'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
We have written so much about him. Newspaper headlines have ranged from “Unbelievable. Unrivalled. Unrepeatable. Spectacular. Marvellous. Wonderful. Genial. Incredible" to "Messi is the God of football". They’ve gone from "Stratospheric. Magical. Divine. Generous. Extraordinary" to the rather interesting “ET, was born in Rosario and plays in Barcelona".
And yet we haven’t said nearly enough.It’s a stupid thought, an oxymoronic opinion, even, but we really ought to say more, write more, be wowed more.
Part of it, though, is because he has ruined it for us. Ruined the spectacular by making it mundane, regular. Spoiled us by the mind-numbing efficiency of his work. Lulled us into a stupor with the simplicity of his game – there are no stepovers, no fancy elasticos, no pirouettes on the ball – there’s just him, his left foot, and the ball sticking to him... jogging alonsgide him like a faithful dog. Even the one piece of showboating he does, the panna – the nutmeg – he does with such ruthless regularity that we’ve stopped being amazed by it.
Some chancer wrote this in the build-up to the Barcelona – PSG second leg, and it feels appropriate even now. That’s the thing with him – how do we define the little Argentine’s greatness? Numbers? Stats? Trophies? Here we attempt to do the impossible. We attempt to break down Leo Messi’s greatness into terms that we normal beings may
#1. Ability to single-handedly influence outcomes
We saw it yesterday and we’ve seen it umpteem times before. How many times does that little man strolling around in the centre of the park suddenly produce a touch, or a dribble, that sparks a dying game into life? He’s done it for Barcelona and he’s done it for Argentina.
At Barca, he ensured that whether it be Pep Guardiola’s philosophy or Luis Enriques’s chaotic galactico management at the helm, he’s seen to it that the club is always numero uno – he’s been pivotal in their 6 La Liga triumphs and 3 Champions League victories, and at times it’s seemed like he’s been doing it all by his lonesome. When you consider the sheer calibre of the teammates around him, you know just how big a feat that is.
His Argentina record is often used as a stick to beat him around with (hello, users of www.twitter.com), but guiding your nation to three major finals in three years (’14 World Cup, ‘15 Copa America and ‘16 Copa America Centenario) is no joke, and it’s hardly his fault that finishers who generally gobble up chances tend to miss them when he puts them on a plate in said finals (hello there, Gonzalo)
If there is one-stat that can underline this magnificent ability of Messi’s.. it is Argentina’s record in the Qualifying campaign for WC ‘18
With Messi: Played 6 Games; Won 5, Lost 1, Scored 9 goals and conceded 4 (15 points out of 18)
Without Messi: Played 8 Games; Won 1, Lost 3, Drew 4, Scored 6 goals and conceded 10 (7 points out of 24)
#2. Humility in the face of greatness
This is such an overlooked value, humility. When loaded with the kind of gifts that Leo Messi has been granted with, it’s easy to go overboard with it.
Hell, take any common-or-garden high school jock – if he can run faster, jump longer, or shoot a football harder than you, he’s going to lord it over you. So when you know you are more talented than anyone in the history of the world’s most popular sport, it would be a forgivable offence if he were to shown a touch of arrogance, or throw a bit of a tantrum. But not Messi. There are no “it’s all about me” shenanigans, there are no cringeworthy celebrations, not once will he show even a hint of unhappiness if someone else scores instead of him, and he celebrates goals with the same enthusiasm and childish - regardless of whether he had a hand in it or not. And if there is a teammate better placed than him, he will pass – almost every single time.
This humility was evident when he passed on the ball to Neymar come crunch time in that insane PSG second leg – allowing the better player on the night to take the penalty when he so easily could have hogged the headlines by scoring it. It is evident everytime he steps on the field along with his bosom buddies Neymar and Luis Suarez – the joy that permeates from that trio reflects the very best of what our beautiful game stands for.
It’s an intangible – but it’s these immeasurable values that add weight to the tangibility of numbers, isn’t it?
P.S. The new bearded Messi seems a lot angrier with life at large, but his humility still hasn’t deserted him completely. That’s just part of who he is, isn’t it?
#3. Unparallelled close control and dribbling
This one there is no arguing with this. There are no debates to this question – nobody in the history of the game has ever dribbled a football quite like this. The ball trots happily alongside him everytime he goes on a meander – and it never leaves his control. Unlike the great dribblers of yore like Diego Maradona and Garrincha, the ball is a lot closer to his body, and he depends on no fancy tricks or flicks to get past the man standing in front.
At times it’s almost insultingly simple. Take the ball, and run. That’s it. His ability to accelerate to lightning speed from a standing start and decelerate even faster to dead standstill combines with this unmatched dribbling, and low center of gravity to make it virtually impossible for anyone to take the ball off him.
Don’t take my word for it:
#4. Underrated footballing intelligence and versatility
This whole dribbling and close-control, though, it does have one effect – overshadow everthing else that Messi does on the field. Yes, he may quite possible the most naturally gifted footballer of all time, but we’ve seen so many talented players spark to life and fizzle out almost instantaneously that to accredit Messi’s success to pure footballing talent alone would be not just be insulting to the hard work the man puts in day in and day out, but also factually wrong, and egregiously so.
When Pep Guardiola plucked him from the right wing and put him in the center of the field and asked him to stand toe-to-toe with burly centre-backs and midfield enforcers, the one thing the coach was relying on was his pupil’s ability to adapt, and use his intelligence to affect games. This is evident everytime you observe Messi – at times he seems disinterested, strolling along like it’s a Sunday morning jog on the beach, but it’s all part of the plan. Finding space, when there is precious little to go around with, is one of his important, and underrated attributes.
Take his Clasico winner yesterday for example -when Sergi Roberto goes on his power run and everyone else does so to keep up with him, Messi is still strolling. This means he goes undetected and when he runs onto the ball with a sudden spurt of pace, there is no one around him.
His passing has always been excellent, Xavi’s and Iniesta’s presence behind him masking the little man’s ability to put the ball on silver dime from anywhere on the pitch – most recently, like that magical pass to Andres Iniesta in Turin showed – his level of awareness, and ability to take advantage post analysing the scenarios (all in one split second) can take your breath away at times.
#5. Constantly redefining footballing benchmarks
Top Goalscored in Barcelona history (500).
Top Goalscorer in La Liga history (341)
Top Goalscorer in El Clásico (23)
Top Assist Provider in La Liga history (136)
Top Goalscorer in a La Liga season (50 – seriously, FIFTY)
Top Goalscorer in a calender year (91 – seriously, NINETY-ONE)
Most La Liga Best Player awards (6)
Argentina all-time top goalscorer (58)
First player to be top scorer in five UEFA Champions League seasons (4 of them consecutively)
Most hattricks scored in the Champions League (7)
Most goals scored in a Champions League match (5)
All-time top assist provider in Copa América (11)
Only player to score consecutively against all opposition teams in La Liga: (19 matches, 30 goals in 2012–13)
The little magician has redefined numbers, stats, and the way we look at football. There is no magic left in a hattrick (oh he scored one did he? Leo already has five), there is no awe-factor in a twenty--five goal season (the last time he dipped below 25 league goals a season is in 2008-09).
The statistical benchmark for shock, awe and magic have been set higher and higher and higher every single season. So when your child, or grandchild, comes up to you some fifty years from now and extols the brilliance of a player who’s scored thirty goals a season, or has scored a couple of hattricks in quick succession and you’ll can muster up in response is “Meh, I saw all this and more 50 years ago”.... you know who to blame.
P.S. For those on the other side of the debate: 5 Reasons why Cristiano Ronaldo is the Greatest Footballer of All Time
