Well, it's quite pertinent here. Ronaldinho's Barcelona and a stronger Milan played a very similar CL game in Milan around 5 years ago. That day the difference between the teams was Ronaldinho. Everyone has an off day, sure, but there is a reference for comparison here.
Lionel Messi
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Well, it's quite pertinent here. Ronaldinho's Barcelona and a stronger Milan played a very similar CL game in Milan around 5 years ago. That day the difference between the teams was Ronaldinho. Everyone has an off day, sure, but there is a reference for comparison here.
It's the kind of game you'd just imagine Maradona taking over with his giant bollocks and making something happen, he just had that boisterous character. I obviously have nothing to back that up though.
if that was the case, ronaldinho, maradona and zidane would have won every champions league they played
No there really isn't. Messi has also been the difference against stronger sides than the Milan of 5 years ago. It's really clutching at straws.
Messi was better than Mascherano.
Ronaldinho was the best player I'd ever seen and probably ever will see at that point in time though. And so damn entertaining with it.
It says it all about how good Messi is, that one game without a goal and suddenly everyone's acting as if he's not that great after all!
One game in which the whole team were average people!
One game in which the whole team were average people!
Ridiculous. Messi's record of consistency in big games is proven beyond any doubt. He, like Zidane, Maradona and the rest of them, is human and had an off day in a big game. The others I mentioned had similar games. Nobody is or ever will reach the standard of consistency you seem to be holding Messi to.
That's a bit mad.
Light years between 2006 Milan and the Milan of today.
Ronaldinho brushing off Gattuso before delivering that pass to Guily was a special moment.
He is allowed an average game, he is human... just about.
and untrue
he also started against real madrid for copa del rey 1-1 and he didnt score, fabregas did
He's not the best ever. Not even close. But that has nothing to do with today, I just woke up (it's 9.15am) and missed the game.
Pele
Maradona
The rest (of which Messi is high up).
Pele
Maradona
The rest (of which Messi is high up).
Fair enough. I got that from the BBC so you should expect the odd half truth.
Ofcourse Cal will now.come in and accuse the BBC of being behind a pro-Messi conspiracy.
This makes absolutely no sense if it's an attempt to make any kind of reasonable point.
Maradona had a long career and obviously didn't make something happen in every important game. And I don't need to have seen him play to know this. Otherwise his trophy haul would be a bit different. Did he ever win an European Cup for example? Or even got to a final?
I have no opinion on Messi being the best player ever or not. My observation actually stemmed from a lengthy and well informed post made on the Barcelona forum around a year ago (after Chelsea had muted Messi in the Nou Camp game I believe) by a Barcelona fan who had doubts over Messi's "best player ever" tag. One of the games he used in his argument was Ronaldinho vs Milan in Milan, and, if I recall, his argument was that when his space was shut down by the best teams, Ronaldinho could still unlock a match, but that Messi finds it harder to do so. Tonight - the first match since the Chelsea game which spawned that post - Messi found himself in those circumstances again, and he was largely anonymous.
It's one game, yes, and I don't care to whom people attach the greatest ever label really, but I do find the discussion itself interesting. If you're trying separate the game's greatest players, then you can but only split hairs?
It's one game, yes, and I don't care to whom people attach the greatest ever label really, but I do find the discussion itself interesting. If you're trying separate the game's greatest players, then you can but only split hairs?
Blatantly going to score a hat trick in the home leg, just a case of wether or not Milan can get one.
I said I was using my imagination.
It's largely his consistency that will make him the greatest ever. I agree that in a one off crucial game there's many players I could understand people choosing before him, Maradona and Ronaldinho being two of them.
I suppose you did. Didn't read it like that at the time. In the context of the discussion that was forming it didn't seem such a far fetched idea.
This game highlights one thing that Ronaldo over Messi, and it is his more direct playing style. Ronaldo's pace and strength will always give him an advantage - he can shoot from 30 yards out and anything can happen. Messi just doesn't have that power, and it is nigh on impossible to curl it in from that distance.
