Lionel Messi
- Thread starter Scarecrow
- Start date
If the Pope mentions your name , then you really must be the 1.
Number 1 Alter boy? Messi been playing with priests?
God is Argentinian, so it's only fitting the Pope is, too.
Well, Bergoglio is an Argie, if that's what you're asking. And I agree that there's no God. This was a joke in line with the one that said Ronaldo was sent by God to play football, and then Messi saying "I didn't send anyone."
He got what you said, he just wanted to ham-fist in his militant atheism off-topic
This goes without saying. If Messi shows up properly, there isn’t anything in this game for us.
That lob against Betis gets more ridiculous the more I see it.
Rightfully applauded off the pitch from both sides.
He's an absolute legend.
Rightfully applauded off the pitch from both sides.
He's an absolute legend.
I know it's an obvious statement, but, football will miss the hell out of Messi when he's retired. I've seen him ten times live in person. Most of those at Camp Nou in La Liga, but I still feel as though I should be taking advantage of this era and going again. You just know that in twenty years time, younger people on the Cafe are going to lament that they never got to see him play.
He is what Michael Jordan was to basketball. Absolutely incredible
Feeling the same. I think I'm gonna see one more game of him, next season hopefully.
I went to Nou Camp one time, at home to Alaves in Sep 16. Suarez and Messi were on the fecking bench for an hour and Barcelona lost 1-2
Feeling the same. I think I'm gonna see one more game of him, next season hopefully.
I went to Nou Camp one time, at home to Alaves in Sep 16. Suarez and Messi were on the fecking bench for an hour and Barcelona lost 1-2
Seeing Barça is never an underwhelming experience live, but in the case of the above, I'd be gutted.
His range of passing and difficulty of the assists he makes puts him up there as one of the greatest players I've ever seen. At times he's so good he'd make De Bryune look ordinary in comparison.
When you then consider he's scored 604 goals in 707 matches on top of that, you just have to be in awe of his talent.
He's in a league of his own.
When you then consider he's scored 604 goals in 707 matches on top of that, you just have to be in awe of his talent.
He's in a league of his own.
Why is 2010-2011 generally considered his best season even after all these last few years ?
Best free kick taker in the world?
I hope to God he has two off days against us. And please Shaw, Smalling, Jones, Young, Matic, don't give any stupid free kicks away.
Best free kicks. Best assists. Best goals. Best passer. Best dribbler. Best vision. The Best Ever.
What a goal - Villareal fans started clapping
He was way more explosive then and played closer to the goal.
Feeling the same. I think I'm gonna see one more game of him, next season hopefully.
I went to Nou Camp one time, at home to Alaves in Sep 16. Suarez and Messi were on the fecking bench for an hour and Barcelona lost 1-2
Saw Messi play live v Getafe in 2016. He actually missed a penalty. Barca did win 6-0 though.
I do agree he's one of those sportsman you have to see play live once just to fully appreciate the genius from close quarters. Saw Ronaldo live a few times but he was just very good and not quite a demi god he's since become.
Also saw Federer play in ATP live finals in London in 2017 so another one who probably fits that category.
I doubt he'll be rested again for Atletico. Hopefully he's knackered by the time he faces us 
I've watched him only once. Was away at Betis last season and he was below par and yet finished the game with 2 goals and 2 assists and Barca won 5-0. He got applauded by Betis fans then too. I've watched Nadal, Federer and Djokovic play tennis but watching Messi (not even having his absolute best game) was just otherworldly.Feeling the same. I think I'm gonna see one more game of him, next season hopefully.
I went to Nou Camp one time, at home to Alaves in Sep 16. Suarez and Messi were on the fecking bench for an hour and Barcelona lost 1-2
Whoever is the second best isn't even remotely as good as he is.
He's going to be applauded from both sets of fans now throughout the remainder of his career isn't he.
God help us.Going to watch him at Old Trafford next week. One of those ones where you hope he has an off-game because of the occasion and opponent but at the same time want him to be good because you're seeing him in the flesh.
How many frees has he scored this season? It feels like I'm seeing one every week lately.
The thing that stands out for me about Messi, and puts him a nose in front of the other two sportsmen that I particularly admire, is that he's head and shoulders above the rest in a team game. We tend to forget that every single time any opponent faces Barcelona, they are obviously going to prepare to try to stop Messi. There is no secret that Messi is going to be pivotal to the game, and he must be stopped at all costs. And he's only little, so you would think someone would be able to lean on him, kick him, double-mark him, just take him out of the game.
