Lionel Messi

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Cal? said:
I don't deny it, in fact I like him more for his arrogance, just found it strange that the likes of Danny need to take digs at him after every little thing Messi does.
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It's not a "little thing" in my opinion. Messi and Ronaldo are role models for children and young players. Which would you rather teach to the children and young talents? Ronaldo's arrogance or Messi's humility?

Besides, "I like him more for his arrogance", I think you like him more not because of his arrogance, but because you like him so much that you reached a degree that you like everything about him, good or bad.

I don't think arrogance in itself is likeable, unless it's in somebody whom you really really like.. It's just like when you are in love with someone, that you begin to like every single thing about him, even the things other neutral people find annoying.. I'm not criticizing you for it though, just saying what I think..

kouroux said:
His arrogance makes him a much better player.I don't mind arrogance in a player as long as he performs thanks to it
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I think you are giving arrogance way too much credit there.. No?
 
Danny1982 said:
One more thing Ronaldo can learn from Messi... Never seen a player so good, yet so humble before..
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Learn what? Ronaldo is arrogant but he's not over the top. He surely recognizes everyone around him and especially the manager.

Messi is just like Scholes with the media.
 
Danny1982 said:
It's not a "little thing" in my opinion. Messi and Ronaldo are role models for children and young players. Which would you rather teach to the children and young talents? Ronaldo's arrogance or Messi's humility?

Besides, "I like him more for his arrogance", I think you like him more not because of his arrogance, but because you like him so much that you reached a degree that you like everything about him, good or bad.

I don't think arrogance in itself is likeable, unless it's in somebody whom you really really like.. It's just like when you are in love with someone, that you begin to like every single thing about him, even the things other neutral people find annoying.. I'm not criticizing you for it though, just saying what I think..
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You making digs at Cal is like pot calling the kettle black. There's absolutely nothing wrong with Ronaldo's attitude. He's a brilliant professional.

Look at all the pages before your comment. How many times was Ronaldo mentioned? Maybe twice or something? You just can't help yourself can't you. Really annoying not being able to read the Messi or Ronaldo threads without the a fanboy of one or the other bringing up some comparison that's absolutely no need for.

I think you are giving arrogance way too much credit there.. No?
 
i dislike arrogance too, but to be honest, if i where as good as ronaldo or messi i'd be a fecking unbearable bastard

i'd be in the lockers telling the coach to send me his wife to suck me dry if he wanted me to score another goal

if being a mod in the caf forum makes me act like a prick, can you imagine how i would be if i had win the ballon d'or?

YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW, TRUST ME :nono:
 
Enjoyed reading this.

As the finest golfer of his era and the founding father of the US Masters, Bobby Jones had seen everything that his sport had to offer. Then, in 1965, Jack Nicklaus won Augusta’s green jacket by finishing nine shots ahead of Gary Player and Arnold Palmer. And Jones was stunned.
‘Mr Player and Mr Palmer played exceptionally well,’ he said. A pause: ‘But Mr Nicklaus was playing a game with which I am not familiar.’

The phrase ran through the mind the other evening, when Lionel Messi was scoring his opening goal in the Nou Camp. There was an urgent scuffle by the halfway line to defeat Bayer Leverkusen’s offside trap. There was a cursory prod with the sole of a boot to secure the ball. There was a bewildering calculation, involving the pace of the run, the position of the goalkeeper and the angle of the target.

And then, the coup de grace: a lazy sweep of the left foot, lifting the ball a yard or so above the keeper’s grasp and conjuring it, first bounce, into the distant corner of the net. It was the kind of sublime manoeuvre which might have appealed to an imaginative child, one who did not know that such feats are practically impossible.

Messi smiled, the faintly flickering smile of a bewildered man: ‘Did I really do that? I suppose I must have done.’ It was a modest reaction. There was no flamboyant gesture, no kissing of the badge, none of the tediously choreographed routines favoured by lesser men, lesser players. Instead, he crossed himself instinctively, then trotted back for the restart. After which, he scored four more goals.

