"If Messi wants to become the best ever, first he must become better than Neymar"
Pele coming out with some corkers again.
Pele coming out with some corkers again.
Lionel Messi
- Thread starter cesc's_mullet
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Surely he didnt say that.Surely?
When was his last injury that kept him out for longer than a couple of weeks?
He seems to start every single one of Barcelona's games (and Argentina's) and never displays any signs of tiredness or burn out towards the end of a season. This for someone with a growth hormone deficiency as a child. Ridiculous really.
He seems to start every single one of Barcelona's games (and Argentina's) and never displays any signs of tiredness or burn out towards the end of a season. This for someone with a growth hormone deficiency as a child. Ridiculous really.
The cynic in me wonders if he and the rest of the Barca team are on drugs. They never seem to have a problem with fatigue, even though they appear to rely on the same First XI far more than their English counterparts, and they very rarely seem to have any major injuries, let alone an injury crisis.
Conspiracy theories ahoy, but its feasible that a club as rich as Barca (or most other top clubs tbf) could - if they wanted - invest a shitload into pharmaceauticals (thats a bitch to spell) and find a way of cheating the system.
Or it might just be that he is that good.
But then, the entire first XI? Playing the amount of fixtures they do, with less rotation, and the style of football they play (very heavy pressing all over), and without injuries. It does make you wonder just how high their fitness levels must be, even compared to other top tier footballers.
Conspiracy theories ahoy, but its feasible that a club as rich as Barca (or most other top clubs tbf) could - if they wanted - invest a shitload into pharmaceauticals (thats a bitch to spell) and find a way of cheating the system.
Or it might just be that he is that good.
But then, the entire first XI? Playing the amount of fixtures they do, with less rotation, and the style of football they play (very heavy pressing all over), and without injuries. It does make you wonder just how high their fitness levels must be, even compared to other top tier footballers.
That means resting players can be little overrated, especially when we are talking about players who are top professionals and are used to playing once or twice in a week. We have same situation with Evra. He never looks tired(eventough he wasn't the player he used to be, but that has nothing to do with tiredness), and we almost never rest him.
Brian Glanville reckons he is the 4th best ever, and given he's one of the very few people to ever seen enough of Di Stefano, Pele and Maradona I'm inclined to trust him given the vast majority of his views on other subjects seem reasonable.
Still no excuse to give an interview to talk sport though.
Still no excuse to give an interview to talk sport though.
It's same with Real Madrid too. You can easy guess their first XI every week. That's one of the rare things I'm jelous for in both those teams.
He's 71, I believe dementia started setting in a few years back
What a load of rubbish, none of them scored 60 goals in 1 season, and assisted over 20
Messi is the best ever, why cant people accept that
I'm pretty sure you were joking but fwiw Pele's assists aren't recorded anywhere but he did get 60+ goals in a season twice, I'm guessing he got plenty of assists in those seasons as well.
People will always look back on the players of their own generation with the tinted specs.
David Villa - Broken leg, Ibrahim Afellay - Torn ACL, Eric Abidal - Liver transplant, Andreu Fontas - Torn ACL, Alexis Sanchez missed 3 months of the season due to injury, Pedro missed 2 months, Iniesta/Puyol/Pique all have missed at least a third of the season and Xavi has missed his share...Last season, Abidal with the liver problems, Iniesta/Xavi/Puyol/Pique missed around a third of the season
They get injuries just like any other club...Leo is the only one who has not been out for an extended period of time since 2007...Even when Usfalujsi turned his ankle into a grapefruit, he wasn't out for as long as predicted
Pep, again, has to get a ton of credit for this...Leo was getting injured almost on a yearly basis prior to Pep...I mentioned this before but Pep changed the nutrition and diets of all the players when he took over...You can see it in the players physiques, fitness and diet is central to what Pep has changed at the club
It's pretty lazy to always see people draw the 'doping' card rather than credit the players
How long do you think a generation is?
there was about 35 years between Di Stefano and Maradona's peak!I really don't have any more words to describe him. Only to just say, be proud and be happy to be alive to see him play.
How long do you think a generation is?
Well obviously apply it depends on who's giving their opinion..
I only really base this on hearing opinions from my family.
Pele on the troll
so, of the four best players in the world, three are argentinians
i wonder, why i was always so shit at playing football
obviously, god hates me
btw, here's a vid with messi's 23 assists this season
What a player, he is just absolutely incredible.
His personal goal tally will be better than most teams' tallies this season.
His personal goal tally will be better than most teams' tallies this season.
It's at that point already.