But it so rarely actually happens. Game after game he is decisive, even though all of the opposition are completely focused on stopping him, and he's expected to win the games for Barcelona time after time. Indeed, as we've seen again this evening, as soon as he steps out for an hour, they fall apart mentally. He operates under unbelievable pressure, where he is the team's primary creator, scorer, leader and talisman, yet he never looks anything other than composed.
The only players in a team game I can think of who have had to deal with such pressure are cricketers. Sachin Tendulkar, because he was so loved in India, and Muttiah Muralitharan, because he was just expected to bowl teams out every time for Sri Lanka. I certainly can't think of any footballer who has been even remotely as pivotal to the teams that they've played for as Messi.
While I admire people like Roger Federer and Ronnie O' Sullivan, it's easier for them to stand out in a one-on-one sport. Most matches Federer plays, his opponent is never going to stop him because Federer simply has better strokes than him, and there's nothing his opponent can do strategically or tactically; the opponent is just an unwilling participant in their own inevitable demise. Same with O' Sullivan, when he can be bothered to try.
With Messi, the opposition have always got ten outfield players to try to stop him with. You would think that would be possible, more often than not. But it just doesn't happen. It used to be...oh, he's got Xavi and Iniesta. Then it was...well, he's playing with Neymar and Suarez. Now he's playing in a much more moderate team, where he has more responsibility, at a point where he should be past his physical peak, and he's been even better than last season.
What he does on the field of play beggars belief, and we're just not going to see anyone like him again. Eventually in the entire history of the human race, however long it lasts, someone might come along who is as good. But in the normal development of football, looking at what has happened in the past, you don't get players who are the best passers, dribblers, finishers, free-kick takers, plus basically every other technical skill - ball control, etc - and can play in multiple positions, wherever they're required, and their level of performance never drops. It can't happen. It doesn't happen. We won't see it again in our lifetime.
After Messi has gone, football will just go back to normal. It'll still be a great game, but it'll be noticeably greyer.
But it so rarely actually happens. Game after game he is decisive, even though all of the opposition are completely focused on stopping him, and he's expected to win the games for Barcelona time after time. Indeed, as we've seen again this evening, as soon as he steps out for an hour, they fall apart mentally. He operates under unbelievable pressure, where he is the team's primary creator, scorer, leader and talisman, yet he never looks anything other than composed.
The only players in a team game I can think of who have had to deal with such pressure are cricketers. Sachin Tendulkar, because he was so loved in India, and Muttiah Muralitharan, because he was just expected to bowl teams out every time for Sri Lanka. I certainly can't think of any footballer who has been even remotely as pivotal to the teams that they've played for as Messi.
While I admire people like Roger Federer and Ronnie O' Sullivan, it's easier for them to stand out in a one-on-one sport. Most matches Federer plays, his opponent is never going to stop him because Federer simply has better strokes than him, and there's nothing his opponent can do strategically or tactically; the opponent is just an unwilling participant in their own inevitable demise. Same with O' Sullivan, when he can be bothered to try.
With Messi, the opposition have always got ten outfield players to try to stop him with. You would think that would be possible, more often than not. But it just doesn't happen. It used to be...oh, he's got Xavi and Iniesta. Then it was...well, he's playing with Neymar and Suarez. Now he's playing in a much more moderate team, where he has more responsibility, at a point where he should be past his physical peak, and he's been even better than last season.
What he does on the field of play beggars belief, and we're just not going to see anyone like him again. Eventually in the entire history of the human race, however long it lasts, someone might come along who is as good. But in the normal development of football, looking at what has happened in the past, you don't get players who are the best passers, dribblers, finishers, free-kick takers, plus basically every other technical skill - ball control, etc - and can play in multiple positions, wherever they're required, and their level of performance never drops. It can't happen. It doesn't happen. We won't see it again in our lifetime.
After Messi has gone, football will just go back to normal. It'll still be a great game, but it'll be noticeably greyer.
wonderfully put
Saw the video of Real Betis fans clapping Messi after he scored that lob. Then the same Betis fans started chanting "Messi" and doing the whole messiah-wave thing.
