ITT: LEO 'KING' MESSI

yeah we were alright but really whoever the opposition were didn't matter

yeah that's true

diaby though! he was pretty great. is he an attacking midfielder?

Leo "The Little Fella (© Andy Gray)" Messi

not reading thread but can we lock it please

also itt: karma

lol butthurt

From Pete, London, via text to 81111: "I seem to remember Steven Pienaar scoring a very similar goal to Messi's third also against Arsenal. Don't remember the hype."

dude in f365 mailbox reckons the ref was a major factor- i thought he was excellent tbh- arsenal's goal for a start, and although denilson's booking was a bad call i can't remember a better 90 mins form an official in a game this big.

well it was a bit lol europeans and their diving but yeah it was fine.

even usa ESPN is losing its shit over this 4 goal game from tonight/last night w/e

dude in f365 mailbox reckons the ref was a major factor- i thought he was excellent tbh- arsenal's goal for a start, and although denilson's booking was a bad call i can't remember a better 90 mins form an official in a game this big.

― Jesse James Woods (darraghmac), Tuesday, 6 April 2010 21:56 (Yesterday) Permalink

Yeah that's crazy talk, what decisions he did get wrong went against Arsenal iirc but they were miniscule. That said I don't think you have to be some sort of mecha-Hansen type figure to suggest that all of Barca's goals were preventable wrt positioning/not clearing the damn ball (maybe this has been said in reports, haven't read)

http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/04Ir4FQ82q0t9/610x.jpg
http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/05JT80o3jvcSX/610x.jpg
http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/09UedYRcfA9Lp/x610.jpg
http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/02Cg32Ff3z6ew/610x.jpg

Favorite unintentionally homoerotic sports imagery

this guys house is gonna have to get an extension from all the match balls he taking home

or you know his 5 yr old wish of living in a ball pit gonna be fulfilled soon enough

just watched the highlights and WTF dude is like controlling the game with an xbox 360

where are highlights?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTdO38N8XLI

pretty good quality

he's just so...offbeat that it puts opposing defenders out of their rhythm. kind of like boxing a southpaw. I dunno much about soccer but are left footed strikers common?

he can use both feet well iirc

also he gives hope to people like me cause I am also 5'7" and waiting for my chance to shine in a global futbol match

thanks dyao!

http://i35.tinypic.com/20ud6r7.jpg

they're not common but left footed forwards are somewhat more common than in the general population

sometimes it's an advantage but he has also been neutralized by right-footed defenders, who are often in a better position to take the ball from him when he comes from the right side of the field as he used to do 90% of the time

just watched the highlights and WTF dude is like controlling the game with an xbox 360

wenger says he's more like a playstation

your body is a playstation

his balance/use of his own body weight is amazing.

hope it is revealed that he does some sort of drunken boxing/carrying uneven weights type training in the offseason

there were a few years where i kinda lost interest in football but seeing him vs chelsea in (feb?) 2006 was probably the foremost factor in my renewed enthusiasm.....eto'o, deco and ronaldiho were fairly special too but this nervous looking kid with his hands in his sleeves runs at chelsea and o_0

the biophysical anomaly is a subject unto itself, since previous generation or so the elite players have largely conformed to a sort of ronaldo-henry type, 6'1/6'2, lithe but powerful and sprinter fast, which is unsurprising given they have to compete with increasingly athletic defenders etc

his fourth goal is siiiick

Maradonaesque I'd say - not that that's a great new insight or anything. I had never really seen it properly before last night, but there were a few occasions (inc the last goal I think) where a ruck of bodies came together around him and he emerged with the ball still stuck to his feet. He reminds me partly of Diego, but more so of Tom or Jerry when they go sleepwalking and manage to cross highways or construction sites with nary a scratch.

Except they do it really slowly, and Messi is fast.

he's like a glorified ritchie humphreys

ronaldinho 04/05 vs messi 09/10 tho.

nah fuck it i'm a major ronaldinho stan and everything but it's messi

wow, arsenal defending there is pretty lol.

guy on the bbc sport text commentary yesterday statically proved that mike newell was better than messi.

fourth hat trick of the new year

there are some aspects where even now ronaldinho is superior - his vision from deeper positions and manipulation of the ball at close quarters (not when running).

since messi began playing predominantly in this sort of false-10 position he is showing his understanding of the game is or at least has become superb, it's tempting to privilege ronaldinho's capacity for wtf moments like the toepunt vs chelsea or the chip to giuly vs milan but those are only a small part of a playmaker's job.

a lot of the time it's to elect instantly from several fairly obvious options, none of them especially esoteric and messi's instinct here is uncannily good.

similarly his sangfroid in 1v1's is exceptional, better even than the best 'pure' finishers i can think of and unlike his mesmeric dribbling that is a facet of his game that others could at least hope to emulate but they simply don't.

so when lj was saying messi does 80% of the time what craig fagan does 2% of the time or whatever that is kinda true but i don't think it diminishes his greatness at all, in some respects it even enhances my respect for him because it shows the quality of his thought and aptitude for learning rather than simply getting by on whatever freakish neuroanatomical gifts he was born with.

when lj was saying messi does 80% of the time what craig fagan does 2% of the time or whatever

yeah tbh in what way is this not a magnificent compliment? consistency of brilliance is an outstandingly rare trait in any field.

never got the ronaldinho hype. he does tricks, I guess. messi is the real deal.

is there an 04/05 ronaldinho highlight reel?

just look up his top 10 goals on youtube, mostly from that era iirc.

well, messi is clearly amazing at the moment but I still have fond memories or roni at his best.
I remember a game against real when he scored 2 goals IN A ROW (I mean scores / kick off / runs / scores. he got iker/real disgusted/amazed and he got bernadeu cheering for a barca player !).

the 3rd goal right after the kick off following his 2n goal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0H0vdHfVMhk&feature=related

sorry "bernabeu" !

lopped gif of casillas at .14 pls someone

yes lopped, i want him decapitated

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cflrToeqq0E

when lj was saying messi does 80% of the time what craig fagan does 2% of the time or whatever

yeah tbh in what way is this not a magnificent compliment? consistency of brilliance is an outstandingly rare trait in any field.

― Jesse James Woods (darraghmac), Wednesday, 7 April 2010 16:21 (54 minutes ago) Bookmark

I said this to dispel the notion that Messi is a supernatural event, but yes, it is a massive compliment. The guy doesn't put his feet wrong much at the moment.

I am merely a little bored by how it is always him who can operate at such a level - his brilliance has become cliche, and it would be good to see it countered by equal brilliance from others - but in this complaint I concede he is at a level well beyond anyone else atm

i beat three men and lobbed the goalie in half-height goals last monday, tbh when i do that it's a supernatural event, when messi does it it 'o that messi lol' so the fact that he's still impressing people is a sign of his talent.

speaking to a fabled tough nut full back of yesteryear (he's 65) today at work, and the wistful tone in which he spoke of the violence he would once have done upon messi was beautiful to behold.

are left footed strikers common?

― armando white (dyao), Wednesday, 7 April 2010 16:14 (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

More often than anywhere but left back. You are even more likely to see a left footed striker than a left winger, such is the modern game's way that lw are asked to come inside ala pires a lot more these days. Messi is def. 2 footed though. At times I think he has a 3rd one somewhere but this is a theory i've yet to prove.

Ronaldinho from 03-05 was pure joy, if only he didn't make a drunken twat out of himself, to think what he could have done in the past five years.