10 - Lionel Messi - v1

[Cal-FCB]

As for Villa comment.. Seriously.. His performance was below par anyway, had Bojan messed up so many opportunities people would jump at his throat just like they did after 45 minutes vs. Hercules.

Have to agree there. People love to add to the 'Bojan will never make it' argument whenever he does anything wrong.

 

[La Furia]

Reminiscent of another that ended a career (Among other things)

[youtube]N8_JYHtvTS8&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

That didn't exactly end a career considering Maradona would win the World Cup 3 years later. And it's also different becasue Goikoetxea was a goon's goon who did things like that in virtually every game he played; this is a man who keeps the boot used for that tackle in a glass box at his home, and who was responsible for an even worse tackle on Schuster that limited his career. Comparing Ujfalusi's tackle to Goikoetxea is a little over the top. Goikoetxea would do studs up tackles like that 5 times a game.

 

[FCBarca]

I'm with La Furia players get injured from bad tackles all the time whats the big deal? i highly doubt that is what he intended to do, it was just a reckless tackle

When is it bad then?...Is it only a problem if a player declares their intention to injure a player prior to the act?...Running around the pitch waiting to land a lunge into someone's ankle?

It's irrelevant whether he went to bed Saturday night dreaming of breaking Leo's ankle...Irrelevant that Leo is 'graceful' & 'agile' yet Ujfalusi is 'clumsy' The relevant facts are a player who is routinely agile & able to skirt past defenders faced a player with a history of physical challenges who lunged into a player waaaaaay late...and with his studs up...It would've been one thing if he slid to try and deflect the ball and catch Leo's ankle but not with his studs...Ujfalusi's tactic in that 'defense' is a very common one...There is an attempt to plant the leg ahead of the onrushing player knowing FULL well that the player will not be able to break ahead of the contact...This is not defense, it's more of a landmine booby trap from a defender who cannot actually make the play defensively

Only way to cut down on these 'accidents' is merely to hand out punishments that will serve as reminders to the 'clumsy' defenders that last ditch lunges against superior athletes won't be rewarded with a mere suspension of two matches but an extended one

 

[Cal-FCB]

You can still see the ball in that picture. Ujfalusi, just like any other player going up against Messi has very little time to react and unfortunately, his reaction time meant that he literally just missed the ball and instead came in contact with the lightning quick ankle of Messi. The pictures look far worse because they're frozen in time and any sense of how it came about real-time goes out of the window.

True but he still went in using a stamping motion. He could have quite easily gone in less dangerously than he did. He knew what he was doing, whether he got the ball or not he was definitely going to clatter him.

If it was so accidental where was the remorse after? He didn't go and apologise to Leo, not even to try and avoid a red card like players always do. He happily accepted his punishment and walked off. Total prick.

 

[Cal-FCB]

That didn't exactly end a career considering Maradona would win the World Cup 3 years later. And it's also different becasue Goikoetxea was a goon's goon who did things like that in virtually every game he played; this is a man who keeps the boot used for that tackle in a glass box at his home, and who was responsible for an even worse tackle on Schuster that limited his career. Comparing Ujfalusi's tackle to Goikoetxea is a little over the top. Goikoetxea would do studs up tackles like that 5 times a game.

Yeh they're not even in the same league. Goikoetxea makes Ujfalusi look like Gary Lineker.

 

[La Furia]

Since you all are such righteous defenders of fair play in football, I can't wait to see your condemnations next time Busquets or Mascherano makes a tackle intending to cause contact.

I could understand this sort of outrage if no card was given, but Ujfalusi is definitely going to be serving a significant ban.

Yeh they're not even in the same league. Goikoetxea makes Ujfalusi look like Gary Lineker.

Pretty much. Then again Goikoetxea would not last more than a season before being banned for life. The 80's were a whole different kind of game.

 

[Cal-FCB]

Busquets is far from a dangerous player. He's dirty but he doesn't commit those kinds of challenges. Masch is filthy and it's a matter of time before he goes flying in and hurts his next victim.

I'm not asking for a bigger punishment. I'm just condemning the challenge Nolan.

 

[barcetia]

Almost every Atletico fan I've ever talked to have respect for Barca or at least would never do something like that. The logic is that they both have a common enemy... I guess I'm wrong about the majority though

There is difference between the Atletico fans in US and the ones in Madrid. The ones in Spain are more workers, much like Inter fans.

 

[FCBarca]

Since you all are such righteous defenders of fair play in football, I can't wait to see your condemnations next time Busquets or Mascherano makes a tackle intending to cause contact.

I could understand this sort of outrage if no card was given, but Ujfalusi is definitely going to be serving a significant ban.

If Masch or Biscuit (Seriously??) takes a player out like that at Barca, he'd face the exact same sort of rebuke...But what a response from you, Furia...Resorting to that time honored tradition of 'spin' with the old 'But if he does it, why can't I?' defense

Irrelevant about a ban...That should be obvious but has little to do with whether the act was indeed malicious or deserves rebuke.

