10 - Lionel Messi - V6

[Hardy]

Leo is 3 goals away from reaching 600 goals with Barca so...Let's hope Messi scores hattrick against Real Sociedad

 

[FCB1987]

Liverpool have a very aggressive press, and they swarm players. Messi cannot afford to be as laid back as he was Vs Utd. He has a history of doing it in recent years and it's been his downfall.

Valverde takes a lion share of the blame for getting the side to play such a boring, slow methodical style of play, but Messi needs to be on it like he was Vs Spurs, otherwise Liverpool are going to seriously show this side up.

👍.

 

[Arizona Scott]

Liverpool have a very aggressive press, and they swarm players. Messi cannot afford to be as laid back as he was Vs Utd. He has a history of doing it in recent years and it's been his downfall.

Valverde takes a lion share of the blame for getting the side to play such a boring, slow methodical style of play, but Messi needs to be on it like he was Vs Spurs, otherwise Liverpool are going to seriously show this side up.

EV has only lost in one competition so far as manager for Barca, in fact best as I remember only lost one big match to date. The two CL collapses the previous two years and being pipped to the league one of those years cannot possible be on him. People seem to act like he has been with Barca during the Juve/PSG/Atleti meltdowns when he had nothing to do with them.

This tie is going to be a defensive struggle and come down to a few magic plays or big blunders. We will have more possession, Liverpool will tighten up pressure in their own half and seek to counter but Klopps 1st priority will be to defend Messi and co.

 

[booge]

dont get messi. this year he's had so many special matches. the betis one, man united, where pundits , fans, opposition fans even are calling him the best ever, what's changed? just motivation?

if so, that's a bit of a let down what's been happening the last few years.

just seems so driven this year. pitty he can;t have this mad attitude all time.

i mean he's at end stage of his career, forget about being burnt out now, just play every game like it's your last.

that's when we see the best messi, the messi that played against arsenal, the messi that played against other CL teams.

he seem's quick enough to do any damage against any defence when dribbling.

 

[ini4ever]

dont get messi. this year he's had so many special matches. the betis one, man united, where pundits , fans, opposition fans even are calling him the best ever, what's changed? just motivation?

if so, that's a bit of a let down what's been happening the last few years.

just seems so driven this year. pitty he can;t have this mad attitude all time.

Yeah, when he's motivated he's playing the best it actually bugs me when he says records aren't important for him dude why you want to stop here just keep going. Learn from Ronaldo he has 5 bdr and still push himself further.

 

[FinBarcelonafan]

dont get messi. this year he's had so many special matches. the betis one, man united, where pundits , fans, opposition fans even are calling him the best ever, what's changed? just motivation?

if so, that's a bit of a let down what's been happening the last few years.

just seems so driven this year. pitty he can;t have this mad attitude all time.

i mean he's at end stage of his career, forget about being burnt out now, just play every game like it's your last.

that's when we see the best messi, the messi that played against arsenal, the messi that played against other CL teams.

he seem's quick enough to do any damage against any defence when dribbling.

Humans are not like robots. We need bigger purpose to push ourselves. I guess this is his season to prove himself again as a top player. it motivates him.

 

[Arizona Scott]

....what's changed? just motivation?

if so, that's a bit of a let down what's been happening the last few years.


i mean he's at end stage of his career, forget about being burnt out now, just play every game like it's your last.

What changed, a bit more rest (including not the extra high intensity national team matches), a little more help/deeper roster?

The problem with this take is the dude is a homo sapien, and unfortunately as great of a footballer he is that fact leads to physical and mental limitations as well as lack of perfection.

 

[raki]

Messi has 24 goals in 32 games against top Premier League teams.

But..... “hE wOuLdn’T hAcK iT In tHE PrEmiEr LeAgUe”

 

[booge]

i just can't get over the beautiful goals lol. the goals are just the most prettiest and theres like hundreds of them that are beautifully crafted.

 

[eaman]

Humans are not like robots. We need bigger purpose to push ourselves. I guess this is his season to prove himself again as a top player. it motivates him.

He had the same motivation last year and the year before. Do ye not remember the Chelsea game. He was just unfortunate to not be fully fit vs Roma and unfortunate that the whole team played so badly in that one away game. Remember he won the league and was to top scorer and that proves motivation over a season which is the most important thing. That really proves his motivation and that he is the best

 

[FCB1987]

I honestly thought he was slightly better last season. His stats are a bit improved due to being more clinical and having better attacking support, but his overall play was more impressive last season.

 

[Horatio]

I honestly thought he was slightly better last season. His stats are a bit improved due to being more clinical and having better attacking support, but his overall play was more impressive last season.

Dunno...he has looked really fast this season and performed some wonderful dribbles.

Think he had more matches this season where he is sloppy with the passing.

But this season he has stepped up at more important moments.

Also had a setback because of injury.

