10 - Lionel Messi - v3

[footyfan]

His performances in the big games have been quite underwhelming for some time now. Since the Milan home game, he's played great vs Madrid (4-3 win) and PSG (3-2 loss) and was good in the Man City home game. Bar that, quite underwhelming against Atletico x7, Madrid x3, World Cup knockouts (Belgium, Netherlands, Germany) and OK in the rest. Not at all close to the standards that made people think of him as the best player ever.

Really needs to pick his finishing up for clutch chances.

 

[Lomar1o]

His performances in the big games have been quite underwhelming for some time now. Since the Milan home game, he's played great vs Madrid (4-3 win) and PSG (3-2 loss) and was good in the Man City home game. Bar that, quite underwhelming against Atletico x7, Madrid x3, World Cup knockouts (Belgium, Netherlands, Germany) and OK in the rest. Not at all close to the standards that made people think of him as the best player ever.

Really needs to pick his finishing up for clutch chances.

no player is ever marked as messi is in important games. robben,ronaldo,ribery,zlatan, they all get tons of space. i swear if any of them got marked like messi is on a daily basis, they would struggle to produce only half of what they are producing now. messi is double marked, triple marked, from the front, from behind, and still manages to create something. what do others do? just give messi the space other players get he would getafe all of the opponents. im so glad we got suarez who is the closest thing to messi on our team, because apart from scoring he can also playmake, which will help us a lot. and neymar should step his game up.

 

[SeloBarca]

Well, he has not dominated a game for very long time now. Sure, he has played good in some, but 2010 inspired Messi is not present anymore.

 

[Paganinisrvnge]

So much doom and gloom. when Suarez hits his stride, Messi will get space and prove why he's the true GOAT.

 

[footyfan]

no player is ever marked as messi is in important games. robben,ronaldo,ribery,zlatan, they all get tons of space. i swear if any of them got marked like messi is on a daily basis, they would struggle to produce only half of what they are producing now. messi is double marked, triple marked, from the front, from behind, and still manages to create something. what do others do? just give messi the space other players get he would getafe all of the opponents. im so glad we got suarez who is the closest thing to messi on our team, because apart from scoring he can also playmake, which will help us a lot. and neymar should step his game up.

I don't disagree, but he was also heavily marked in 2010, 2011 and 2012. His standards have dropped off since those times. Yes it coincides with Barca's general decline too, but I don't think it explains certain aspects of his game. Before I get flamed for singling out Messi, it's because at 27 he shouldn't be significantly worse than when he was 24 in terms of performances in big games. I've remarked the same about both Busquets and Pique. Ideally, with more experience they should be getting better at dealing with issues that have been plaguing them, for example in Messi's case, the heavy marking.

His finishing woes have nothing to do with heavy marking though

 

[eye-switcher]

Have you not learn't..... When Ronaldo wins it, it is a meaningless personal award. Only Messi wins it, it shows who the best player really is.

haha , yes that how it is around here...In fact Ronaldo starts his second season in a row much better than Messi, no one wants to admit it but he is the better player no doubt.

 

[Flavia]

I don't disagree, but he was also heavily marked in 2010, 2011 and 2012. His standards have dropped off since those times. Yes it coincides with Barca's general decline too, but I don't think it explains certain aspects of his game. Before I get flamed for singling out Messi, it's because at 27 he shouldn't be significantly worse than when he was 24 in terms of performances in big games. I've remarked the same about both Busquets and Pique. Ideally, with more experience they should be getting better at dealing with issues that have been plaguing them, for example in Messi's case, the heavy marking.

His finishing woes have nothing to do with heavy marking though

No reason to flame you, you're right. He should be on par, at least.
I still think it could be a mental block. Or maybe one of his injuries affected his muscles.

If I believed in jinxes and such, I'd say it could also be that horrible tattoo on his left leg

 

[pacp_96]

haha , yes that how it is around here...In fact Ronaldo starts his second season in a row much better than Messi, no one wants to admit it but he is the better player no doubt.

