Lionel Messi - Performances

tbf the next bpitw could be a lot better than ronaldo but not even close to messi

Come on Marcos, You can't be a lot better than Ronaldo and not be close to Messi, Ronaldo is still one of one, don't think he'll ever be surpassed....but if you're good enough to surpass Ronaldo then Messi wouldn't be far off imo.
 
Come on Marcos, You can't be a lot better than Ronaldo and not be close to Messi, Ronaldo is still one of one, don't think he'll ever be surpassed....but if you're good enough to surpass Ronaldo then Messi wouldn't be far off imo.
i was kidding, i still think messi is the better player, but Ronaldo is one of the best in football history
 
Come on Marcos, You can't be a lot better than Ronaldo and not be close to Messi, Ronaldo is still one of one, don't think he'll ever be surpassed....but if you're good enough to surpass Ronaldo then Messi wouldn't be far off imo.
The thing is they really play very differently to be compared in a straight line like that. Ronaldo is more of a "normal" footballer if you know what I mean. He does things we understand and can even replicate, but he does them obviously to an extremely good level, maybe the best ever. He is a prime example of how to develop every quantifiable characteristic a player can possess; speed, stamina, finishing, jump, fitness. Messi on the other hand is more comparable to Zidane, Maradona or Zico with the finish expertise of Brazilian Ronaldo. That is why IMO, they are almost as difficult to compare as a goalkeeper and a midfielder.
 
The thing is they really play very differently to be compared in a straight line like that. Ronaldo is more of a "normal" footballer if you know what I mean. He does things we understand and can even replicate, but he does them obviously to an extremely good level, maybe the best ever. He is a prime example of how to develop every quantifiable characteristic a player can possess; speed, stamina, finishing, jump, fitness. Messi on the other hand is more comparable to Zidane, Maradona or Zico with the finish expertise of Brazilian Ronaldo. That is why IMO, they are almost as difficult to compare as a goalkeeper and a midfielder.

Ronaldo is the perfect footballer, Messi is an anomaly.
 
http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/may/08/jose-mourinho-lionel-messi-champions-league-top-four

José Mourinho: England’s top four could win the Champions League with Messi

• ‘One thing is a team; another thing is a team with Messi. It is a different story’
• Best way to mark Messi is man-to-man, says Chelsea manager
Messi: the genius who operates to a different set of physical rules


José Mourinho believes Lionel Messi would be good enough to bring Champions League glory to the Premier League's top clubs. Photograph: Gustau Nacarino/Reuters
David Hytner

Friday 8 May 2015 22.30 BST Last modified on Friday 8 May 2015 22.33 BST


José Mourinho believes any of England’s top clubs would win the Champions League if they had Lionel Messi in their ranks. The Chelsea manager watched appreciatively as Messi inspired Barcelona to a 3-0 Champions League semi-final first-leg win at home to Bayern Munich on Wednesday.

The richness of the Barcelona success, together with the absence of Premier League teams from the last four of Europe’s elite competition, has stoked the discussion about whether England’s best are falling further behind at the highest level. Mourinho, though, said that there was no gap, only Messi.

“I think this guy makes the gap by himself,” Mourinho said. “You have doubts that Man City with Messi can win the Champions League? Or Arsenal with Messi can win the Champions League? Or Chelsea with Messi can win the Champions League? Or Man United with Messi can win the Champions League? Don’t you think? I think.”

Mourinho said that any Tom, Dick or Harry – and, in his native Portuguese idiom, Anthony – would manage in a Champions League final with Messi. “One thing is a team; another thing is a team with Messi. It is a different story,” he said.

“He played a Champions League final with [Pep] Guardiola, he is normally going to play in this season’s Champions League final with Luis Enrique and if, one day, he plays for Anthony, Anthony will go to a Champions League final with him. When people analyse teams, you have to remember that this boy makes everything different.”

Guardiola, who is now the Bayern manager, had said on the eve of Wednesday’s tie there was “no defensive system that can stop Messi, and no coach either”.

Mourinho disagreed, and he pointed out that he and his old team, Internazionale, had managed to do so in each leg of their Champions League semi-final win over Barcelona in 2010.

