Messi best season with Barca

[Fati_Future_BallonDor]

I remember the 4 goals against Arsenal, damn he was unstoppable during Pep time

 

[soul24rage]

People who say 2019/2015 are nerds or didn't watch him or remember him during Pep/Tito's stint. Messi was at his absolute physical peak from 2010-2013 before his injury in the late 2012/2013. He was on a 21 goal scoring streak, on course to break his 50 goals record, UCL top scorer for 4 straight years.

After his injury, he lost an edge physically and slowly became more of a creator - playing farther away from goal. Also, the board opting to phase out Xavi and Iniesta with players like Arda didn't help either.

Messi was pretty clutch in the UCL(except against Chelsea lol). Scoring in the both finals, semi against Madrid, vs Arsenal, vs Bayern, Comeback against Milan. Pep understood that a player like Messi should be close to opposition's goal as possible.

Yes, he became a smarter, more cultured and perhaps more well-rounded as a Footballer but that little extra burst of acceleration he lost made him easier to contain. With that acceleration, at times there were no answers. The polishing of his game was a direct consequence of his age, wisdom and experience. More complete doesn't mean better.

This is a very reasonable take, which is why the 2010-2012 is my favorite Messi version.

In terms of Mentality and Leadership though, the Messi WC 2022 is absolutely my favorite.

A combination of the best sides of 2010-2012 Messi and Messi WC 2022 is the GOAT of the GOATs.

 

[Fati_Future_BallonDor]

But i dont rate the 12/13 season under Tito high as he dribbled way less and was more the 'moments' Messi which were goals, goals ,goals

The AC Mlan match was legendary

One of the most emotional matches for barca and Messi!

 

[Temptation]

This is a very reasonable take, which is why the 2010-2012 is my favorite Messi version.

In terms of Mentality and Leadership though, the Messi WC 2022 is absolutely my favorite.

A combination of the best sides of 2010-2012 Messi and Messi WC 2022 is the GOAT of the GOATs.

The reason Messi went more and more towards the creative side of things as opposed to the predatory realm he flourished in earlier was due to the following factors:

Messi declining physically after that injury. Lost a bit of that signature acceleration which gave defenders lesser reaction time.

In order to compensate for that Messi improved his passing and vision. Playmaking tendencies increased.

With the decline and exits of Xavi and Iniesta, Barca's midfield wasn't what it used to be. So he had to drop deeper because his club had a significantly weaker and less creative, dominant controlling midfield. On a lower level, this phenomenon can be noticed in Spurs and Harry Kane: When he didn't have peak Eriksen and Dembele pulling the strings he had to drop deeper and spray balls around more.


With the arrival of Neymar and Suarez, Barcelona had a better attack. The attackers were more individually talented and efficient than their Blaugrana predecessors. This naturally played into Messi's transition towards being a playmaker.


All in all, the prevailing circumstances and the tectonic changes at Barcelona smoothly flowed alongside Messi's career transformation for the most part.


About your last few lines, it would be impossible to put the veteran's IQ, experiences and wisdom into a free flowing, mad youngster. Putting his maturity into his young version would take away from it's flamboyant beauty and originality. For me, that version will always be his finest.

 

[JohnN]

The reason Messi went more and more towards the creative side of things as opposed to the predatory realm he flourished in earlier was due to the following factors:

Messi declining physically after that injury. Lost a bit of that signature acceleration which gave defenders lesser reaction time.

In order to compensate for that Messi improved his passing and vision. Playmaking tendencies increased.

With the decline and exits of Xavi and Iniesta, Barca's midfield wasn't what it used to be. So he had to drop deeper because his club had a significantly weaker and less creative, dominant controlling midfield. On a lower level, this phenomenon can be noticed in Spurs and Harry Kane: When he didn't have peak Eriksen and Dembele pulling the strings he had to drop deeper and spray balls around more.


With the arrival of Neymar and Suarez, Barcelona had a better attack. The attackers were more individually talented and efficient than their Blaugrana predecessors. This naturally played into Messi's transition towards being a playmaker.


All in all, the prevailing circumstances and the tectonic changes at Barcelona smoothly flowed alongside Messi's career transformation for the most part.


About your last few lines, it would be impossible to put the veteran's IQ, experiences and wisdom into a free flowing, mad youngster. Putting his maturity into his young version would take away from it's flamboyant beauty and originality. For me, that version will always be his finest.

this: "it would be impossible to put the veteran's IQ, experiences and wisdom into a free flowing, mad youngster." is actually really well said.
you can't have it all. everything is a compromise.
Messi was a monster until 2013 but if you put him in Argentina 2023 he probably doesn't win the WC with that team. they needed old messi more than young one, weirdly.
And thats why you need a mix of players to win in football.

 

[te amo barca]

Aesthetically my favorite Messi is still 2006-2009. He was just a menace, still the fastest I've ever seen a player run WITH the ball

 

[soul24rage]

this: "it would be impossible to put the veteran's IQ, experiences and wisdom into a free flowing, mad youngster." is actually really well said.
you can't have it all. everything is a compromise.
Messi was a monster until 2013 but if you put him in Argentina 2023 he probably doesn't win the WC with that team. they needed old messi more than young one, weirdly.
And thats why you need a mix of players to win in football.

Oddly enough, 2010 Messi was more needed for Argentina from 2014-2019

2022 Messi was more needed for Argentina from 2008-2013

You're correct that the 2022 Argentina team needed 2022 Messi more. Most of them were starting in their 1st WC and needed the experience and leadership of 2022 Messi.

 

[Xtroverto]

2008-09

Barcelona had not won anything since 2006, Messi scored critical goals in all the important games of the season with exception of the CL semi final against Chelsea and the cup games against Espanyol. He scored match wining goals against Real Madrid home and away, he scored a hat trick away against At Madrid in the cup, the toughest opponent on the way to the final. He scored match winning goals in both the cup final and the champions league final.

CL 1/8 against Lyon he scored the 3-0 goal that definitely killed Lyons chance of a comeback.
CL1/4 against Bayer Munch he scored the 1-0 and 3-0 goals.
CL final he socred the 2-0 goal against United that killed the game.

In the league he scored match winning goals against

2nd Real Madrid home and away
3rd Sevilla away
4th At Madrid home

Guardiola was actually seriously questioned in the first few months due to shitty results (real or perceived) against mediocre teams, first saving Guardiolas as with a penalty winning goal agaist Espanyol on extra time, then scoring the two goals in the 1-2 game against Shaktar Donetsk with 5 min left (vergonya gate), then again saved Guardiolas as with a goal in the 1-1 home draw against Basel. Later he scored the 3-0 goal that denied Sporting Lisbon a serious comeback, they managed to score 2 quick goals back to 3-2 before killing themselves with an own goal. Basically Messi saved Guardiolas as in the CL group stage which surely would have been a complete disaster without him.

 

[BusiTheKing]

Three of his most prolific seasons (10/11, 14/15, 18/19) came after failed WC campaigns. Always been interesting to me.