Messi is the GOAT though. Bigger fish to fry than Penaldo arty1:

 

[eye-switcher]

Messi is the GOAT though. Bigger fish to fry than Penaldo arty1:

of course he is, always

 

[SeloBarca]

He might just be one of those players that dont like beeing the big star. 3-4 year ago he looked so hungry to improve and looked like he had fun every game.
Like Pep said, he found it very hard to motivate the players his last year. How do you motivate players that have won everything?

 

[footyfan]

No reason to flame you, you're right. He should be on par, at least.
I still think it could be a mental block. Or maybe one of his injuries affected his muscles.

If I believed in jinxes and such, I'd say it could also be that horrible tattoo on his left leg

Yeah, it could be a mentality problem, which I think is a really big issue that needs to be fixed. I don't see him eager to get the ball and do stuff, atleast not consistently like before. We saw glimpses of it in the first few minutes yesterday and against PSG. It could be, as people have remarked, that he doesn't want to risk losing the ball and conceding a goal. Or it could be totally off the mark.

I just think "he's heavily marked unlike x,y and z" is the new "But it's not our fault, teams park the bus against us"

 

[dakt]

It's easy to be big Ronaldo after Barca era, when he __finally__ has a chance to shine. And I understand Messi, his drive is not the same as Ronaldo's.
To motivate a player to win 'yetanothertrophy' is Lucho's and his own challenge. I'm only sad that we might never see Messi as he was 3,4 yrs ago.
We do get these glimpse here and there, the magic....and then we scream his name. It's what we all expect every time he receives the ball. But the truth is, he doesn't look
like playful child anymore but more and more like professional footballer. What ever happens with him, in my head, he's the best I have ever seen, by far.
No footballer invokes so much emotions as he does, and that's what makes him the best, not fukin goal count. Ronaldo might please formality, but not heart.

 

[Pepe Silvia]

Did anyone notice the gleeful smile CR had when Leo had that awful FK at the end?

I did. It kind of got under my skin a little but hey whatever his team was way better and Messi was very bad that night so...

 

[Luftstalag14]

Yeah, it could be a mentality problem, which I think is a really big issue that needs to be fixed. I don't see him eager to get the ball and do stuff, atleast not consistently like before. We saw glimpses of it in the first few minutes yesterday and against PSG. It could be, as people have remarked, that he doesn't want to risk losing the ball and conceding a goal. Or it could be totally off the mark.

I just think "he's heavily marked unlike x,y and z" is the new "But it's not our fault, teams park the bus against us"

Yeah, not sure what is going on.

I think he still has the desires left in him, but he is definitely more laid back than before. With regard to his finishing, especially in big games, I am really worried. Like I said earlier, it could be because his mental state is too brittle to withstand the pressure from these big games. But then again, his finishing has been subpar for quite some time, even against weaker teams.

 

[CuleLife4Life]

It's easy to be big Ronaldo after Barca era, when he __finally__ has a chance to shine. And I understand Messi, his drive is not the same as Ronaldo's.
To motivate a player to win 'yetanothertrophy' is Lucho's and his own challenge. I'm only sad that we might never see Messi as he was 3,4 yrs ago.
We do get these glimpse here and there, the magic....and then we scream his name. It's what we all expect every time he receives the ball. But the truth is, he doesn't look
like playful child anymore but more and more like professional footballer. What ever happens with him, in my head, he's the best I have ever seen, by far.
No footballer invokes so much emotions as he does, and that's what makes him the best, not fukin goal count. Ronaldo might please formality, but not heart.

To me that sends a message that it was the Barca system with Xavi and Iniesta at their peak that made Messi better and thats just wrong. Messi was that great during the 2008-2012 yrs because he is a GOAT.

And one would think after all the success we've had, after a trophy-less year as well as missing out on a World Cup, Messi's hunger would be greater. I'm not worried though. I think he'll hit his stride soon.