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The embarrassment of Neuer and Boateng
Barcelona vs Bayern Munich, Camp Nou, UEFA Champions League 2014-15, Semi-Finals, 7th May, 2015
Barcelona were hosting a rampant Munich side who they had lost to in a bizarre fashion two years back. The Camp Nou certainly hoped for a better showing than last time from their players. Manuel Neuer shockingly dropped a gauntlet in the pre-match conference. He said and I quote, “I will show Messi who’s the boss”.
Certainly a very bad choice, he was at the receiving end of the capitol Lionel Messi punishment after 75 minutes. Bayern didn’t concede till 78th minute but Leo Messi struck a brilliant left-footed strike from outside the box to put Barcelona ahead. It wasn’t the last thing that Neuer had to suffer. In fact, Neuer and Jerome Boateng both where embarrassed by the magical left and right foot of Lionel Messi.
Messi ran straight at the defence again, a minute or two later. Jerome Boateng was the only human between Neuer and Messi and Lionel floored him. A sleek movement of his left foot, he carved the ball towards his right-hand side which twisted the whole body of Boateng. While the angle turned a bit bad for Lionel following Neuer’s approach near him.
He chipped the ball with his right foot, up and over the helpless Manuel Neuer and over the attempted clearance from Lahm. Barcelona went on to the finals in Berlin and won it.
“Here he is again, here he is again, that’s astonishing…., absolutely world class!!! He has taken them apart.”
The physics-defying goal
Messi vs Athletic Bilbao, Camp Nou, Copa Del Rey 2015, Final, 31st May, 2015
Barcelona were looking to complete the treble yet again in 2015. The Copa Del Rey would put them a step closer towards the laurel, after they had sealed the league title and they were into the UCL finals. Barcelona won the finals with relative ease and without breaking much sweat.
However the final was made infamous by a wonder goal which even confused physics. Lionel Messi got the ball near the half-line and stared at the defenders in front. He accelerated past them in a jiffy and when the others came across he decelerated.
He moved inside of the box and shot the ball with almost 40mph velocity, taking the ball past the keeper by a margin of 6 inches. To add to it, science tells that if Messi’s point of contact during the finish shifted left or right, by as much as 2mm, the shot would either miss the post or it would be parried by the keeper.
An astonishing goal, defying physics and moved into contention for the goal of the decade and even the goal of the century. ESPN Sportscenter did a detailed theoretical explanation on the goal.
The 500th goal in the 3-2 win
Barcelona vs Real Madrid, Santiago Bernabeu, 24th April, 2017
Barcelona and Real Madrid met in April 2017 in a must-win situation for Barcelona to stay in title contention. Barcelona was missing Neymar and Luis Suarez was in terrible form. On the contrary, Real Madrid was in a massive form both in the league and the Champions League.
The Vegas odds had predicted a 3-1 Real Madrid win and it was the expected result even among the Barcelona fan base. The sly defence of Barcelona and down on confidence following their loss to Juventus, Barcelona needed a miracle to help them. The miracle did come in the form of Lionel Messi.
Real Madrid was the first to get off the mark with Casemiro’s goal following Ronaldo’s header off the post. The controversy that is very essential in an El Clasico came with it. The lobbed ball over the defence seemed to catch Ronaldo and Ramos offside but it wasn’t called.
Soon after Barcelona hearts sank seeing Lionel Messi down on the pitch. Blood flowed from his nose and mouth and he was helpless on the pitch. Replays showed that he was caught with an elbow from Marcelo. He didn’t leave the pitch and stayed on with a tissue in his mouth.
The first goal from Messi was a magical phenomenon as most of his goals are. He passed to Busquets, got it right back from Rakitic, beat Modric on the run and Carvajal with his wonderful body swerve. Messi slammed the ball past Keylor Navas while Ramos and Nacho could only look on.
The match went on with Rakitic giving Barcelona a lead with a terrific shot. Lionel Messi had a break-away chance against Navas had he got through the defence but Ramos slid in with both legs to bring Messi down, dead on the tracks. Ramos was shown a straight red for his tackle.
James Rodriguez pulled things back for Real Madrid and a 10 man Madrid held on till the 91st minute. One more minute and they could have gone off celebrating their league victory but the ultimate party crasher arrived again.
Sergi Roberto danced from the right-back spot with an insane run leaving Marcelo and the whole Madrid midfield behind. Roberto found Andre Gomes who picked out the boisterous overlap of Jordi Alba. Without even a second touch Alba slid the ball into the box and Messi popped out of thin air to catapult the ball home.
Missing teeth, black eyes and a mouthful of blood, Lionel Messi still doomed Real Madrid. Carvajal went down on his knees, Zidane didn’t have a reaction, and Ronaldo’s anger was over the moon. Amidst the engaging atmosphere inside the Bernabeu, Messi took off his shirt and held it straight to the Real Madrid fans. Messi’s 500th goal came in the final minute of the game and gave Barca a glimmer of hope in the league.
Commentators had a lot to say following the astonishing Messi masterclass.
“Again the menacing man arrives and sinks his flaming spears into the hearts of Real Madrid. Messi, you could drop a tarantula in his shorts and he’ll still be cool”- Ray Hudson
“He is the best there is, he is the best that ever has been, probably the best that ever will be. As those Real Madrid defenders were left in his trail there, he has taken Barcelona to the top of the table in an instance of magic” - Rob Palmer
The Messiah of Argentina
Argentina vs Ecuador, Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, World Cup Qualifiers, 11th October 2017
Argentina was one of the worst sides in the South American World Cup qualifiers. They were too dependent on Messi, winning only 1 match out of the 7 that he missed. Their defence was shambolic, the attack was helpless. They managed to play so bad that they were not confirmed of a World Cup berth till the final qualifying game.
Their opponents didn’t sound very threatening yet the current form of Argentina, even losing to Bolivia without Messi, meant that the work is cut out for them. They had won at Quito only once. The unforgiving atmosphere of the stadium, at an altitude of about 2800 meters above sea-level, Argentina had a mountain to climb.
They managed to make things even tougher for Lionel Messi, conceding within a minute. Their poor support play and even worse defence set things up, for Messi to become a saviour. Messi played a neat one-two with Di Maria before finishing from close range. In the 20th minute, he gave Argentina the lead while smashing the ball into the roof of the net. Messi’s third goal was a thing of beauty.
From outside the box, under immense pressure from the defenders, Messi went down but only after firing a long-range shot over the keeper. Messi completed his hat-trick and dragged his nation to the World Cup Finals, single handily. The international failure saved Argentina from an embarrassing World Cup exit.
He did it at 2800 meters on a cold night, but can he do it on a cold rainy night in Stoke?
These are the few things that Lionel Messi blessed our eyes with, in his 14-year career. The funny thing is he never seems to slow down. He is 31 now and hopefully will remain with Barcelona for 4 more seasons. Words cannot describe his brilliance, goals cannot demonstrate his value. The day Messi leaves will be a sad day for football but for now, here is to watching Lionel Messi for the past 14 years.
We all are lucky to be in our prime age when Messi is at the peak of his career. Thank you, Lionel Messi, for your great service. May God bless your immortal left foot and our mere mortal eyes, to witness your magic day-in-day-out. Good Luck against Sevilla. Vamos Leo!!!