And as he went about his devastating work, that image of the wide-eyed child remained in the mind. For if he plays into his dotage, Messi will always be the kid playing football in the street. His mother is calling, his tea is ruined, his homework is neglected. But on he plays because he is entranced by the game, beguiled by its challenges, enthralled by its possibilities. We know, beyond a doubt, that there is nothing in the wide world he would rather be doing.

His manager knows it, too. Pep Guardiola rarely substitutes him, rarely neglects to select him, because he knows how much it means. It isn’t a matter of pride or ego or a trivial desire to demonstrate that the Nou Camp is his stage. It is the sheer, uncomplicated joy of performing at a level that nobody before him has ever managed to attain.

Clearly, there are powerful cases to be made for gods such as Pele, Maradona and Best. But at a time when footballers are bigger, stronger and faster than ever before, the game is dominated by one who stands five-and-a-half feet tall and weighs less than 10-and-a-half stones. It is Messi’s genius which raises him above the muscular mob, just as it enables him to disrupt the most sophisticated containment strategies that coaches and computers can devise.

It helps, of course, that he is playing in what is almost certainly the finest club side that the sport has known. If Barcelona represent the best that football has to offer, then Messi is the ultimate expression of their philosophy. And all his achievements have been marked by an air of intelligent modesty, a genuine reticence, an awareness that the game is there to be enjoyed rather than exploited. When footballers at large are charged with being arrogant, vulgar and acquisitive, then Messi must be the first witness for the defence.

And we should appreciate our sporting fortune. We used to stare back down the decades for our heroes, to the likes of Don Bradman, Mark Spitz, the young Muhammad Ali, Lester Piggott and Vivian Richards. These days, we simply glance over our shoulders to take in Shane Warne, Steve Redgrave and Seve Ballesteros.

Then when we look around us, we see that the single sport of tennis has currently produced three talents in Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, each of whom will bear comparison with any of history’s champions. And in our glittering summer of sport, when the world comes clamouring to London, Usain Bolt will assume his place at the peak of Olympus. It is a prospect to savour.

So we live in a golden age, an age in which famous deeds are done. And some of those deeds are being performed by a young man, small in stature and with the shy smile of a gifted child. A man in awe of his own ability, playing a beautiful game. With which we are becoming happily familiar.
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Lionel Messi's the modest hero of our truly golden age: Patrick Collins | Mail Online
 
There are different levels of arrogance. If I'm playing Trivial Pursuit and am cleaning up I act arrogant. It doesn't mean anything. It's really just banter because it's only trivia and not really a measure of brain powers.
 
Snow said:
There are different levels of arrogance. If I'm playing Trivial Pursuit and am cleaning up I act arrogant. It doesn't mean anything. It's really just banter because it's only trivia and not really a measure of brain powers.
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shut up! i'm a mod! don't argue with me!

see? i can't control myself
 
Snow said:
You making digs at Cal is like pot calling the kettle black. There's absolutely nothing wrong with Ronaldo's attitude. He's a brilliant professional.

Look at all the pages before your comment. How many times was Ronaldo mentioned? Maybe twice or something? You just can't help yourself can't you. Really annoying not being able to read the Messi or Ronaldo threads without the a fanboy of one or the other bringing up some comparison that's absolutely no need for.

I think you are giving arrogance way too much credit there.. No?
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[/rant].

I was making a point, and whether you like or not, comparison will always follow Messi and Ronaldo, hell it always followed Maradona and Pele and they were from different generations! You can't just turn your back to it. There is no reason for us to be afraid of comparing the two..

Cal? took a dig at Messi's penalty record, point well-taken, and some here responded to the point without the need for this kind of rants.

I still think you have a point that nowadays Ronaldo is not as arrogant as three years ago (may be lesson well learnt :D), but it may well be due to the fact that he has been second best since then. We'll check with him again when he wins the Ballon D'Or again..
 
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according to a newbie poster, this pic was posted by puyol in his twitter account
 
Danny1982 said:
[/rant].

I was making a point, and whether you like or not, comparison will always follow Messi and Ronaldo, hell it always followed Maradona and Pele and they were from different generations! You can't just turn your back to it. There is no reason for us to be afraid of comparing the two..

