10 - Lionel Messi - v5

[MIXA]

I am still convinced that the RW is the best position for Leo. It gives him more space to operate and I think that he is capable of creating more danger from the right.

Perhaps Iniesta should play at the front of the 4 man diamond midfield. Alba can play as the LCM. Umtiti-PK-Masch will complete the 3 men back line.

 

[JamDav1982]

I am still convinced that the RW is the best position for Leo. It gives him more space to operate and I think that he is capable of creating more danger from the right.

Perhaps Iniesta should play at the front of the 4 man diamond midfield. Alba can play as the LCM. Umtiti-PK-Masch will complete the 3 men back line.

There is no way Messi could play RW in a 3-4-3 in my opinion. Especially the way Lucho is playing it.

There is far too much defending required. More so than a 4-3-3 where he already is excused a lot of defensive duties.

 

[Meatball]

This is how Messi looked like in his GOAT form during the treble season!
Trust me! Next time you see Messi looks as slim n as chiseled like this! Be prepared to witness God mode in full flow!

Still can't attach images directly from my tablet! Have to use links! Can anyone tell me why?

 

[FlaFCB]

This is how Messi looked like in his GOAT form during the treble season!
Trust me! Next time you see Messi looks as slim n as chiseled like this! Be prepared to witness God mode in full flow!

Still can't attach images directly from my tablet! Have to use links! Can anyone tell me why?

Messi is slim. The beard might make it look like he isn't, but he is:

 

[Horatio]

Needs to dye his hair again to regain SSJ form.

 

[Meatball]

Then I d love him to be a bit skinnier , maybe drop a few pounds (even with a bit less muscle, still feel he s gained a bit more weight compared to the treble season though). He looks faster n more agile that way! Ahh... nearly forgot...with the beard shaved! The beard makes him look a bit grumpy!

 

[FlaFCB]

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Messi and Suarez pee sitting down

Only at home, I hope.

 

[Altomonte]

let's reevaluate after the Valencia game. I think we have to cut Barça some slack after the PSG game. And I have said it before, quick recovery after a tough game is not Messi's biggest strength.
Check out his VERY few bad performances and you will see that he always was playing poorly after insufficient recovery time.
He needs more time than, say, Mascherano.
That applies even more to matches after trips to South America (ARG NT).

 

[Luftstalag14]

Criticizing his performance in a game is valid. There's nothing wrong in saying so when he has a bad game. Saying that's he's finished, a choker, that he doesn't care, or stuff like that, taking advantage of a bad game, isn't. This happens here consistently at least since 2014. When a good part of the forum were overreacting like crazy, and wanted him sold in the summer. As if Messi hadn't done enough for everyone to know we shouldn't doubt him.

Also, his workrate was always like that. He plays pretty much every game, so unless if you want him to be more tired than he looks to be now, or injured, others have to run for him. Messi's been playing an average of around 45-50 matches per season since he started. Without counting his nt's matches.

I am not sure, Flavia. Yes he has been walking for a long time, that is his style, or that's how he approaches the game and preserves his energy. While he has been walking all along, there were clearly games where his level of participation and engagement dropped quite a bit compared to most other games that he struck people as disengaged and disinterested and people were scratching their heads. In many games he could be between his GOAT mode while walking, and most of the time he is very engaged and effective while walking therefore I don't think walking per se is necessarily the problem, or the point of contention. I think people are referring to when he refuses to be engaged, refuses to make any effective off-the-ball movement (via walking or running, whatever) to make himself available, basically taking himself out of the game, that's what pisses people off.

To me walking is one thing, which is his style and it is OK, it is another thing when he doesn't appear to want to participate much.

 

[DonAK]

Messi can walk around when the team doesn't have the ball and he isn't close to the player with it. However one area he could improve in is moving off-the ball in possession. That's literally the one area he need to improve, especially if he's going to play at this position going forward. He has been more proactive at times so I don't see why he cannot do it more regularly. Perhaps a new coach with authority and someone he understands like Sampaoli can make him do that.

 

[kadeng]

did anyone watched the chelski - manu game last night? hazard showed a true example how a number ten should make his available for his teammates. the "messi haters" here dont want him to dribble past 4-5 players etc.. dude just make yourself available between the midfield and defence line..
its nothing to do with fitness or saving himself for special occasions in the game...he just dont want! its his mentality, his personality that did change and affect his game..


everyone who played at least amateur football on a regular basis knows that if you loose the ball too easily or if you come short at almost every 50-50 possession it has much more to do with your mentality and attitude towards the game than with being tired etc..

 

[RevoTeller]

This is how Messi looked like in his GOAT form during the treble season!

This is what I was saying pages before, that Messi was for sure a super-serious GOAT contender, maybe a little less "solo" than his 2010-12 version but supreme in every aspect of the game: physically super strong, fast, excellent in defense, unreachable in dribbling, unrivaled vision and passing skills, supreme goal-scorer and, overall, very great by a personality and leadership point of view, as he was literally leading the whole team to victory almost on his own.
Surely one of the top 3-5 indivdual peaks in football history.

It's not by chance that this picture was taken after his crazy goal versus Bilbao, when the whole football world stopped and said: "WTF? How could this be?".

Personally, since when I watch football games, Messi's 2015 peak is no doubt up there with Maradona's and pre-injury Ronaldo's peaks. From then on, nobody else comes close.

Too bad that we won't probably see that Messi anymore.

I think people are referring to when he refuses to be engaged, refuses to make any effective off-the-ball movement (via walking or running, whatever) to make himself available, basically taking himself out of the game, that's what pisses people off.

To me walking is one thing, which is his style and it is OK, it is another thing when he doesn't appear to want to participate much.

Exactly. Totally agree with this^.

 

[Barcaman]

He's one card away from suspension. That's surely a factor too.

 

[Deco 20]

He ran and pressed a lot vs PSG

 

[MagIX]

Criticizing his performance in a game is valid. There's nothing wrong in saying so when he has a bad game. Saying that's he's finished, a choker, that he doesn't care, or stuff like that, taking advantage of a bad game, isn't. This happens here consistently at least since 2014. When a good part of the forum were overreacting like crazy, and wanted him sold in the summer. As if Messi hadn't done enough for everyone to know we shouldn't doubt him.

Also, his workrate was always like that. He plays pretty much every game, so unless if you want him to be more tired than he looks to be now, or injured, others have to run for him. Messi's been playing an average of around 45-50 matches per season since he started. Without counting his nt's matches.

This posts here nails the situation:

ok.
I think MY POST is pretty clear that I do not talk about persons who think that he is finished, sell him,.... agree this is simply ridiculous.
About workrate:
1) I do not want that Messi is tired or injured.... but on the same time I do not want that Neymar or Suarez are tired or injured, fortunately the workrate of both is fantastic.
Fortunetely the other players do the same, otherwise we would have 11 players walking in field.
2) The soccer is changed, the soccer evolves. Things that were good in the past, does not mean that they are also good in the future.
Nowadays, the new generation of midfielders have to be very good in buildig up AND defending (old generatione: Iniesta, new generation: Verrati). Nowadays strikers who simply wait the ball are out, today the new generation of strikers have to run with the team and have the quality to defend also.