The Messi Thread

[Syrette]

Doesnt he have something wrong with his legs or growth hormone or something, which means his career will, unfortunately be, short lived compared to most?

 

He did at the start of his career, part of the deal taking him to Barca was that they paid for the medical bills. Shouldn't affect the longevity of his career as far as I'm aware.

[Yorkie]

I was joking with the Citeh comment, btw.

[maze]

merge with "other games" thread maybe?

 

Christ. Love how various minions of the forum police crop up every now and again. It's like the Gestapo... i get increasingly nervous every time i sign on nowadays.

 

 

"Someone please call 911" 

[HawK]

A truly special player, the sort that only come along once every 10-20 years.

 

Mr C. Ronaldo? Bigger accomplishment what he's done in the last couple of seasons in the EPL (undisputedly a much higher quality league) I'd say.

 

Larsson at Celtic?

 

NB - Messi is awesome but lets not go overboard?

[Nobody]

A truly special player, the sort that only come along once every 10-20 years.

 

Mr C. Ronaldo? Bigger accomplishment what he's done in the last couple of seasons in the EPL (undisputedly a much higher quality league) I'd say.

 

Larsson at Celtic?

 

NB - Messi is awesome but lets not go overboard?

Is that the second best player you could think of in the last 10-20 years?

[Syrette]

A truly special player, the sort that only come along once every 10-20 years.

 

Mr C. Ronaldo? Bigger accomplishment what he's done in the last couple of seasons in the EPL (undisputedly a much higher quality league) I'd say.

 

Larsson at Celtic?

 

NB - Messi is awesome but lets not go overboard?

Is that the second best player you could think of in the last 10-20 years?

 

I love how he makes a fair point about Ronaldo and his achievements in an arguably better quality league, and then mentions Larsson... who played in Scotland.

[Mr. Snrub]

A truly special player, the sort that only come along once every 10-20 years.

 

Mr C. Ronaldo? Bigger accomplishment what he's done in the last couple of seasons in the EPL (undisputedly a much higher quality league) I'd say.

 

Larsson at Celtic?

 

NB - Messi is awesome but lets not go overboard?

 

[tmonkey]

Must be great being a Barca fan - as in, far more so than any other fan of a successful CL elite eam. On top of the trophies you have the joy of nearly always watching a true all-time world class attacking/flair/creative player in prime form, season after season with only one or two transitional seasons at most before the last great player is moved on and the next one hits form.

 

Before Messi there was Ronaldinho, before him Rivaldo, Figo, Ronaldo, Romario, Stoichkov stretching all the way back to the early 90's. They got to see them all in their prime, at the peak of their powers - nearly all of them either winners or runner ups for World Player of the Year at one point or another (many of them twice) - in amonst the many other talented and top class players in all of their teams. And now they get to see Messi tearing the league up week in week out.

[Yorkie]

Great/easy.

[Mike]

Must be great being a Barca fan - as in, far more so than any other fan of a successful CL elite eam. On top of the trophies you have the joy of nearly always watching a true all-time world class attacking/flair/creative player in prime form, season after season with only one or two transitional seasons at most before the last great player is moved on and the next one hits form.

 

Before Messi there was Ronaldinho, before him Rivaldo, Figo, Ronaldo, Romario, Stoichkov stretching all the way back to the early 90's. They got to see them all in their prime, at the peak of their powers - nearly all of them either winners or runner ups for World Player of the Year at one point or another (many of them twice) - in amonst the many other talented and top class players in all of their teams. And now they get to see Messi tearing the league up week in week out.

 

Yeah, but...

 

...

 

:-[

[MW]

Only won Champions League twice ever IIRC.

[Guest firetotheworks]

Its a crying shame that he cant stay fit. Best player on the planet when he's fit.

[Guest diddimz]

Injury prone and to short, wouldn't take him

[Cajun]

Must be great being a Barca fan - as in, far more so than any other fan of a successful CL elite eam. On top of the trophies you have the joy of nearly always watching a true all-time world class attacking/flair/creative player in prime form, season after season with only one or two transitional seasons at most before the last great player is moved on and the next one hits form.

 

Before Messi there was Ronaldinho, before him Rivaldo, Figo, Ronaldo, Romario, Stoichkov stretching all the way back to the early 90's. They got to see them all in their prime, at the peak of their powers - nearly all of them either winners or runner ups for World Player of the Year at one point or another (many of them twice) - in amonst the many other talented and top class players in all of their teams. And now they get to see Messi tearing the league up week in week out.