Cal? took a dig at Messi's penalty record, point well-taken, and some here responded to the point without the need for this kind of rants.

I still think you have a point that nowadays Ronaldo is not as arrogant as three years ago (may be lesson well learnt :D), but it may well be due to the fact that he has been second best since then. We'll check with him again when he wins the Ballon D'Or again..
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Comparisons will me made if you continue to do so. I see no problem comparing them on the football pitch but and your input is mostly good from my POV but you're quite like a raven to a shiny thing. It's easy to bait you. Cal has mostly stayed away because he probably realised he was fighting a lost cause so the penalty jibe was simply a banter. Like you said, he's missed 1 penalty. Hasn't gotten a bigger chance to miss/score more.

Ronaldo has also become a father. A single father at that. It changes people as well. I think he'll only show some arrogance if he's very much provoked and is having a bad day. He seems to be a together person who loves the sport as well. He's nothing like Balotelli when he scores goals. Now that's arrogance.
 
I think that's one of things that's probably hardest to fathom when it comes to Leo...That he is so grounded and unassuming...In any era, the geniuses in sport carried themselves like royalty - some better and some worse than others...But to be as good/dominant as Leo, it's almost expected if not permissible that the player would have a massive, if not unbearable, ego...but to almost be embarrassed by the attention?...I imagine it makes him even more likable

Brosstan said:
Doesnt make it true. Messi would be a LOT bigger of a loss for Barcelona than Guardiola.
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Well, it being true or not isn't really the point...The point is the player always downplays his importance
 
A lot of people in this thread seem to be confusing confidence with arrogance.
 
Out of curiosity, are there still people who think that he wouldn't be able to hack the PL? I was having an argument with some mates recently that were adamant that he wouldn't be able to deal with the physicality and would just get kicked. I personally think that b.s and he'd be fine. Silva and Mata have both made the transition very well and are amongst the best in the league, the likes of scholes, fabregas have shown you can be small but still quality.
 
Ash_G said:
Out of curiosity, are there still people who think that he wouldn't be able to hack the PL? I was having an argument with some mates recently that were adamant that he wouldn't be able to deal with the physicality and would just get kicked. I personally think that b.s and he'd be fine. Silva and Mata have both made the transition very well and are amongst the best in the league, the likes of scholes, fabregas have shown you can be small but still quality.
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well, he played against english sides quite well,

and how about aguero? doesnt seem too impressed with the "physicality"
 
marcosdeto said:
well, he played against english sides quite well,

and how about aguero? doesnt seem too impressed with the "physicality"
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I hadn't heard about that, well he may not be too impressed but he's played well this season and got a good return for his first season. As you say messi has excelled against the best of the english sides in recent years,
 
Ash_G said:
Out of curiosity, are there still people who think that he wouldn't be able to hack the PL? I was having an argument with some mates recently that were adamant that he wouldn't be able to deal with the physicality and would just get kicked. I personally think that b.s and he'd be fine. Silva and Mata have both made the transition very well and are amongst the best in the league, the likes of scholes, fabregas have shown you can be small but still quality.
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I don't think there's any doubt that he'd excel in the Premier League if he ever came here and that he'd still be the best player in the world.

It's a myth that I think we got rid of a long time ago now. Many players who rely on their skill have come from La Liga to here and if anything they have improved as players: Silva, Aguero and Mata are all prime examples of the players I'm talking about.

Generally, you still get the odd muppet who says he wouldn't be able to hack it on a cold Tuesday night at Stoke, but that's what those people are, muppets.
 
cheesy said:
I don't think there's any doubt that he'd excel in the Premier League if he ever came here and that he'd still be the best player in the world.

It's a myth that I think we got rid of a long time ago now. Many players who rely on their skill have come from La Liga to here and if anything they have improved as players: Silva, Aguero and Mata are all prime examples of the players I'm talking about.

Generally, you still get the odd muppet who says he wouldn't be able to hack it on a cold Tuesday night at Stoke, but that's what those people are, muppets.
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Thing is you oh have to look at arsenal. They've shown that that style and those types of player can work, they just don't have the quality. Barca are much better, I think they'd be find and messi would be great. I just can't understand people who think he'd struggle.
 
