballers. I really hope Leo has a great World Cup.
 
I think that has been the knock on him the last couple of years. Messi has been great when it doesn't matter, Ronaldo has been great when it does. Personally, I think they are both superb footballers. I really hope Leo has a great World Cup.

Do you imagine anyone thinks differently? I'd say that's a worldwide concensus rather than a personally held opinion.
 
I think that has been the knock on him the last couple of years. Messi has been great when it doesn't matter, Ronaldo has been great when it does.

Personally, I think they are both superb footballers. I really hope Leo has a great World Cup.
This forum is insane. I know United fans feel like they need to defend their former player but ho-lee-shit :lol:
 
I think that has been the knock on him the last couple of years. Messi has been great when it doesn't matter, Ronaldo has been great when it does.

Personally, I think they are both superb footballers. I really hope Leo has a great World Cup.
That's just not true. Granted the last CL campaign was brilliant from Ronaldo with the hattrick vs Atlético and brace in the final but apart from that? He did not score against City in the semi finals the year before, did not score or stand out against Atlético in the final. In the Euros, it was the same in the 1/4s, 1/2s and final. In the league as well, when was the last time he put in a game changing performance in a decisive big game? Messi had that performance with the two goals at the Bernabeu last year that kept the title race alive, got his team to the WC with a majestic performance and a hattrick vs Ecuador and led his team to 3 successive major finals when he was name man of the tournament.
 
That's just not true. Granted the last CL campaign was brilliant from Ronaldo with the hattrick vs Atlético and brace in the final but apart from that? He did not score against City in the semi finals the year before, did not score or stand out against Atlético in the final. In the Euros, it was the same in the 1/4s, 1/2s and final. In the league as well, when was the last time he put in a game changing performance in a decisive big game? Messi had that performance with the two goals at the Bernabeu last year that kept the title race alive, got his team to the WC with a majestic performance and a hattrick vs Ecuador and led his team to 3 successive major finals when he was name man of the tournament.
This Messi vs Ronaldo stuff is getting a bit ridiculous. The majority of people think that Messi is the better footballer, yet Ronaldo has won four of the last five ballon d'ors. Therefore if Ronaldo is not the better footballer (and from your post I gather that is your view) then the only other football argument is that he has been better when it matters. I suppose technically you could argue that all the voters are idiots but since the majority of them know more about football then I could ever hope to, I'm just going to assume they are competent to judge. Thus, concluding, if Ronaldo doesn't win the awards by being better, he wins them on individual performances in big matches leading to trophies won. It really is one or the other.
 
Therefore if Ronaldo is not the better footballer (and from your post I gather that is your view) then the only other football argument is that he has been better when it matters.
Or that awards are often influenced by timing (2013 for example) and a bit of luck/stuff out of the player's influence.

Messi had it too in 2009. Doubt people would have voted him over CR if Chelsea eliminates them.

CR had people winning finals for him where he literally did nothing and it was outside his influence.
 
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Or that awards are often influenced by timing (2013 for example) and a bit of luck/stuff out of the player's influence.

Messi had it too in 2009. Doubt people would have voted him over CR if Chelsea eliminates them.
That is true, but during the time period being considered for a player to win he usually has to be better overall or just perform better in the big games - leading to trophies won. Call it luck, call it timing, call it whatever you like but that is the truth of it. That is not a knock on Leo, Ronaldo or whoever wins an award, it is just a fact.
 
That's just not true. Granted the last CL campaign was brilliant from Ronaldo with the hattrick vs Atlético and brace in the final but apart from that? He did not score against City in the semi finals the year before, did not score or stand out against Atlético in the final. In the Euros, it was the same in the 1/4s, 1/2s and final. In the league as well, when was the last time he put in a game changing performance in a decisive big game? Messi had that performance with the two goals at the Bernabeu last year that kept the title race alive, got his team to the WC with a majestic performance and a hattrick vs Ecuador and led his team to 3 successive major finals when he was name man of the tournament.