 

Got to see Shola Ameobi aswell, ok it wasn't every week but it was still probably something they will always remember.

[colinmk]

A truly special player, the sort that only come along once every 10-20 years.

 

Mr C. Ronaldo? Bigger accomplishment what he's done in the last couple of seasons in the EPL (undisputedly a much higher quality league) I'd say.

 

Larsson at Celtic?

 

NB - Messi is awesome but lets not go overboard?

 

I'd have to disagree, the spanish league is not far off the premiership at all. Some would argue it's better, not me though.

 

And for me Messi is special in a way that Ronaldo isn't. Fair enough Ronaldo produces more, is more consistant, has the better physique etc but Messi does things that only the special ones can and he has whatever it was that Maradona had. Not sure what you would call it but Ronaldo doesn't have that.

 

Larsson was fantastic but he's in the next tier of great players for me.

[HawK]

A truly special player, the sort that only come along once every 10-20 years.

 

Mr C. Ronaldo? Bigger accomplishment what he's done in the last couple of seasons in the EPL (undisputedly a much higher quality league) I'd say.

 

Larsson at Celtic?

 

NB - Messi is awesome but lets not go overboard?

 

I'd have to disagree, the spanish league is not far off the premiership at all. Some would argue it's better, not me though.

 

And for me Messi is special in a way that Ronaldo isn't. Fair enough Ronaldo produces more, is more consistant, has the better physique etc but Messi does things that only the special ones can and he has whatever it was that Maradona had. Not sure what you would call it but Ronaldo doesn't have that.

 

Larsson was fantastic but he's in the next tier of great players for me.

 

I was simply drawing what I thought was a fairly obvious parallel of players seeming better when playing against lower quality opposition and often with lower quality team mates - I wasn't meaning in any way that Larsson is in the league of greats, far from it.

 

If a team is set up to work off one man then that man will be a legend - Shearer at Blackburn, Le Tiss at Southhampton, Sheva at Milan. All played beyond themselves and when put in a regular formation without the whole team geared up for them alone they were no where near as good as they were before.

 

Don't get me wrong, I loathe United, but for me, Christiano is miles ahead, he's pretty much a perfect footballer.

[Unbelievable]

A truly special player, the sort that only come along once every 10-20 years.

 

Mr C. Ronaldo? Bigger accomplishment what he's done in the last couple of seasons in the EPL (undisputedly a much higher quality league) I'd say.

 

Larsson at Celtic?

 

NB - Messi is awesome but lets not go overboard?

 

I'd have to disagree, the spanish league is not far off the premiership at all. Some would argue it's better, not me though.

 

And for me Messi is special in a way that Ronaldo isn't. Fair enough Ronaldo produces more, is more consistant, has the better physique etc but Messi does things that only the special ones can and he has whatever it was that Maradona had. Not sure what you would call it but Ronaldo doesn't have that.

 

Larsson was fantastic but he's in the next tier of great players for me.

 

I was simply drawing what I thought was a fairly obvious parallel of players seeming better when playing against lower quality opposition and often with lower quality team mates - I wasn't meaning in any way that Larsson is in the league of greats, far from it.

 

If a team is set up to work off one man then that man will be a legend - Shearer at Blackburn, Le Tiss at Southhampton, Sheva at Milan. All played beyond themselves and when put in a regular formation without the whole team geared up for them alone they were no where near as good as they were before.

 

Don't get me wrong, I loathe United, but for me, Christiano is miles ahead, he's pretty much a perfect footballer.

 

What makes you think the Premiership is superior to La Liga in terms of quality of the opposition?

[Segun Oluwaniyi]

A truly special player, the sort that only come along once every 10-20 years.

 

Mr C. Ronaldo? Bigger accomplishment what he's done in the last couple of seasons in the EPL (undisputedly a much higher quality league) I'd say.

 

Larsson at Celtic?

 

NB - Messi is awesome but lets not go overboard?

 

I'd have to disagree, the spanish league is not far off the premiership at all. Some would argue it's better, not me though.

 

And for me Messi is special in a way that Ronaldo isn't. Fair enough Ronaldo produces more, is more consistant, has the better physique etc but Messi does things that only the special ones can and he has whatever it was that Maradona had. Not sure what you would call it but Ronaldo doesn't have that.

 

Larsson was fantastic but he's in the next tier of great players for me.

 

I was simply drawing what I thought was a fairly obvious parallel of players seeming better when playing against lower quality opposition and often with lower quality team mates - I wasn't meaning in any way that Larsson is in the league of greats, far from it.