 

[Pedro]

Messi - 597 club goals in 679 apps

Ronaldo - 599 club goals in 799 apps

Let's hope Leo gets to 600 first

[MENTION=17309]Vilarrubi[/MENTION]

[MENTION=22956]FCB1987[/MENTION]

 

[Centauri B]

This is a series of posts made by a member on Redcafe claiming that Messi is over-hyped and that may not even be in the Top 10 players of all time. Now, many would say that this is just an idiot and why waste any time on what he says. But I think that there is a deeper issue here. In my view, this person is not an idiot at all, he is just reasonably confident that however wrongful his claims may be, there will be at least some support for them. If somebody's lies are not pointed out by others, then those lies can be presented as truths.

His main arguments on why Messi may not even be among the Top 10 of all time are the following two:

a) Who of us has seen all the greats of previous decades, going even all the way back to the early decades of the 20th Century?

b) Messi's stats are so awesome because he has been playing in a very good team in a very weak league. Notice when he wonders on what George Best's would have been had he been playing for Rangers in the Scottish league.

In matter of fact, both arguments (especially the 2nd) can be destroyed with ease. Firstly, the internet is chock full of videos and even entire games from Pele, Best & Maradona eras. Moreover, the stats of each past great are well known and with a little bit of patience and intelligence can be placed in a proper context and compared.

As for his attempt of drawing parallels between the Scottish league & La Liga in order to devalue Messi's achievements, this can be shot down by merely glancing at European Cup competition results of the past 20, and especially last 10 years. This line of argument also conveniently forgets that Messi is the number 2 all-time top-scorer in the Champions League, with a higher goals-per-game ratio to CR7 and enough time to overtake him, despite playing in a more playmaking position that Ronaldo.

Anyway, I thought it would be enjoyable to have a look at this absurd claims and how they can be repeated, even today.

I do not agree that Messi is the greatest player of all time, in fact I'm not sure he would make the top 10 of all time - I've seen three who I would rate higher, Pele, Best and Maradona.

He is world class and has been one of the best over the past ten years, but let's not over hype him.

Why? Have you seen all the top level players of all time, to compare and make a judgment?

If you want to argue he was the best player in the last ten years, then I'd agree he was, by a short head over CR7, but (a) no one remembers far enough back to evaluate all the players and (b) the way the game has changed makes comparison difficult.

Also, Messi has played his career in a league where there is a concentration of good teams at the top and rich pickings against the others, thus goals galore - yes, you can only beat the team in front of you, but it's a factor in judging greatness, as is World Cup performance.

Compare Messi with Mardona in that respect and the latter has a far superior record - Messi is, however, a far superior sportsman.

I've been watching football since the late 60s and would judge Pele the greatest in that period, factoring in his tremendous World Cup performances, with Maradona second and George Best in third (mainly because he didn't play in the World Cup, not because of his skill level - he was the best all round forward I have seen, when interested).

Names that crop up as 'greats' from the 40s, 50s and 60s include di Stefano, Puskas, Garrincha, John Charles, Stanley Matthews, Telmo Zarra, Valentino Mazzola, Jose Manuel Moreno, Adolfo Pedernera. I didn't see any of these people play, but the anecdotal evidence is strong.

There will be good shouts from the 20s and 30s, too.

So no, it is neither funny nor absurb to say that I am unsure if Messi is in the top 10 of all time, as it is impossible to judge that - I was reacting to the sweeping statement, not deriding Messi, who is a great player.

I didn't write that Messi is not one of the top ten players ever - please review my post. I said I wasn't sure if he made the top 10 (because there are decades of players I did not see, who are also said to be fabulous in their time - I'm told that ). Clearly he is a great player and could well be in the top 10, I am just not sure through lack of knowledge. People I know in South America say that Argentina's three greats are (in order) Jose Manuel Moreno, Diego Maradona and Messi - I saw Maradona, but not Moreno. Maradona performed much better in the World Cup than Messi (as well as cheating, which Messi has never done, to my knowledge - he is a sportsman and a fine opponent) and that is the reason he gets a higher ranking - you may disagree, that's fair enough.

Having seen both Best and Messi, George was seamlessly two footed, as good in the air as CR7 inch for inch (though the latter is taller and thus more effective) and had the same blistering acceleration, as well as being nearly impossible to dislodge from the ball when dribbling - he will never be rated as highly as Pele, as he didn't play in the World Cup finals and that is the ultimate arbiter in the eyes of many. For me, Best was a more all round skilled player than Messi, but that is my opinion - Messi has been a more dedicated professional over whis whole career and is totally top drawer.

Messi has scored a ton of goals in La Liga, but what would Best have achieved if playing for Rangers in the Scottish League Division 1 in the 60s/70s? Pele scored a bucket load domestically, but Gerd Mueller had a fantastic record in the Bundesliga, as well as for the West German team. Context is important.

BTW, Pele played for Santos, not Sao Paulo. Having spent time in Sao Paulo, I know this for a fact.

 

[Barcaman]

Nonsense. Lost me at once when he claimed La Liga is "very weak League".

Should've known better than to keep an open for inbreds from RedCafe.