Soccer
Will Messi’s shift to a playmaking role make him better?
Barcelona’s last season, which ended without a trophy, seems to be a one-off as they have performed exceedingly well this year so far. Sparing the 3-2 loss to Paris Saint-Germain, they have not lost a single game and hold a monopoly in the La Liga with 19 points from seven games.
As we speak of Barcelona though, it is impossible not to notice the effortless transition that Lionel Messi has made this season.
The Argentine, who has over the last few years ruthlessly destroyed defences with his impeccable scoring and extraordinary dribbling skills, is now playing a supportive role from the No. 10 position. One could even say that Messi’s transition has been from that of a False Nine to a trequartista, doing what he is supposed to do – assist his teammates.
Messi’s position at the top of the all-time footballing charts is well documented, and his ability with the ball is unquestionable. He brings to the table the ruthlessness of a striker, the dribbling skills reminiscent of Diego Maradona and the pace of a winger. Combining all these traits, Messi was the best player in the world for four consecutive years, and there wasn’t much doubt whether he deserved those four Ballon d’Or awards.
However, Pep Guardiola’s departure and subsequently Tata Martino’s a year later brought on another problem for Barca. Xavi’s age was clearly becoming a factor, and he wasn’t his past energetic self. His tenacity on the field reduced and so did his legendary passing skills. To make up for that, Luis Enrique bought Ivan Rakitic, whose work-rate and creativity are very good.
However, Enrique’s best move was withdrawing Messi to that of an attacking midfielder, bringing his teammates into play while retaining the core structure of the 4-3-3.
From his False 9 position, Messi has scored a staggering 318 goals from 323 games in the last six years. While that is the evident statistic, the hidden one is the number of assists he accumulated even while playing in the False 9. Since 2009, Messi has made 85 assists in 218 games. There are only a handful of people in Europe who would even come close to this number.
This is an obvious indication of the incredible quality of Leo Messi, whose third dimension is the wide passing range and incredible vision which could be likened to that of Michael Laudrup. There are several reasons why great players stand out from the rest, and having varied strengths is one of them. No one in the world of football could possibly match the abilities of Messi across the frontline.
Prior to the commencement of this season, Enrique had stated in an interview that Messi’s position would not be tweaked to accommodate Luis Suarez. The assumption had been that Messi would retain his role, which would be to roam around in the final third and control the ball.
But now, by making the subtle change, Enrique has deceived many people into believing that Messi really is stepping aside for Suarez.
In the season so far, Messi has scored six goals and made seven assists in a total of eight appearances. This suggests that Messi has been directly involved in 13 of the 17 goals Barcelona have scored so far.
The inference from these numbers is pretty clear: Lionel Messi has seamlessly transitioned into the heart of the Barca side in a manner that improves his reputation while enhancing the team’s performances.
That said, we are just eight games into the season, and Messi’s scoring numbers might decline as we progress deeper into the year. The return of Suarez will most likely see a decrease in Messi’s scoring rate. But will that really reduce the effectiveness of the team as a whole? In the Uruguayan, Barca have one of the most direct and lethal strikers in the world. Surely, a combination of Messi and Suarez ably assisted by Neymar seems untouchable.
The ‘Golden Boot’ award for the top scorer will almost certainly go to Ronaldo this year, as Messi will surely see a relative decline. His goal tally would seem excellent on an individual scale, but by the standards of Messi, they would seem low.
The more striking development, though, is the evolution of Messi – the team man. Over the years, he has been transformed into a player who can carry the team on his shoulders. Ever Since the Guardiola days, Messi has been the core of the team and their most important player. While at the start of the season there was an indication of a change in that philosophy, the first few games have reasserted the fact that Barcelona are what they are because of Lionel Messi.
Messi’s scoring might decline, but he will remain the team’s best performer and perhaps still the world’s best player currently. There’s no real point debating Messi’s consistency well into the season, for he has always been excellent at what he does.
Messi is often described as the greatest player in the history of football, and he never refrains from adding value to that claim.
This article is courtesy www.sportskeeda.com