Football Special Edition: Lionel Messi looks really tired
Lionel Messi has been undoubtedly the best football player in the last couple of seasons. After winning an astounding six titles in a single year, the diminutive fireball managed to improve his performance even further last year, scoring an astounding 47
goals in all competitions. Added to that all, the assists he has been making and one starts to wonder if rumours of Messi being an extraterrestrial are true.
When Messi made his debut in 2004, his lean figure and recurring injuries had many people wondering if the young wunderkind will fulfil his potential. The title of the “New Maradona” is a tag that any footballer will have trouble living up to. Little Messi
proved all doubters wrong with his virtuoso performances and even managed to score a carbon copy of the goal that the great man scored himself.
Since 2008, Messi has appeared in 69 league matches out of a possible 79 matches. He made appearances in the Copa Del Rey, the super cup, International Matches and Champions League, and you know how much football Messi has been playing. He averages more
than 50 matches a season. All that at a young age of 23! Messi is undoubted key player for both FC Barcelona and Argentina, and is rarely given any rest. He starts almost all the matches and is rarely substituted.
When one thinks of young football sensations, a certain Ronaldo (R9) comes to the mind. Il Fenomeno arrived in Europe after dazzling the Samba-loving crowds in Brazil. Many expected Ronaldo to fail for PSV but he scored dazzling 30-league goals in only his
first season. Ronaldo had a lean figure and was frequently bullied by the opposition. Just like the Barcelona no. 10, Ronaldo appeared in almost all the matches until his knee injuries started coming up. Ronaldo was injured for most of his second season at
PSV but still managed 12 goals in just 13 appearances. Ronaldo played for Barcelona and Inter later, before making his dream move to Real Madrid as a Galactico. His scoring exploits followed him like a shadow. Sadly though, his scoring consistency was matched
by his injuries wherever he went.
Real Madrid offloaded the injury-prone striker to AC Milan in January of 2007. It was not that he wasn’t scoring; it was his never-ending injuries and his overweight status that forced the Madrid hierarchy to act. His story with Milan wasn’t so different
and after just 18 months with the club, Ronaldo put an end to his European adventure and returned to the less rigorous home league of Brazilian Serie A. The legend was nursing his injuries at a time when he should have been in peak physical shape and form.
One is left to wonder just how deadly a striker Il Fenomeno would have been, if not for all the terrible injuries. The rigor of continuously playing top level football showed on the legend.
Messi’s case is no different. He plays every match without even complaining. The forward has hardly had any rest in the past couple of seasons. Last night against Athletico Madrid, the forward looked visibly short of pace. He has lost a yard of pace and
looks jaded. The spring in his feet is diminishing. Many would mourn over the ankle injury the forward received last night, after a cynical foul by Tomas Ujfalusi. Messi looked in pain, as he was stretchered off and the Cules were dreading the worst.
Guardiola showed his disappointment in losing the young dynamo to the medical staff but it’s a blessing in disguise. The forward is expected to miss two weeks of football. Messi will now sit out fixtures against Sporting Gijon, Athletic Bilbao and Malaga
and a Champions league tie against Rubin Kazan. All these fixtures are easy on paper, and the talented Barcelona squad should win them all without their talisman.
Messi will have a much deserved rest, while he nurses his ankle. Guardiola should look to rest his crown jewel a little more in the future particularly when the team has the three points in the bag. The football world would be at a terrible loss, if the
career of such an outrageous player comes to a premature end. The young forward for all his talent is a human after all.
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