10 - Lionel Messi - v2

[e28makaveli]

I am simply not convinced that Messi is not physically capable of pressing and running more like his teammates do or that it is detrimental to his performance and overall impact if he does so.

Walking around while your teammates are running around, or sometimes standing there like a statue doesn't help with anything, morale or game effectiveness.

His is still young, physically he is a perfect specimen, he is in his prime. Yes he is very capable.

I think there is some level of exaggeration here.

Messi does not run around like Pedro and Alexis, or hunts down the ball like Busquets and Masherano but I have never expected him to. If you are labelling him lazy, you have to look at things from another perspective. He is the one that ends up producing results regardless of how much running was done on the field. There are 10 other players to help in the other aspects of the game - distribution of labour and specialization.

Also, how do you justify such an argument when this is the same guy that finds bursts of energy throughout the game to change it around. The last 20 minutes against Sevilla is one example. I'll rather the underachievers like Alexis and Pedro do more chasing around so that Messi has the energy to come up with moments of brilliance. For someone who also gets fouled a lot, you are asking too much from him. I will instead argue that he is working smart these days.

 

[Cule4life]

During that Neymar amazing skill and dribble Messi was too slow to get into the box for Neymar to cross to him. I think some rest will do him good. Problem is Cesc will end up playing false 9 and be bad

 

[tariqo]

“Defenders can use their hands only … to pray.” Romario ​

 

[kadeng]

I don't care if Messi reserved his energy for those last minutes, he looked absolutely awful for the majority of the game. He looked pathetic and it pisses me off when I see him walking around nonchalantly. I don't care if he is the best in the world, I hate that type of attitude. It brings the team down morally. And so what he turns it on in the last 15 min, I guarantee if we are playing a team like Bayern in CL we won't have the opportunity to fight back with his last minute heroics because we will be down 2-3 goals. It's not the old days, teams have our number and we have to give everything at all times, not have that entitled attitude. If jet lag from internationals is the problem, then sit your midget ass down and let someone play who will press!

so true..i just cant understand the other cules here who come up with several excuses every time when messi plays bad. cant they see that he is just jogging and walking over the pitch like he doesnt care?! it goes on for one year now.. i want the old messi back!
they say messi is desperate to play every game... well, i cant see it

 

[Kerrybai]

During that Neymar amazing skill and dribble Messi was too slow to get into the box for Neymar to cross to him. I think some rest will do him good. Problem is Cesc will end up playing false 9 and be bad

I believe a week or 2 ago Messi's NT coach said that Messi wasn't on top form because he was resting too much ( recovering from injuries ) I don't have the quote, maybe it was Jiopi who posted it.

People usually assume that a player needs rest if the look 'tired/slow', but quite often it's down to match fitness.

 

[ricknattery]

“Defenders can use their hands only … to pray.” Romario ​

and the guy was asking for a Messi foul

He is just amazingly strong

 

[pEllee]

Great video.


--

He didn't even have a poor game yesterday. By his standards maybe but in general? No.

 

[spark]

so true..i just cant understand the other cules here who come up with several excuses every time when messi plays bad. cant they see that he is just jogging and walking over the pitch like he doesnt care?! it goes on for one year now.. i want the old messi back!
they say messi is desperate to play every game... well, i cant see it

Because running equals caring? If the other players cared so much more than him they would stay focused and finish their chances or not have defensive brain farts ad infinitum.

 

[jiopi]

Reading this forum sometimes you would think that Barca doesn't play football, but every player are individual runners in some strange athletics league. Against PSG Cesc ran 12km and achieved absolutely nothing, and then one legged Messi, risking his career put Barca in CL-semis running 500 m.

Thankfully Cesc cared when Messi didn't.

 

[Galning]

During that Neymar amazing skill and dribble Messi was too slow to get into the box for Neymar to cross to him. I think some rest will do him good. Problem is Cesc will end up playing false 9 and be bad

Too slow? He wasn't even trying.

 

[crackh0e]

I find it worrisome that his level of dribbling - or willingness (which makes him worse at it, the less you do something, the worse you get) - to dribble, has gone down quite remarkably. The 2 last seasons he has actually gotten worse, when he should've been better at it now. He often loses the ball randomly, something we didn't see that oftenly in the past. These are bad omens, sure he scores an amazing amount of goals, but if he doesn't take dribbling seriously, he will lose out on a lot of opportunities, both for Barcelona and Argentina, in the matches where he will have to play out of his skin. There used to be amazing dribbles etc in every game, now they are fewer than ever, which I find sad, because that's the reason I fell in love with his play in the first place...

 

[jiopi]

I find it worrisome that his level of dribbling - or willingness (which makes him worse at it, the less you do something, the worse you get) - to dribble, has gone down quite remarkably. The 2 last seasons he has actually gotten worse, when he should've been better at it now. He often loses the ball randomly, something we didn't see that oftenly in the past. These are bad omens, sure he scores an amazing amount of goals, but if he doesn't take dribbling seriously, he will lose out on a lot of opportunities, both for Barcelona and Argentina, in the matches where he will have to play out of his skin. There used to be amazing dribbles etc in every game, now they are fewer than ever, which I find sad, because that's the reason I fell in love with his play in the first place...

Don't confuse worse dribbler to using dribbling more effectively, and choosing the right moments to do it. He's the most marked man in the tightest space's in Barca, yet example:

Successful dribbles this season

25 Messi in 5 games
12 Neymar in 6 games
11 Iniesta in 6 games
6 Sanchez in 6 games

 

[crackh0e]

Don't confuse worse dribbler to using dribbling more effectively, and choosing the right moments to do it. He's the most marked man in the tightest space's in Barca, yet:

Successful dribbles this season

25 Messi in 5 games
12 Neymar in 6 games
11 Iniesta in 6 games
6 Sanchez in 6 games

That's fine and all, but I can tell it's not as good as it used to be, judging by his touch and "control" over the dribbling. It's not as "tight" as it used to be, which is the problem, because he should become better at it, not worse. It's true that he's the most marked, but that was also the case two seasons ago.

 

[CatalinR10]

That's fine and all, but I can tell it's not as good as it used to be, judging by his touch and "control" over the dribbling. It's not as "tight" as it used to be, which is the problem, because he should become better at it, not worse. It's true that he's the most marked, but that was also the case two seasons ago.

Have you even wondered that it's not as ,,good" as it was because he is marked more tightly in recent years ?

 

[jiopi]

He's not becoming worse, he's choosing better moments. His control is actually gotten more refined every year. Before he's speed and agility monster, but now he does it more cunningly using strength, technique and vision. And of course there is that everyone has gotten so numb at Messi doing it every game, that it's become less than expected. Even though nobody else is doing constantly even close what Messi does.