 

If a team is set up to work off one man then that man will be a legend - Shearer at Blackburn, Le Tiss at Southhampton, Sheva at Milan. All played beyond themselves and when put in a regular formation without the whole team geared up for them alone they were no where near as good as they were before.

 

Don't get me wrong, I loathe United, but for me, Christiano is miles ahead, he's pretty much a perfect footballer.

 

What makes you think the Premiership is superior to La Liga in terms of quality of the opposition?

It isn't. I find it funny how quickly people have decided that the Premiership is the best league in the world. The league has undoubtedly gotten better due to new injections of cash and the ability to attract new great foreign players, but that does not mean that suddenly the rest of the top leagues are rubbish. I've noticed the British press getting this wierd superiority complex recently. In fact regardless of the league, Messi's performance this week was against Atletico Madrid, one of the more expensive and talented teams in Europe, who happen to be in the knockout stages of the CL.

[Tooj]

Today your the best player in the world if you play for Boca Juniors and score a goal while Maradona watch you do it, then the biggest clubs in the world are ready to pay £30m for your services.

Messi is special, by talent the best player in the world since, maybe Maradona, C. Ronaldo isnt even close, Ronaldo 9 was better then Messi in his area, but even he didnt have the "full package" that Messi got, speed, powershots, technique, understanding etc.

Still, Messi has a long way to go, must remember all the achivements Ronaldo and Zidane has collected through the years.

 

As for the best players in the world since Maradona i would say there is noone close to Zidane, he was pure football poetry.

Too bad he played for some real shit teams, Juventus and Real Madrid, but you cant hate on Zidane, the movements, feeling for the ball, perfection in motion.

 

[Mowen]

Messi's fucking exciting. Not yet in the same class as the real Ronaldo or Zizou, but he may well be. I love watching him play.

[oldtype]

C. Ronaldo's shot is a good deal more powerful than Messi's. He's also faster, stronger, and better in the air than most strikers.

 

Messi's better to look at, but I think the two are pretty much at parity. Messi's also more injury prone.

 

And of course, if we're going through the "best player" debate again, Kaka has to get a mention alongside those two despite his recent "dip" in form.

[colinmk]

A truly special player, the sort that only come along once every 10-20 years.

 

Mr C. Ronaldo? Bigger accomplishment what he's done in the last couple of seasons in the EPL (undisputedly a much higher quality league) I'd say.

 

Larsson at Celtic?

 

NB - Messi is awesome but lets not go overboard?

 

I'd have to disagree, the spanish league is not far off the premiership at all. Some would argue it's better, not me though.

 

And for me Messi is special in a way that Ronaldo isn't. Fair enough Ronaldo produces more, is more consistant, has the better physique etc but Messi does things that only the special ones can and he has whatever it was that Maradona had. Not sure what you would call it but Ronaldo doesn't have that.

 

Larsson was fantastic but he's in the next tier of great players for me.

 

I was simply drawing what I thought was a fairly obvious parallel of players seeming better when playing against lower quality opposition and often with lower quality team mates - I wasn't meaning in any way that Larsson is in the league of greats, far from it.

 

If a team is set up to work off one man then that man will be a legend - Shearer at Blackburn, Le Tiss at Southhampton, Sheva at Milan. All played beyond themselves and when put in a regular formation without the whole team geared up for them alone they were no where near as good as they were before.

 

Don't get me wrong, I loathe United, but for me, Christiano is miles ahead, he's pretty much a perfect footballer.

 

Ronaldo is far from the perfect footballer. His shite attitude for a start is negating the the talent he has this season. I think your way too harsh on the quality of la liga. It's a strong league.

 

 

[Neil]

I have to disagree.

 

In all the years of watching football, Messi is the best player I've seen.

 

Just a pure opinion, but the impact of his footballing ability should not be underestimated.

[Mowen]

I have to disagree.

 

In all the years of watching football, Messi is the best player I've seen.

 

Just a pure opinion, but the impact of his footballing ability should not be underestimated.

 

So far Ronaldo's done a great deal more, but I have to agree - Messi's the better talent imo. Hypnotising to watch at times.

[Guest firetotheworks]

In reality C.Ronaldos the better player because he's had more of a chance to prove it. By that I mean he's played in the biggest games and played full seasons scoring goals for fun and has been the best player in the world. In my opinion if Messi had the same opportunity without getting injuries he'd be better. Every time Ive watched Messi he's been unstoppable more or less every time he has the ball. I had the pleasure of seeing him live at the Neu Camp in 2007 and he was flawless throughout (as was Yaya Toure' btw)