Mourinho has faced Messi many times – the Argentina forward’s first game for the Barcelona first-team was a friendly against Mourinho’s Porto in November 2003. But Mourinho admitted that making life difficult for Messi was the best thing that could realistically be hoped for.

“Every time I played against Messi, I spent hours studying and trying to stop him,” Mourinho said. “Many times, we were successful. Other times, we were not successful. With Inter, we stopped him in both matches [of the semi-final].

“The best way to do it is man-to-man because that is better than involving everyone. When you go man-to-man, you go with similar power – although man-to-man with him is an impossible job. Every time I was thinking about how best collectively – I am not saying stop him – to give him a difficult match. I think this is the correct word. It is not about stopping him but giving him a difficult match. That is the best you do against him.”

Mourinho said he could never see Messi leaving Barcelona, that he would remain a one-club man. “My personal opinion – no chance to leave,” Mourinho said. “Just a personal opinion. Such a big club, such a powerful club. They can’t lose that player, that player belongs to them, belongs to their people. I don’t believe [he would leave]. In football, you never know, but I don’t believe it.”
 
Jose is spot on. Messi turned a world class Barca team into one of the all time great club sides IMO.

Barca always had Xavi/Iniesta at their peak as well but you just needed to watch Barca, with & without Messi, to know what he brings/brought to that team. That cutting edge. The directness. The fear he strikes into the opposition & the spaces which opens up for the others. Not to mention the goals and assists of course.
 
I actually agree with Mourinho...I feel sick.

Good interview.
 
Yes, great to see Mourinho like that, wasnt always the case in the past. Messi is something else. I would love to see him play in the Premier League though, just to see how he would tear this league apart.
 
Jose is spot on. Messi turned a world class Barca team into one of the all time great club sides IMO.

Barca always had Xavi/Iniesta at their peak as well but you just needed to watch Barca, with & without Messi, to know what he brings/brought to that team. That cutting edge. The directness. The fear he strikes into the opposition & the spaces which opens up for the others. Not to mention the goals and assists of course.
I never get tired of watching him, he just plays and see's a different game than the other 21 players on the pitch.
 
I agree with everything posted today - Even Jose.
 




Find it quite funny considering how so many say he's from another planet

Second one crowd view of the Bayern goal, would have been great to see that live.
 
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http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/may/08/jose-mourinho-lionel-messi-champions-league-top-four

José Mourinho: England’s top four could win the Champions League with Messi

• ‘One thing is a team; another thing is a team with Messi. It is a different story’
• Best way to mark Messi is man-to-man, says Chelsea manager
Messi: the genius who operates to a different set of physical rules


José Mourinho believes Lionel Messi would be good enough to bring Champions League glory to the Premier League's top clubs. Photograph: Gustau Nacarino/Reuters
David Hytner

Friday 8 May 2015 22.30 BST Last modified on Friday 8 May 2015 22.33 BST


José Mourinho believes any of England’s top clubs would win the Champions League if they had Lionel Messi in their ranks. The Chelsea manager watched appreciatively as Messi inspired Barcelona to a 3-0 Champions League semi-final first-leg win at home to Bayern Munich on Wednesday.

The richness of the Barcelona success, together with the absence of Premier League teams from the last four of Europe’s elite competition, has stoked the discussion about whether England’s best are falling further behind at the highest level. Mourinho, though, said that there was no gap, only Messi.

“I think this guy makes the gap by himself,” Mourinho said. “You have doubts that Man City with Messi can win the Champions League? Or Arsenal with Messi can win the Champions League? Or Chelsea with Messi can win the Champions League? Or Man United with Messi can win the Champions League? Don’t you think? I think.”

Mourinho said that any Tom, Dick or Harry – and, in his native Portuguese idiom, Anthony – would manage in a Champions League final with Messi. “One thing is a team; another thing is a team with Messi. It is a different story,” he said.

“He played a Champions League final with [Pep] Guardiola, he is normally going to play in this season’s Champions League final with Luis Enrique and if, one day, he plays for Anthony, Anthony will go to a Champions League final with him. When people analyse teams, you have to remember that this boy makes everything different.”

