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What’s the story?
After having his face caved in by an “accidental” elbow from Marcelo (it looked accidental, but you can never be sure with these things, hence the quotes), Messi had to undergo emergency medical treatment on the field of play and had to play a part of the match with a tissue stuffed into his mouth. He of course went to score Barcelona’s first goal shortly afterwards before sealing the deal with what turned out to be the very last kick of the game.
The incident with Marcelo, though, continues to haunt him. As per reports in the Sun, he is now set to undergo further dental surgery to fix his teeth after it appears for the all the world like he lost a tooth.
In case you didn’t know
It’s been a painful week for Messi. Just a few days before Clasico, Messi had needed treatment after getting bloodied as he planted his face on the ground awakwardly after a tough Miralem Pjanc challenge.
The heart of the matter
Lionel Messi is always treated like a ragdoll everytime he steps on the field, and the last el clasico was no exception. His bloodied face, and celebration with that tissue sitting awkwardly in his mouth will remain seared into memory for a long time. But his repsonse to the pain was merely to inflict more of it upon his opponents. Any young footballers watching Messi should learn that one quality – the ability to let your feet respond to any kind of provocation – more than anything else that the magical Argentine possesses.
The reported dental surgery will most likely be to put in a replacement for the lost tooth.. a fairly simple, if painful, procedure that shouldn’t affect his availability for any of Barcelona’s games as the race for La Liga heats up in earnest.
Video
In case you missed the incident, here’s the full video
Author’s Take
Leo Messi’s immense doggedness is so very underrated. It’s so underrated that we don’t really think of him as a “hard man” , as “brave” or as “fighter”. Those are terms we reserve for people like Sergio Ramos and Carles Puyol who wear their hearts on the sleeves and studs on the oppositions’ legs. But Messi deserves it more than any of them: He gets kicked and physically bullied left, right, and centre but refuses to let this get to him.
He knows he is going to endure pain, but that never, ever, keeps from continuing to play the way he always has had. If that’s not the definition of “brave”, i don’t know what is.
