10 - Lionel Messi - V6

[te amo barca]

I watched later and was expecting much wose player and much less effort from what was said here. He wasn't inspirational but was whipping in corners and trying to cover a person when Venezuela had it The match wasn't a horror show by Messi by any stretch of the imagination.

The fact that he was sending hideous crosses from corners is an indicator that he did not have that terrible of a game? In open play, he killed a number of promising attacks with poor touches in Dembele's fashion. No need to deny things when it is what it is.

 

[Raketa10]

why wasn't he motivated against liverpool? he did the same walking around/hiding behind defenders stuff that he's done throughout this tournament.

It's clear you know shit about football. Comments like this one are really destroying quality of this forum. He was by far our best player against Lpool.

 

[Mitchell1978]

I watched later and was expecting much wose player and much less effort from what was said here. He wasn't inspirational but was whipping in corners and trying to cover a person when Venezuela had it The match wasn't a horror show by Messi by any stretch of the imagination.

according to some here, now that he has a couple of bad/lesser performances he's declined all of a sudden (even though he just had one of his greatest seasons ever for barcelona) or/and will be shite here on out, mindblowing stuff really

 

[Tekkers]

It's clear you know shit about football. Comments like this one are really destroying quality of this forum. He was by far our best player against Lpool.

no player was barca's best player "by far" in the 2nd leg. he played as passively in that game as he's done throughout the tournament and it's clearly an issue. if he has a problem with moving without the ball then he needs to play as close to the goal as possible, because it's clear that he can no longer do what he used to be able to do in his prime.

 

[serghei]

if he has a problem with moving without the ball then he needs to play as close to the goal as possible, because it's clear that he can no longer do what he used to be able to do in his prime.

His terrible off the ball game would be a problem no matter where he plays, but yes, you certainly can't have him in midfield, where speed and off the ball movement are key. Winger or False 9 are the only two positions he can play at this moment, and that means he doesn't get to drop in midfield whenever he wants. That shit needs to stop. Let the midfielders do their job.

One thing is for sure. We need to limit his area of movement and demand more intensity. Less ground to cover, but more frequent runs and movements. At the moment his area of action is huge (I've even seen him on the left ffs lol), but the speed and intensity are a joke.

 

[DonAndres]

no player was barca's best player "by far" in the 2nd leg. he played as passively in that game as he's done throughout the tournament and it's clearly an issue. if he has a problem with moving without the ball then he needs to play as close to the goal as possible, because it's clear that he can no longer do what he used to be able to do in his prime.

Messi had more touches at Anfield than any Liverpool player except for Milner and Trent. He took 5 of our shots and had 3 key passes for our other ones. 2 of those key passes were dagger through balls past VVD to set Alba/Suarez through and they missed a clear 1v1.

All of his shots were really dangerous too.

He's been plenty trash for Argentina at Copa America but he has not been passive for Barcelona at all save for Roma away in the past 2 years.

 

[Pedro]

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[Potroh]

I watched later and was expecting much wose player and much less effort from what was said here. He wasn't inspirational but was whipping in corners and trying to cover a person when Venezuela had it The match wasn't a horror show by Messi by any stretch of the imagination.

This particular game was rather a bullfight than football.
Nasty faults, disgusting moves at almost every 20th second.
For Messi, these type of games are typically the ones that someone can hardly judge him at all, if there's no continuous play, he will hardly ever stand out.

Otherwise sadly the entire Copa is a bit like this game, violent, rough and low quality play so far.
Referees are horrible, and the usage of VAR is something they truly need to learn...

I still watch these games starting at 2:30 in the morning, but the entire level, approach and quality is just awful.

 

[Taifun Devilry]

He has declined and I don't say that just based on his Copa performance. I've been saying that since he turned 30. He lost so much of his explosion, which makes him much more slower and lose the ball more often when trying to dribble. Also, his possession (which have always been sublime) is much more sloppy nowadays. He can't glue the ball on his feet anymore when he is running.

That being said, even a declined Messi is the best player in the world (as shown in this last season) and should've been performing way better than he is in this Copa America. There are no excuses, really. Sure, Argentina is a mess, but I think that he just feels the pressure when playing for Argentina which makes him play worse. It's always been like that, but when he was younger he could deliver more for Argentina even performing worse than he normally does. However, now his bad performances are much more noticeable because he is older. Still, he could do more. Just look at Suarez, he just performs so much better than him at Uruguay and he is also 32.

 

[jaype]

All this talk about motivation and not caring is such bullshit and shortsighted, the guy has said he wants nothing more than to win something major with Argentina. The problem is he has shit stamina, period.

 

[kattanib]

He has declined and I don't say that just based on his Copa performance. I've been saying that since he turned 30. He lost so much of his explosion, which makes him much more slower and lose the ball more often when trying to dribble. Also, his possession (which have always been sublime) is much more sloppy nowadays. He can't glue the ball on his feet anymore when he is running.

That being said, even a declined Messi is the best player in the world (as shown in this last season) and should've been performing way better than he is in this Copa America. There are no excuses, really. Sure, Argentina is a mess, but I think that he just feels the pressure when playing for Argentina which makes him play worse. It's always been like that, but when he was younger he could deliver more for Argentina even performing worse than he normally does. However, now his bad performances are much more noticeable because he is older. Still, he could do more. Just look at Suarez, he just performs so much better than him at Uruguay and he is also 32.

This will be the year to forget. Horrible manager and declining oldies who are controlling the squad bullying youngsters and a club president that has his own agenda and doesn’t give two fucks about the club heritage. We are doomed until our next elections and I truly hope it won’t be too late by then. I blame the club members and board for not acting.

 

[Pedro]

I think it's almost written in the stars for Leo to win this Copa, hasn't been at his best whole tournament, he could be back to his best in the next 2 games to lead them to glory. It's been the other way round in the other tournaments where he plays better earlier and less so during the knockouts like semi's/final and ends up losing.

 

[BarcaMessi]

mostly hard working defensive plays and group effort. the results might have been the same without Messi.

Auguero made more difference than Messi. Too bad Barca has to live with Messi's fucking pet.

A young messi used to dominate much worse pitches. Getting more and more spoiled, entitled and corrupt.

 

[feggydinho]

mostly hard working defensive plays and group effort. the results might have been the same without Messi.

Auguero made more difference than Messi. Too bad Barca has to live with Messi's fucking pet.

A young messi used to dominate much worse pitches. Getting more and more spoiled, entitled and corrupt.

This is the gospel truth, he played on worst pitch when he was young and still imposed himself. I hope he changes his attitude against Brazil.

 

[Andrew M]

mostly hard working defensive plays and group effort. the results might have been the same without Messi.

Auguero made more difference than Messi. Too bad Barca has to live with Messi's fucking pet.

A young messi used to dominate much worse pitches. Getting more and more spoiled, entitled and corrupt.

Messi entitled and corrupt? What utter crap you speak