Guardiola, who is now the Bayern manager, had said on the eve of Wednesday’s tie there was “no defensive system that can stop Messi, and no coach either”.

Mourinho disagreed, and he pointed out that he and his old team, Internazionale, had managed to do so in each leg of their Champions League semi-final win over Barcelona in 2010.

Mourinho has faced Messi many times – the Argentina forward’s first game for the Barcelona first-team was a friendly against Mourinho’s Porto in November 2003. But Mourinho admitted that making life difficult for Messi was the best thing that could realistically be hoped for.

“Every time I played against Messi, I spent hours studying and trying to stop him,” Mourinho said. “Many times, we were successful. Other times, we were not successful. With Inter, we stopped him in both matches [of the semi-final].

“The best way to do it is man-to-man because that is better than involving everyone. When you go man-to-man, you go with similar power – although man-to-man with him is an impossible job. Every time I was thinking about how best collectively – I am not saying stop him – to give him a difficult match. I think this is the correct word. It is not about stopping him but giving him a difficult match. That is the best you do against him.”

Mourinho said he could never see Messi leaving Barcelona, that he would remain a one-club man. “My personal opinion – no chance to leave,” Mourinho said. “Just a personal opinion. Such a big club, such a powerful club. They can’t lose that player, that player belongs to them, belongs to their people. I don’t believe [he would leave]. In football, you never know, but I don’t believe it.”

You just know it's just another hidden dig at Pep.
 
http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/may/08/jose-mourinho-lionel-messi-champions-league-top-four

José Mourinho: England’s top four could win the Champions League with Messi

• ‘One thing is a team; another thing is a team with Messi. It is a different story’
• Best way to mark Messi is man-to-man, says Chelsea manager
Messi: the genius who operates to a different set of physical rules


José Mourinho believes Lionel Messi would be good enough to bring Champions League glory to the Premier League's top clubs. Photograph: Gustau Nacarino/Reuters
David Hytner

Friday 8 May 2015 22.30 BST Last modified on Friday 8 May 2015 22.33 BST


José Mourinho believes any of England’s top clubs would win the Champions League if they had Lionel Messi in their ranks. The Chelsea manager watched appreciatively as Messi inspired Barcelona to a 3-0 Champions League semi-final first-leg win at home to Bayern Munich on Wednesday.

The richness of the Barcelona success, together with the absence of Premier League teams from the last four of Europe’s elite competition, has stoked the discussion about whether England’s best are falling further behind at the highest level. Mourinho, though, said that there was no gap, only Messi.

“I think this guy makes the gap by himself,” Mourinho said. “You have doubts that Man City with Messi can win the Champions League? Or Arsenal with Messi can win the Champions League? Or Chelsea with Messi can win the Champions League? Or Man United with Messi can win the Champions League? Don’t you think? I think.”

Mourinho said that any Tom, Dick or Harry – and, in his native Portuguese idiom, Anthony – would manage in a Champions League final with Messi. “One thing is a team; another thing is a team with Messi. It is a different story,” he said.

“He played a Champions League final with [Pep] Guardiola, he is normally going to play in this season’s Champions League final with Luis Enrique and if, one day, he plays for Anthony, Anthony will go to a Champions League final with him. When people analyse teams, you have to remember that this boy makes everything different.”

Guardiola, who is now the Bayern manager, had said on the eve of Wednesday’s tie there was “no defensive system that can stop Messi, and no coach either”.

Mourinho disagreed, and he pointed out that he and his old team, Internazionale, had managed to do so in each leg of their Champions League semi-final win over Barcelona in 2010.

Mourinho has faced Messi many times – the Argentina forward’s first game for the Barcelona first-team was a friendly against Mourinho’s Porto in November 2003. But Mourinho admitted that making life difficult for Messi was the best thing that could realistically be hoped for.

“Every time I played against Messi, I spent hours studying and trying to stop him,” Mourinho said. “Many times, we were successful. Other times, we were not successful. With Inter, we stopped him in both matches [of the semi-final].