That’s not true. Portugal scored 8 goals in the tournament with him on the pitch (Eder scored one later so totally 9) of which six were either scored or created by him (3 goals and 3 assists). That clearly proves that he was very very vital in Portugal’s euro win. So that point is clearly wrong

Ronaldo scored 15 or something in qualifying so it’s not like he did nothing to help Portugal qualify for the World Cup either.
 
That is true, but during the time period being considered for a player to win he usually has to be better overall or just perform better in the big games - leading to trophies won. Call it luck, call it timing, call it whatever you like but that is the truth of it. That is not a knock on Leo, Ronaldo or whoever wins an award, it is just a fact.
Voters need a narrative, a storline. Performance alone is often not enough.

That's why De Gea doesn't get any votes for best GK for example.
 
Portugal scored 8 goals in the tournament with him on the pitch (Eder scored one later so totally 9) of which six were either scored or created by him (3 goals and 3 assists). That clearly proves that he was very very vital in Portugal’s euro win. So that point is clearly wrong
C. Ronaldo was good against Hungary, I'll give him that. But in most of the other games; vs Iceland, Austria, Croatia & Poland, he was among the worst players on the pitch. Two of his "assists" was not exactly created by him: a missed shot from a couple of yards out that Quaresma scored on the rebound and a misshit shot that Nani managed to get a foot on, which otherwise would have been a easy save for the keeper. Not that this is the thread for it but Messi's Copa America was SO much better but since he missed a penalty (and didn't have a "Eder" on his team) that's all people on this forum talks about.
 
Voters need a narrative, a storline. Performance alone is often not enough.

That's why De Gea doesn't get any votes for best GK for example.
All that you say is true, and very often performance is not enough. That is the argument the Messi acolytes use when he doesn't win the ballon d'or every year because in their eyes he is clearly the best player. Ronaldo has been winning the award by being outstanding in the big games which in the last few years seems to trump Messi's overall brilliance. As to De Gea, the reasoning is exactly the same in that his overall great performance is overshadowed by the fact he has not been able to shine in big games. Of course, that has not been his fault since for the last few years United have not given him the opportunity to shine in said big games because they haven't been able to get to any. Unfortunately in the eyes of the voters that still appears to be a strike against him and therefore costs him votes.
 
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The pass he made in the Copa final when Barca won the Liga - Copa double in 2016 to set up Alba's goal, was one of the finest things I've ever seen any player do. He does that kind of pass all the time now, the kind of pass far beyond 99.99% of players. He dropped a perfect curled ball right into the path of Alba who only needed to swing a leg to score an admittedly neat finish. A truly unbelievable pass.
 
I was thinking, how good was the teenager Messi ? He was so incredible already that i'm sure if he had never evolved and remained like his 2004 or 2005 version he would still win awards and likely be considered the best ever anyway. All the evolution did was to add to his legacy
 
I was thinking, how good was the teenager Messi ? He was so incredible already that i'm sure if he had never evolved and remained like his 2004 or 2005 version he would still win awards and likely be considered the best ever anyway. All the evolution did was to add to his legacy
The evolution was...learning to take free kicks.
 
The evolution was...learning to take free kicks.

Yeah! I remember until 2007-08 he never took them. Back then Ronaldo was the best taker in the world but now Messi has been better at it for the last 5 years at least. What impresses me about his freekicks is how much he puts the ball in the back of the net, always with prescision, never with power alone.
 
I think I'm even more impressed with him this season if that's even possible after all these years. Gone are the days of prime Iniesta/Xavi midfield, yet even with injuries to key players this season and Suarez level clearly dropping he is still producing and leading this team being over 30 now. So with less service from midfield, less scoring support from other forwards and with the loss of Neymar he still manages to find ways to be successful. It's impressive really because as we have seen Barca without him on the pitch are two totally different teams.
 
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Immense performance.
created 9 chances today, most in a game in Liga this season by a single player.


All-time TOP scorer in #ElClasico history (25)
✅ All-time TOP scorer in #ElClasico history at the Bernabeu (15)
✅ All-time TOP scorer against Real Madrid in #LaLiga (17) ✅ LIONEL MESSI.