Ash_G said:
Thing is you oh have to look at arsenal. They've shown that that style and those types of player can work, they just don't have the quality. Barca are much better, I think they'd be find and messi would be great. I just can't understand people who think he'd struggle.
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Most of the people who think he would struggle are the ignorant people who have their head in the sand, think that the Premier League is by far the best league in the world, and think that it's incredibly different to every other league in world football. Yes, it's different to an extent, but no two major leagues are the same. There's no more of a difference between the Premier League and La Liga as there is between La Liga and Serie A.

Luckily, a lot of people who advocated the myth are starting to see that they were wrong by ever saying it in the first place, however it does still annoy me when people say that so and so would struggle to adapt to this league, or that the Premier League is the hardest league in the world to adjust to. Muppets like Redknapp are often the worst for it as well.
 
Ronaldo wouldn't be half the player he is today if he wasn't a top professional and dedicated to improving his game. No doubt about it.

Yes on the field he plays arrogant - but that's his style - and looks like a bit of a twat off it, but who really cares? At the end of the day he does good work outside of Football, and is clearly a hard worker on the training track.
 
cheesy said:
Most of the people who think he would struggle are the ignorant people who have their head in the sand, think that the Premier League is by far the best league in the world, and think that it's incredibly different to every other league in world football. Yes, it's different to an extent, but no two major leagues are the same. There's no more of a difference between the Premier League and La Liga as there is between La Liga and Serie A.

Luckily, a lot of people who advocated the myth are starting to see that they were wrong by ever saying it in the first place, however it does still annoy me when people say that so and so would struggle to adapt to this league, or that the Premier League is the hardest league in the world to adjust to. Muppets like Redknapp are often the worst for it as well.
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Yeah I think you're right, all the sky hype about the premier league clouds these people's judgement, in the case of the people I was talking to I know they don't really watch that much football or are aware of what's happening in the world of football.

The thing I find funny is the whole he'd get kicked etc as if that was some skill only found in the English game. If it was that easy to just hack him out do people really think others wouldn't have tried already. He takes some very rough treatment against real and still manages to destroy them.

Thing is this attitude is exactly why we struggle in England. This idea that the little players can't make it etc and that you should just kick them etc.
 
marcosdeto said:
well, i cant ignore the facts and what i see every time messi plays football, even the last world cup showed me how good he is and despite not scoring a single goal, was, imo one of the best players of that tournament
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Him excelling at the international level and delivering on the world stage aren't really facts. His club achievements obviously are. I'm not questioning you being swayed by his overall quality. It's been there for a few years. Just saying that it's that which has gotten him his plaudits and definitely not his performances at the WC or generally at international level.
 
Danny1982 said:
You can't just turn your back to it. There is no reason for us to be afraid of comparing the two..
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There's a thread to talk about Messi, a thread to talk about Ronaldo and a threat to talk about Messi & Ronaldo...it can't be that difficult to keep him out of it?
 
Just scored a sublime goal against Sevilla. Defender and 'keeper may as well have not been there.
 
51 goals this season......51 fecking goals!

His personal best in a season is 53, so I think it's safe to say he'll sail past that. Could he get 60? I would bet very good money on it.

60+ goals in a single season :eek::eek:
 
duffer said:
He seems to keep chipping goalkeepers from about 7 yards out.
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With the skills chipping or rounding the keeper are the best ways to score 1v1. It's what the keepers least expect no matter who they're facing. Doing so would make them unprepared for a shot which is the most usual outcome. It's hardwired into their brains.
Ronaldo usually rounded them. Messi does both. Only the brilliant players do this.
 
It's ridiculous how easy he makes it look. Nutmegs the defender and then so easily chips it, right in the top corner.
 
MUFCgal said:
51 goals this season......51 fecking goals!

His personal best in a season is 53, so I think it's safe to say he'll sail past that. Could he get 60? I would bet very good money on it.

60+ goals in a single season :eek::eek:
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He could reach 70 if he puts in a couple of other 5 goal/game performances - which is definitely not beyond him.

Rooney and most other world class strikers would be happy as feck to score half as many in a season. :lol:
 
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