Iniesta was Barca's only good player, imo.
Iniesta was Barca's only good player, imo.
had a miserable game, but I'm not sure how much of an impact any player could have when chased down the way he was all night. i think it was more conclusive proof that aside from him there really aren't many goals in that team atall.
Xavi and Iniesta couldn't play their best and that's the reason Messi was anonymous.
Peaked too early?
that's bullshit.
They've had numerous games where those two have offered little and he's still done the business.
Don't understand why Messi is being ridiculously slated here. Yes he had a quiet game, but to be honest, this is the price you pay when you throw all your eggs into one basket. It might go a way to showing that alot of great goal scoring players could post big numbers 'not messi big' but big goal numbers if they lead the line for this Barcelona side.
It is completely and utterly geared towards Messi scoring alot of goals for them and it will hurt them more often than not in the big games. He'll go out and score 4 in the next match against Milan, but it shouldn't paper over what is a glaring and obvious flaw and even better sides will start to be able to shut him out over both legs.
It is completely and utterly geared towards Messi scoring alot of goals for them and it will hurt them more often than not in the big games. He'll go out and score 4 in the next match against Milan, but it shouldn't paper over what is a glaring and obvious flaw and even better sides will start to be able to shut him out over both legs.
He's not slated, but he is criticised for having a very poor match - which he did.
He has become lazier than Berbatov this year, and no wonder he had poor game, it was inevitable this will happen sooner or later. He can play like that against the likes of Granada, getafe etc., but in champions league 1/8 finals against Milan you must have at least some kind of desire to actually care about the game.
I am his biggest fan, but in last couple of months he has turned into probably laziest player in the world.
I am his biggest fan, but in last couple of months he has turned into probably laziest player in the world.
That's bullshit. Xavi and Iniesta didn't play vs Granada, and Messi still scored 2 in a 2-1 win.
I think people are overreacting to this performance.
the fact that he has scored in the last 14 games in la liga -24 goals-, beating a record -the last was 10 games in a row- makes me think you might be wrong here
It was just strange to me seeing him walking about in the center circle not getting forward or calling for the ball just jogging and walking about.
Weird.
Yeah, no doubt. I half wonder with him whether there is so much pressure on him now that this pretty blatant slackness is some sort of pre-emptive defense against the concept of him not living up to expectation. Sort of like not visibly putting 100% effort in just in case it doesn't work and people start questioning his greatness.
Either that or it's just because knows he's the shit, I don't know. It's so obvious though like you say. There will be times when Iniesta is cutting in from the left expecting Messi to be somewhere near the box, only for Messi to just be ambling around in the last third not really looking like he wants the ball. He's the best player I've seen by a fair margin but he does actually play beneath himself in this aspect. Kept thinking not long ago how annoying it must be to play with someone like that, but I suppose that when you are that good at football you are afforded considerably more leeway.
It's been like this for most of the season. I always assumed he was conserving himself for big games like last night. He's comfortably the best player in the world and should be running the show in games like these.
According to UEFA he covered 7.3 km, that is pretty poor for a forward.
He just had a poor match like a lot of players do.Not really that much to analyze, he should be better in the return leg
Wow one poor game and everyone here slating him off
Overreacting? More like stupid.
One poor game and he is not even close to the best player ever according to some.
You idiots you have only watched Pele mostly in select matches or only highlights I am sure. Yet he is the best ever. I bet most who claim Maradona is better (Not saying its a completely wrong opinion) have not watched every game to comment that Maradona never had a poor game.
Fcuk sakes, no one's slating him, just commenting on his poor workrate.
Messi wasn't in poor form. It's Milan that made him and Barca poor. Give them the credit instead of making it about an alleged Messi failing. Milan were just perfect defensively.
Can a poor performance be a world class performance.
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