You know your status in football is establish when opposition fans not only don't mind Messi scoring against their team, but chant his name for doing it! When he retires he'll be near deified.
You know your status in football is establish when opposition fans not only don't mind Messi scoring against their team, but chant his name for doing it! When he retires he'll be near deified.
One of our national players did a joking ‘bow’ to him when we played Argentina. Can’t say I blame him.
Great post. Nice sentiment. But Argentina.
kidding. Bit of a shame the international scene has been so unforgiving to Leo
Great post, the only thing I disagree with is the bolded point. I think you seriously underestimate the great advantage it is for youth players to have grown up watching people like Messi and CR7. I remember a while back having a talk with a friend about this. Now that it is in the human subconscious that it's possible to have several seasons of 50+ goals etc, we will see more players coming out being able to do something that wasn't done before. I think with all the YouTube compilations, endless match broadcasts, documentaries, all the footage we have of Messi, there will be another one somewhere down the line. However, I know for sure I am so grateful that I got to live in this time where I got to see his entire career. I'll probably be one of those old men who will say he was the greatest of all time, no matter who comes along next but I have no doubts someone else will.
That's an interesting point, and there's no doubt that football has changed and is changing as we all learn more about the best way to play it. This has been quite evident in England, where the current England team, which is full of young players, in my estimation just understands the game better than previous teams. It's taken decades for it to sink in that our approach to the game is completely wrong, but after generations of getting it wrong over and over again now a less talented team is finally getting it right.
However...I would doubt that simply watching Messi's performances, while you can learn from them, is going to enable someone to do what he does from a technical perspective. For example, look at the best young players in the world today. So you might be looking at Mbappe as being the absolute best. Can you see him being the best passer, dribbler and goalscorer in the world? He's a brilliant player, but he's a much more conventional winger, with a more limited game than Messi. He's like a slightly better Sterling, who is another one of the best young players in the world, but is he even remotely like Messi? No.
Similarly, if you look at The Guardian top 100 players in the world:
https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...male-footballers-in-the-world-2018-nos-100-71
The top midfielders are Modric, de Bruyne, Kante, Rakitic and Pogba. I would definitely argue that Messi creates more than any of them, and is better at passing than any of them. But even if they're on roughly the same level at passing and creativity, can any of them go past players like Messi? Does any of them score goals like Messi? Modric has scored 6 in his last 86 appearances for Real Madrid, de Bruyne has scored 17 in his last 75, Kante has scored 7 in 133 games in the PL, Rakitic has scored 9 in last 99 games, and Pogba 20 in his last 76 games.
Or if you look at the top forwards...Ronaldo, Suarez, Kane, Griezmann, Aguero...do any of them have the technical ability and creativity of Messi? Absolutely not. And not only that...they don't score as many goals as him!
The nearest players to Messi, in my view, would be players like Hazard and Salah, but even then you wouldn't say either of them was anywhere near as good at passing as Messi, and nor do they score as many goals. Arguably they're not as good at dribbling as Messi either, but their skillset is somewhat comparable to him, it's just nowhere near the same level.
So based on that, and also based on my observation of football over several decades, I don't think the successor to Messi's crown is going to come along that easily. When he's gone, someone else will become the best player in the world, but I doubt on the evidence that I've seen that they will score 50 goals+ per season, be capable of unbelievable individual brilliance, and be as good at passing, and probably better, than any midfielder in the world.
I've never seen a player like that before, and I doubt I'll see one again. If football continues for several thousand years then we can't imagine what the game will be like in the year 5000, but it'll take that sort of period, in my opinion, certainly a period of centuries for someone else to come along like Messi.
Because as big as football is now, and despite the hundreds of millions and possibly billions that play the game, there isn't anyone like him now. Not even ****ing close!
I would say the same thing about Ronnie O' Sullivan BTW. Don't know if people here watch snooker, but the ability to play basically as well with your left hand as your right is almost impossible to learn. No-one else has ever been able to do it. You can sit there watching him all day, and be inspired by it, but try to go on a snooker table and actually do it.
Try gliding around a tennis court with the best players in the world, playing beautiful tennis, with effortless movement, with a one-handed backhand, when you're knocking on for 38. Won't happen again for quite some time, rest assured.
These people are just blessed with freakish genetic ability, and they will be irreplaceable.