There can be no tolerance for this and the mere fact that some are soft pedaling the act reflects how numb some have become to an aspect of the game that has insidiously crept into football that has never been a part of the rules or spirit of the beautiful game

 

[Fourteen]

True but he still went in using a stamping motion. He could have quite easily gone in less dangerously than he did. He knew what he was doing, whether he got the ball or not he was definitely going to clatter him.

If it was so accidental where was the remorse after? He didn't go and apologise to Leo, not even to try and avoid a red card like players always do. He happily accepted his punishment and walked off. Total prick.

Well if I were Ujfalusi, i'd be more concerned with the red the ref is fetching out of his pocket. He wouldn't have known how bad his tackle on Messi was at that point and nor should he have thought twice about it when all he did was go in for the ball and in the process bring down the opposition as he does every week in training and in competitive matches.

As for the tackle itself, what defender do you know who comes in from the side extends the tip of his foot in an attempt to block or divert the ball. From the angle he approached and the direction of the ball from Messi, it is clear that he is logically using the inside of his foot (the widest part and the easiest part to control a football with) to intercept. It's an unfortunate reality that with his leg fully extended and rapidly approaching the floor, it's going to be at an angle when he has made contact with Messi.

 

[FCBarca]

Interesting take from Sid Lowe at the end of his review of the Atletico Match, courtesy of The Guardian:

Perhaps Quique Sánchez Flores was wrong. Atlético do have the tools. They have a hatchet, anyway. José Mourinho might have been wrong too: he said he feared someone giving Cristiano Ronaldo a hostia – literally, a consecrated bread; figuratively, a kicking – and Marca launched a campaign to protect the Portuguese attacker, whining every time anyone went near him. But it was Messi who got the hostia instead.

Last night, Messi was carried off on a stretcher in the final minute after a truly horrible tackle from Tomas Ujfalusi, the Czech stamping downwards on to Messi's ankle with his studs. Photos showed the ankle doubled right over and when Messi took his sock off, his ankle had already swollen up. "The images speak for themselves," said Guardiola. "Now you [journalists] have a responsibility to write about it." The good news is that tests have ruled out a really serious injury – it is just a bad sprain which should leave him out of action for a couple of weeks.

"Hunted!", "The essence of the game, kicked!", " A brutal victory", ran the headlines in Sport; "A traumatic victory", "messicide", "Messi, KO", said El Mundo Deportivo. AS, meanwhile, lead on "Aaaaayy!" and Marca's cover reads "Frightening!" in cracked-up letters like a bone shattering.

Their editorial even tried to claim that when they had banged on about protecting Ronaldo they meant Messi too. It's time, they said, "for measures to be taken", time for the "impunity" to end. Funnily enough they forgot what they said before last year's clásico, when they called on Madrid to stop Messi any way they could – "by civil means or criminal ones".

 

[Metaphysical]

ujfalusi's tackle was horrible. it was clumsy and late and dangerous. his foot goes over the ball. he was trying to stop messi, not hurt him I'm sure, but it was an ugly tackle.

if it was done in the premier league, or by a player nolan doesn't like, he'd be making sarcastic comments referencing the lack of technique/the brutality of the tackle/etc.

 

[Cal-FCB]

Well if I were Ujfalusi, i'd be more concerned with the red the ref is fetching out of his pocket. He wouldn't have known how bad his tackle on Messi was at that point and nor should he have thought twice about it when all he did was go in for the ball and in the process bring down the opposition as he does every week in training and in competitive matches.

As for the tackle itself, what defender do you know who comes in from the side extends the tip of his foot in an attempt to block or divert the ball. From the angle he approached and the direction of the ball from Messi, it is clear that he is logically using the inside of his foot (the widest part and the easiest part to control a football with) to intercept. It's an unfortunate reality that with his leg fully extended and rapidly approaching the floor, it's going to be at an angle when he has made contact with Messi.

What so you're saying he wouldn't have felt that he'd just stamped right on his ankle? Anyone who's played football knows when you've caught someone fully and he'd have known then. As I said before we see it in every game a player runs over to the player he's just fouled to show fake concern in the hope the ref will be more leniant. He knew he caught him and he didn't give a shit because he intended to go through the man anyway.

 

[Barcafan 2304]

So, to clear things up, its 2 weeks out then a reassessment to se if he is fit for possibly the Kazan game. Just for the benefit of those wanting the latest having just logged in!

 

[Fourteen]

What so you're saying he wouldn't have felt that he'd just stamped right on his ankle? Anyone who's played football knows when you've caught someone fully and he'd have known then. As I said before we see it in every game a player runs over to the player he's just fouled to show fake concern in the hope the ref will be more leniant. He knew he caught him and he didn't give a shit because he intended to go through the man anyway.

No, all i'm saying is that if I were him, the red card that came out very very quickly would have been my number one concern, there was no time-frame for him to show any "fake" concern for Messi. From what I remember of his body language, he was utterly declined to atleast receiving that second yellow card and going off, perhaps the straight red took by surprise, we don't know, it's pointless debating what went through his head.

All I and you and everyone else can do is look at the tackle and discuss what we believe happened. I believe Ujfalusi wanted to get the ball or stop Messi from getting past him, but I highly doubt he would have wanted to make contact with him at the point he did, that's potentially a season destroying tackle.