Shit himself in three world cups? Youâre a great man at rewriting history
I donât need to rewrite it, the facts are Messi has not scored and only contributed one assist in seven knockout appearances in World Cups. He is a player of very dubious character at the highest level of football.
Riquelme was a leader, Riquelme had character when it came to playing for his country.
As Nico Burdisso said to Missy: âHey asshole, on this team we run until the last minuteâ
So thatâs that sorted then. Riquelme is a better player than Messi, thanks for clearing that up for us @Il Bomber Destro .
Created the most chances of anybody at this world cup, absolutely outstanding in the group stages of both this and three last world cup and a sub in 06.
Anyone can do it against the likes of Iran, Bosnia and Nigeria, mate. Put him in against the big boys in a do-or-die situation and he doesnât want to know about it. The two best players at this World Cup by a mile were Rodriguez and Robben, they sought the ball like their life depended on it, Messi avoided it like it was a virus.
The group stages?
For fuck sake
Messi is the best player of the last 25 years. This is almost universally accepted by everyone in the game. He didnât deserve player of the tournament but despite being obviously well below his best for the last year or more is still the most feared and dangerous player in the world. Iâd say you could find hundreds of quotes from almost every major figure in the game lauding his brilliance. He has performed again and again at the biggest stages of the club game so thereâs no doubt about his big game temperament either. He simply couldnât sustain the brilliant form he had shown for 5 years or more and looks burnt out. Maradona wasnât at the very top for any longer than 5 years for instance. Nobody ever has been and especially not playing the amount of games that are played by top players these days.
Maradona was only outstanding in one of his four world cups. Messi still has at least one left. He was better in this one than maradona was in any except '86. Hopefully he can get back to his best but history suggests that might not happen.
[QUOTE=âTabby, post: 983678, member: 2142â]Messi is the best player of the last 25 years. This is almost universally accepted by everyone in the game. He didnât deserve player of the tournament but despite being obviously well below his best for the last year or more is still the most feared and dangerous player in the world. Iâd say you could find hundreds of quotes from almost every major figure in the game lauding his brilliance. He has performed again and again at the biggest stages of the club game so thereâs no doubt about his big game temperament either. He simply couldnât sustain the brilliant form he had shown for 5 years or more and looks burnt out. Maradona wasnât at the very top for any longer than 5 years for instance. Nobody ever has been and especially not playing the amount of games that are played by top players these days.
Maradona was only outstanding in one of his four world cups. Messi still has at least one left. He was better in this one than maradona was in any except '86. Hopefully he can get back to his best but history suggests that might not happen.[/QUOTE]
messi is a failure
I would respectfully suggest that this is not correct. For me Zidane performed at the highest level and on the highest stage time and again. If I was going to a WorldCup I would take Zidane ahead of Messi every time.
totti is the correct answer
Thatâs your opinion Fagan Iâd say most fans, players and managers current and former would disagree with you but Messi has about 8 years of his career left to play as long as zidane in any case.
Most of them havenât the attention span of a two year old and will take whatever horseshit is spoon fed to them.
âThere is only one player who is doing things that I could never do and that is Messi,â
If Messiâs career ended tomorrow or hit a sudden downward spiral, you could certainly make a very reasonable case for suggesting that Brazilian Ronaldo was as good or better. Messi has been astonishingly brilliant for sustained periods but there was something unstoppable about Ronaldo at his peak. He was a physical phenomenon and an extraordinary goalscorer on top of that.
Says the man judging messi on his most recent 2/3 games.
Itâs a fair point on Ronaldo, and Zidane in fairness, but many respected observers would argue for messi and I just think its fair to point out when everyone is rushing to condemn him that he IS actually one of the greats of the game. And one whoâs only halfway through his career.
Do you think we might have seen the best of him Rocko? He doesnât look a happy man all season.
[QUOTE=âTabby, post: 983708, member: 2142â]Itâs a fair point on Ronaldo, and Zidane in fairness, but many respected observers would argue for messi and I just think its fair to point out when everyone is rushing to condemn him that he IS actually one of the greats of the game. And one whoâs only halfway through his career.
Do you think we might have seen the best of him Rocko? He doesnât look a happy man all season.[/QUOTE]
Christ, if thatâs his best over the last few world cups then god help Argentina
Its time to dispense with him from an Argetinian pov, nothing will ever come of him on the International stage.
[QUOTE=âTabby, post: 983708, member: 2142â]Itâs a fair point on Ronaldo, and Zidane in fairness, but many respected observers would argue for messi and I just think its fair to point out when everyone is rushing to condemn him that he IS actually one of the greats of the game. And one whoâs only halfway through his career.
Do you think we might have seen the best of him Rocko? He doesnât look a happy man all season.[/QUOTE]
Itâs hard to compare Messi with those guys now. I wouldnât pick Zidane because I think he took his time becoming effective. Ronaldo exploded onto the scene and then burst like a bubble which was more romantically appealing, at least it would have been if his deterioration wasnât all linked to Nike and corporate interference etc.
Messiâs challenge will be trying to be effective in a team that that doesnât rely on possession. His direct running for Barca was so effective when he was the only one doing it. Iniesta was of course well capable of gliding past a man but doesnât take the ball, turn and run at defenders the way Messi does. Zlatan was sidelined for him, which you couldnât really argue with on the basis of Messiâs subsequent form but jettisoning Zlatan hinted at a narrow tactical approach suiting Zlatan. Alexis didnât come with quite the same reputation but was a fine footballer who got asked to play a different role at Barca because they didnât need someone playing where Messi plays. Fabregas not too different, though he couldnât force his way into midfield either.
Messiâs demeanour hasnât been great for a while now. I donât know whether there is a series of niggles at him, whether he has muscle injuries or whether heâs finding it harder now. But he doesnât look as effervescent and consequently heâs more predictable. Canât argue with his contribution in the group stages but he was a passenger in the semi final and the comparisons with Maradona dragging Argentina to a World Cup were grossly exaggerated.