10 - Lionel Messi - v1

[Stric]

Doubt it a drunk Ronaldinho barely played good in a match

 

[Henry_IB]

Marca saying he has been playing with an injury in every game this season.

Does make sense as his movement off the ball has been non existent.

I honestly find this very hard to believe. They would not risk Messi by letting him play with an injury.

 

[impeh]

Hmm, we dont want another villa situation (or something similar) .. but then again, messi wont sit out unless he has no other choice.

 

[Ender]

Marca saying he has been playing with an injury in every game this season.

Does make sense as his movement off the ball has been non existent.

Messi: "Physically, I'm feeling good. I had a good preseason, and played already some friendlies and official games." #fcblive

 

[FCBarca]

Leo's involvement in the final third has looked a bit different in the last few matches but I wonder how much of that is owing to Tito's directive to get others involved or defenses focusing on him and giving him less space to either pick up the ball and force him to dribble multiple players...If anything, it underscores how vital it is to get the others stamping their authority in matches and making Barcelona less Messi-dimensional

 

[JackaL]

Not trolling, just wanting to verify. I searched "Messi Hunter sms" etc and did not find single page about it.

And now I got Barca - Making of the Greatest Team in the World, browsed it a bit and didn't find the story. Your turn, please tell us your source: in which page of the book the story is told?

I got you wrong there. Looked up on my kindle and searched the book. Couldn't find it. I must have remembered that ********* (which you referred to as lol.com) or any other article and wrongly associated it with Graham Hunter's book. Sorry for that one. If I should find the passage I will surely post it here.

 

[BarcaGirl]

Just look how GENUINELY happy he is for Iniesta

 

[Flavia]

Just look how GENUINELY happy he is for Iniesta

That's one of the things I love about him the most. He is not an egomaniac, like some other sad people.

 

[DennyCrane]

Leo's involvement in the final third has looked a bit different in the last few matches but I wonder how much of that is owing to Tito's directive to get others involved or defenses focusing on him and giving him less space to either pick up the ball and force him to dribble multiple players...If anything, it underscores how vital it is to get the others stamping their authority in matches and making Barcelona less Messi-dimensional

Indeed. This is probably the second conversion we'll see from Leo. From winger to false-nine. from false-nine to number 10 aka offensive playmaker. I know this might seem far-fetched atm but I think the ultimate idea is to put a CF in front him making it a de-facto 4-2-4 or even 3-3-4. Anyway, it will be exciting to see how this develops.

 

[Meitux]

That's one of the things I love about him the most. He is not an egomaniac, like some other sad people.

and thats the difference he makes from all the other super star players we will never see any other player like him with his character, he is so unique

 

[FCBarca]

Indeed. This is probably the second conversion we'll see from Leo. From winger to false-nine. from false-nine to number 10 aka offensive playmaker. I know this might seem far-fetched atm but I think the ultimate idea is to put a CF in front him making it a de-facto 4-2-4 or even 3-3-4. Anyway, it will be exciting to see how this develops.

I was thinking similar, his future is pretty likely to be as a #10

 

[Ursegor]

I was thinking similar, his future is pretty likely to be as a #10

He certainly has the ability to play as a #10. And having a striker infront of him would also help to create more space for him. But I really don't see us changing to 3-4-3, 3-3-4, 4-2-4 or even 4-2-3-1 permanently. Playing Messi behind a centreforward would take away a body in central midfield which would weaken us in our strongest area and that would ultimately weaken our whole defensive structure. There is no possibility to play Messi behind a striker and at the same time keep Iniesta, Xavi and Busquets in central midfield. Except playing with a 3 man backline. But we don't have the defenders for that.

 

[mitkoa7x]

Just look how GENUINELY happy he is for Iniesta

 

[FCBarca]

And a reason I think this formation is not going to continue because defenses now shift to neutralize Leo's area of the pitch - what we've been seeing over the last 8-12 months...And it is what the team will continue to face until it makes the best use of it's entire squad, not just showcasing Messi but a balanced attack...I remember vaguely similar with Ronaldinho

 

[The Artful Dodger]

Cristiano's 'messi didn't score 1 goal in Copa America and it was in Argentina which is even worse' comment clearly got to Messi. That's why he doesn't even want to talk about Ronaldo anymore. The body language between the two at the UEFA player of year award made this obvious.

Nonesense, 'getting to someone' indicates a reaction. Messi hasn't given one, he's not interested in talking about Ronaldo.

Messi gets to Ronaldo just for who he is.