“The best way to do it is man-to-man because that is better than involving everyone. When you go man-to-man, you go with similar power – although man-to-man with him is an impossible job. Every time I was thinking about how best collectively – I am not saying stop him – to give him a difficult match. I think this is the correct word. It is not about stopping him but giving him a difficult match. That is the best you do against him.”

Mourinho said he could never see Messi leaving Barcelona, that he would remain a one-club man. “My personal opinion – no chance to leave,” Mourinho said. “Just a personal opinion. Such a big club, such a powerful club. They can’t lose that player, that player belongs to them, belongs to their people. I don’t believe [he would leave]. In football, you never know, but I don’t believe it.”

Spot on, he is just that good that he could easily raise the top 4 to another level. Not too sure about us though, with the way we are playing :lol:
 
http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/may/08/jose-mourinho-lionel-messi-champions-league-top-four

José Mourinho: England’s top four could win the Champions League with Messi

• ‘One thing is a team; another thing is a team with Messi. It is a different story’
• Best way to mark Messi is man-to-man, says Chelsea manager
Messi: the genius who operates to a different set of physical rules


José Mourinho believes Lionel Messi would be good enough to bring Champions League glory to the Premier League's top clubs. Photograph: Gustau Nacarino/Reuters
David Hytner

Friday 8 May 2015 22.30 BST Last modified on Friday 8 May 2015 22.33 BST


José Mourinho believes any of England’s top clubs would win the Champions League if they had Lionel Messi in their ranks. The Chelsea manager watched appreciatively as Messi inspired Barcelona to a 3-0 Champions League semi-final first-leg win at home to Bayern Munich on Wednesday.

The richness of the Barcelona success, together with the absence of Premier League teams from the last four of Europe’s elite competition, has stoked the discussion about whether England’s best are falling further behind at the highest level. Mourinho, though, said that there was no gap, only Messi.

“I think this guy makes the gap by himself,” Mourinho said. “You have doubts that Man City with Messi can win the Champions League? Or Arsenal with Messi can win the Champions League? Or Chelsea with Messi can win the Champions League? Or Man United with Messi can win the Champions League? Don’t you think? I think.”

Mourinho said that any Tom, Dick or Harry – and, in his native Portuguese idiom, Anthony – would manage in a Champions League final with Messi. “One thing is a team; another thing is a team with Messi. It is a different story,” he said.

“He played a Champions League final with [Pep] Guardiola, he is normally going to play in this season’s Champions League final with Luis Enrique and if, one day, he plays for Anthony, Anthony will go to a Champions League final with him. When people analyse teams, you have to remember that this boy makes everything different.”

Guardiola, who is now the Bayern manager, had said on the eve of Wednesday’s tie there was “no defensive system that can stop Messi, and no coach either”.

Mourinho disagreed, and he pointed out that he and his old team, Internazionale, had managed to do so in each leg of their Champions League semi-final win over Barcelona in 2010.

Mourinho has faced Messi many times – the Argentina forward’s first game for the Barcelona first-team was a friendly against Mourinho’s Porto in November 2003. But Mourinho admitted that making life difficult for Messi was the best thing that could realistically be hoped for.

“Every time I played against Messi, I spent hours studying and trying to stop him,” Mourinho said. “Many times, we were successful. Other times, we were not successful. With Inter, we stopped him in both matches [of the semi-final].

“The best way to do it is man-to-man because that is better than involving everyone. When you go man-to-man, you go with similar power – although man-to-man with him is an impossible job. Every time I was thinking about how best collectively – I am not saying stop him – to give him a difficult match. I think this is the correct word. It is not about stopping him but giving him a difficult match. That is the best you do against him.”

Mourinho said he could never see Messi leaving Barcelona, that he would remain a one-club man. “My personal opinion – no chance to leave,” Mourinho said. “Just a personal opinion. Such a big club, such a powerful club. They can’t lose that player, that player belongs to them, belongs to their people. I don’t believe [he would leave]. In football, you never know, but I don’t believe it.”
Another dig at Guardiola and a side swipe at Enrique at the same time. :lol:
 
ndEl7FX.gif


:drool::drool::drool:
 
he is actually just taking the piss out of the world now and everyone in it

It's strange thinking there's several billion men on the planet one is bound to be more talented than Messi but they never wanted to play football for a career or never tried the sport and is naturally talented they just don't know it, oh well!

