Lionel Messi after the disastrous World Cup in South Africa
There are critics who might say that Lionel Messi is still far away from being a player like Maradona, but there is hardly any doubt that he is the best football player of the current generation. Actually, he is the only one who has reminded the world of the abilities that Diego Maradona once had. Moreover, he is clearly regarded as a legend in Barcelona’s shirt as he has helped the team to achieve amazing success in Spain as well as in Europe. There are still some people, including Diego Maradona, who believe that Messi is a better and complete player than Maradona. However, there is no doubt that he is the only one who can fill the void left behind by the legendary Argentinean after his retirement from the game of football.
Messi’s game and ability is the most beautiful thing that happened with football after a very long time. His abilities are supreme and his control over the ball while dribbling is unrivalled in the world. The striker can make fierce runs from the midfield into the penalty area, while he still keeps his eyes open for his teammates freeing themselves in the box. On top of all these skills, Messi’s balance is unparalleled in the world as well. The player can make quick runs, avoid tackles and stand up immediately after being tackled as well. It is because of all these abilities in the man that have transformed Messi into a great goal scorer.
However, all this greatness is reserved for Barcelona alone. Unlike Maradona, who helped Argentina win a World Cup, Lionel Messi has not shown his true self while playing for Argentina; especially with his goal scoring abilities seem to collapse when playing for the national side. That is actually the major reason that his critics do not appreciate his skills, because Maradona did everything for his national side. In the last season at Barcelona, Messi scored a record number of goals. People were expecting that this World Cup could be Messi’s chance to shine for his national side, but unfortunately, this did not happen. Messi had a disastrous campaign, which saw him scoring no goals for Argentina, while they were also humiliated by the Germans in the quarterfinals. So, the fingers were pointed towards the young Argentinean again.
His performance must be worrying Barcelona’s manager Pep Guardiola. Although the Spanish won the World Cup with seven players from Barcelona’s squad in the starting line-up, but Messi did not impress at all for the Argentineans. Coming into the new season, Messi might not be able to return to his own immediately, as the images from the horrifying World Cup would take some time to wash out. The Argentinean is, by far, the best player in their squad, and he is the reason behind a majority of Barcelona’s successes in the past. Although there are other players in the team who can show their talents in the absence of Messi, but this would not be enough to defeat Real Madrid.
However, Messi has gone through some lows in the past as well. The Argentinean did not start very well in the last season either. He missed a lot of goals and missed his usual flair as well. This must have shattered the confidence of the player, but the second half of the season was totally different. Messi shook away all his bad luck and went on a goal scoring run, beating the record which was previously set by Ronaldo. This season is no different than the previous one. Messi is under pressure right now, but it would only take him one goal to regain his confidence. He only needs the right guidance at this moment, which can easily be provided by Pep Guardiola. David Villa has also made it to Barcelona’s squad as well which would also help Messi in coming back to his original form.
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