While drug use in football probably goes on far more than most believe, Barcelona haven't had it all their own way with injuries. They had a spate of hamstring strains at the start of the season, no doubt a result of their less than optimal pre-season preparations. Clearly their fitness levels are exceptional, but they don't outstrip any other club in the distances covered stats. Another factor to consider is their dominance of possession means they only intermittently have to employ intense pressing, whereas their opposition can spend several minutes at a time chasing and covering runs.
Last game
Jesus Christ.
Where you at Cal?
The easiest bet in the world is just to back Lionel Messi to score at any time in a game. Same stake every time and you're fine. Just as I thought of this get-rich-quick scheme, I realised the bookies don't even offer the market any more! Absolutely the best player on the planet. I don't think Ronaldo comes close. I used to think it was:
Messi
Ronaldo
Then the second bracket of players:
Xavi
Iniesta
Rooney etc.
Now I'd put Messi into a bracket on his own.
Messi
Ronaldo
Then the second bracket of players:
Xavi
Iniesta
Rooney etc.
Now I'd put Messi into a bracket on his own.
Last game
The incredible thing is that Messi does things in real games that most world class players would be proud of doing in training or on playstation.
It has come to a point where I don't get surprised with the stuff this lad produces; always expect the extraordinary with this lad. And what I love about him is that he uses the most simple yet devastatingly effective moves (simple feints and change of direction) to produce his magic. Many try to over-complicate things with too many step-overs and what not whereas Messi just does things with minimum effort; it's a different kind of showboating I guess. You feel his game is just more natural than everybody else's; he has an incredible mastery of the football and an innate understanding of how to glide past helpless defenders - in fact you could see this in his very early days. You can't teach that shit, it is hardwired in him.
I think Messi will score 100 goals in one season before he retires. That's what? 2 goals per game in a 50 game season, piece of cake for this creature.
Usually when I watch top players I can identify with how they're playing. Even if I know it's irrational there's still a part of me that thinks I can be that good. With Messi I don't get that feeling at all. Every part of me knows I'll never play like that.
Source because as far as i'm concerned that is an absolute load of crap. Any team worth their salt would have a group of nutritionists working to make sure that players all eat the right things. Pep doesn't just come in and say, eat this, you'll play better.
And it's not lazy to draw the doping card when Spanish sport has a long history of softness on doping. It's a legitimate point to discuss. And if it were happening, it would right throughout Spanish football not just Barcelona.
How many more games does Barcelona have to play this season? Imagine if he is able to contribute more than 100 goals for his side in all comps, that would be an absolutely mind-boggling feat, just astonishing.
If I could be any person for a day it would be him on a match-day... Imagine what it must be like being him, running amok taking the absolute piss out of all and sundry. It'd be like playing a video game on god-mode.
If I could be any person for a day it would be him on a match-day... Imagine what it must be like being him, running amok taking the absolute piss out of all and sundry. It'd be like playing a video game on god-mode.
Bitter much?
He did get involved in finding a programme to help him avoid injury. Diet change and a very specific programme of stretching he has to do every time they train.
6 in La Liga, potentially 3 in the CL, and the CDL final, so 9/10. I doubt, even by Messi standards that 100 is possible, but he could certainly get 75.
He said contributing 100 goals. Considering he already has 61 goals and 25 assists, I won't be surprised to see him breach that mark.
Ah I see, that's far more realistic!
What a load of rubbish, none of them scored 60 goals in 1 season, and assisted over 20
Messi is the best ever, why cant people accept that
I'm pretty sure they did, actually. Why is it so difficult to accept that players from before your time might have been better? What's the problem with simply declaring him the best player you've seen rather than the best player of all time?
It's not a stab in the dark, do your own research...It's been discussed and covered by journalists for awhile...Google, still somewhat a friend
Barça have been drug tested, randomly, more than any team in Europe...This was information released last season...Moreover, it is lazy to draw the doping card when it's far simpler to draw a conclusion that they are simply producing talented players adhering to a consistent philosophy - you can see similarities in the players every season...If one is going to draw the doping card, it'll require more than petty jealousy to base it upon ...So, yeah, source me señor
9, at the minimum, 10 if they make it to the CL Final
Barcelona have 5 outfield players who've played more than 2000 Liga minutes this season (Messi, Alves, Mascherano, Busquets, Xabi)
http://www.as.com/futbol/equipo/Barcelona-3
City have Kompany, Lescott, Barry, Silva, Toure, Aguero.
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/football/manchester-city/squad.html
United have Evans, Evra, Rio, Rooney - with Carrick and Nani just below.
Arsenal have Koskielny, Arteta, Ramsey, RvP, Walcott, Song
Sounds like they're running at about the going rate. We just don't care when they've got a player injured or rested, whereas we notice if it's one of ours.
Messi's fitness has been exceptional during the Pep era, but he's also at the age where most players are at their peaks in terms of avoiding injury and recovering quickly.
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