Messi is on a level I've never seen in football during his playing career though.

PS I love the argument that Messi doesn't have height etc, but Pelé was 1.73M, Messi 1.7M, Maradona 1.65M and they're the three greatest players.
 
He makes me sick, best scorer, best passer, best dribbler (?) best vision. You're supposed to only have 1 of those!
 
He makes me sick, best scorer, best passer, best dribbler (?) best vision. You're supposed to only have 1 of those!

And 28 is considered a footballers peak which he turns in June, I hope he can shine in the 2018 WC
 
Messi is on a level I've never seen in football during his playing career though.
with the pep quotes the night before the game saying he is unplayable is kind of unheard of in sport surely. its a bizarre concession to make to your opponent

now mourinho, the best manager in the game saying is on another level. especially with his ties with Madrid and Ronaldo (who in comparison isn't hailed in this regard)
 
with the pep quotes the night before the game saying he is unplayable is kind of unheard of in sport surely. its a bizarre concession to make to your opponent

now mourinho, the best manager in the game saying is on another level. especially with his ties with Madrid and Ronaldo (who in comparison isn't hailed in this regard)

I think the praise has been going on his whole career.

It's blurted out every game by every commentator really.

Neville said "We're in the presence of greatness" against city which was more than true, then fans, commentators and pundits against Bayern said "It's an honour to be in the stadium to witness him".

I remember his Zaragoza hat trick, he rattled out a list of greats and said "You're just lost for words".



The amount of absurd goals that take your breath away I've lost count of.
 
I think the praise has been going on his whole career.

It's blurted out every game by every commentator really.

Neville said "We're in the presence of greatness" against city which was more than true, then fans, commentators and pundits against Bayern said "It's an honour to be in the stadium to witness him".

I remember his Zaragoza hat trick, he rattled out a list of greats and said "You're just lost for words".



The amount of absurd goals that take your breath away I've lost count of.


It's all true though - it is a privilege to watch him play. He's just impossibly good.

I will not die a contented man if I cannot get my arse to Europe and watch him play before he retires.
 
It's all true though - it is a privilege to watch him play. He's just impossibly good.

I will not die a contented man if I cannot get my arse to Europe and watch him play before he retires.

I bought Atletico tickets for Sunday and I fly out to Madrid tomorrow, and I bought a signed Messi shirt for my wall, which I'll add to over the years but Messi was the first signed shirt I've bought.

As a football fan I'm glad to be in an era which is dominated by such a talented player.

Can't wait for the game I wish Suarez was playing though
 
I think the praise has been going on his whole career.

It's blurted out every game by every commentator really.

Neville said "We're in the presence of greatness" against city which was more than true, then fans, commentators and pundits against Bayern said "It's an honour to be in the stadium to witness him".

I remember his Zaragoza hat trick, he rattled out a list of greats and said "You're just lost for words".



The amount of absurd goals that take your breath away I've lost count of.




And it's even more incredible on the messiquote twitter with professional footballers just like drogba, zaha, Ashley young, benteke and others praising him on Twitter.
 
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I bought Atletico tickets for Sunday and I fly out to Madrid tomorrow, and I bought a signed Messi shirt for my wall, which I'll add to over the years but Messi was the first signed shirt I've bought.

As a football fan I'm glad to be in an era which is dominated by such a talented player.

Can't wait for the game I wish Suarez was playing though

Nice one.

I plan on going there next year, hopefully around March/April and will go to see them play.

Real Madrid are coming down here to Melbourne in July so I will be watching them play City in a friendly... I can't wait for that. Hopefully all the big guns play, but I doubt it.
 
I'd love it if he changes his mind and comes to play in England (even if it could mean significant damage to United). His greatness deserves a bigger stage and better audience than the hanky-waving transfer muppets in Spain.