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Must-See Goal: Lionel Messi

LionelMessiBarcelona1-Getafe2014 (AP)

http://youtu.be/g_Hk16y5KgQ

Comments

  1. Messi sucks.

    Really, there were at least three more defenders to bypass on the way to scoring that goal.

    And that assist to himself? He should have had TWO assists.

    This guy won’t do anything at the World Cup.

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  2. Messi is smart enough to move on from that first trip – he knows the ref will call it back if he doesn’t make it another 10 feet. He takes advantage of how others flop and how the defense lets down thinking its a foul.

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  3. I’d be curious to see if Barca’s assist rate with their defenders is higher than others in LaLiga due to goals like this where Fwds come back, get the ball deep and dribble……….

    #statnerd

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  4. The best part may have been his refusal to fall down near the beginning of the sequence when the defender stuck his leg out. Messi had bigger things in mind than a free kick.

    Those uniforms, though – oy! Do those colors have anything to do with FCB?

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  5. This is why MLS sucks! Because we don’t have players like Messi making MLS defenders look like bow-legged traffic cones! I can’t believe Toronto FC spent all that money on Bradley/Defoe instead of Messi! Football will never be popular in the USA!!! Loud NOISES!!!!

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    • Messi made it look that easy because he is that good.

      consider:
      1. the first tackler actually won the ball initially. the only reason messi ends up with it is because of his awareness and athleticism.
      2. the back line is playing a high pressuring high line. again, messi has the awareness to beat this line on his own. they are very tight in order to make this hard, but messi passes the ball past one of the center backs as if he were a goalkeeper only to run onto it on the other side of the defenders.
      3. he dribbled around the keeper, who can not be faulted for coming out.
      4. the last defender made a good effort on the recovery run and barely missed saving the goal.

      but go ahead and assume that it was in the spanish league that it was just shitty defending…

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    • But I thought Messi was only good because of his teammates, and Argentina’s lack of a World Cup is proof he’s a fraud?

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      • I think its more like his 0 goals in a World Cup and 0 goals in the 2011 Copa America. To say he wasn’t excellent(in general) then is absurd however to ignore it completely is also absurd.

        It did very much seem like there were 2 different Messis. 1 with goals. 1 with no goals(some assists). Both still amazing.

        Either way no need for calm analysis. Messi blood dopes during the Timeouts!?!?! The cheater!

      • Just because he didn’t score doesn’t mean his play wasn’t excellent. I wouldn’t ignore his ’10 World Cup (I can’t intelligently speak on the Copa America). He had a couple assists, and hit the post 2-3 times where the rebound was scored. This while playing under Maradona, who was far from a tactical genius.

      • Pretty much the same goes for Copa America. He plays as a midfielder as far as I have seen with Argentina. He is just as influential during the game, but he is working from so much deeper. Also, a lot of his game is based on chemistry with players around him because his movement and combination play are so intricate. He simply does not have that familiarity with his Argentina teammates yet.

      • “To say he wasn’t excellent(in general) then is absurd ”

        I did say he was excellent. I was just pointing out there are reasons for the perception that he wasn’t good for Argentina. And yes El Diego was a terrible idea.

      • ‘It did very much seem like there were 2 different Messis. 1 with goals. 1 with no goals(some assists).’

        almost like he was playing a different position in a different system. 🙂

      • My point there is that if he is going to deserve his near mythic status. He would have had to do more.

        Zidane still better to me but he does get bonus points for violence.

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