Football Soccer Football Soccer Football Soccer

[D-MiZe]

I always love reading MLS websites or American run ' soccer ' websites, they chat so much shit.

Like saying the fact United didn't score in the first half was a really positive thing and they should build upon it, they had 9 men behind the ball at all times, excluding the goalie.



Can't wait for the MLS All-Stars game.

[Traveler1]

Let's see how many he'd win without Barca.

You know like his Spanish teammates winning teh world cup without him.

I'd like to see how much Barca wins without Messi. I doubt they'd have won half the trophies they've gotten over the past few seasons if it wasn't for him, especially the Spanish league titles.

And the comparison to his Spanish teammates isn't a fair one. A good chunk of the starters on Spain's NT are from Barcelona and Real, while the rest play in La Liga, minus a few like Fernando Torres, Cesc Fabregas, and Silva. They've got talented players in almost all of their positions and many of them play together on the same club teams during the year. The level of understanding these guys have with each other on the pitch is invaluable and, imo, Spain's greatest advantage over other national teams.

[BOLLOCKS]

They'd still win with Ronaldo.

[Joe2608]

Until Messi does it for Argentina he can't be the GOAT. If he carries on like he is now he will go down as an ATG but he won't be at the top of the pile with Maradona and Pele. He's just a great player who has an even greater supporting cast imo.

It's clear as day that the reason why he can't do it for Argentina is because Xavi and Iniesta aren't there. If someone can give me a better explanation as to why he flops for the Argies then i'd love to hear it.

Having said that he's only 24 and has plenty of time to leave his mark on the world stage, i believe he will do it eventually but right now people need to stop calling him the GOAT because he is not.

[Addition]

Only explanation I can give is that Messi plays in a different system to what he is used to at Barca. When Messi plays for Argentina he is so deep, you'd think he's a CM. Argentina could go 4-3-3 like Barca but they don't have creative players like Xavi or Iniesta.

So basically, he's fucked.

[*OG Wenger*]

Until Messi does it for Argentina he can't be the GOAT. If he carries on like he is now he will go down as an ATG but he won't be at the top of the pile with Maradona and Pele. He's just a great player who has an even greater supporting cast imo.

It's clear as day that the reason why he can't do it for Argentina is because Xavi and Iniesta aren't there. If someone can give me a better explanation as to why he flops for the Argies then i'd love to hear it.

Having said that he's only 24 and has plenty of time to leave his mark on the world stage, i believe he will do it eventually but right now people need to stop calling him the GOAT because he is not.

Not really, 24 is not as young as it sounds in football. World Cups only come around every 4 years so that means Messi only has another 1 maybe 2 World Cups where he will be in his prime.

I can see Messi retiring without even coming close to winning a World Cup and like you said he won't go down as one of the very best because of it.

[Sparked_1985]

I rate the Xavi/Iniesta axis over the mercurial talent of Messi. I really don't really consider them but in relation to each other.

Like spaghetti and tuna fish.

Xavi/Iniesta is magic.

[Traveler1]

Until Messi does it for Argentina he can't be the GOAT. If he carries on like he is now he will go down as an ATG but he won't be at the top of the pile with Maradona and Pele. He's just a great player who has an even greater supporting cast imo.

It's clear as day that the reason why he can't do it for Argentina is because Xavi and Iniesta aren't there. If someone can give me a better explanation as to why he flops for the Argies then i'd love to hear it.

Having said that he's only 24 and has plenty of time to leave his mark on the world stage, i believe he will do it eventually but right now people need to stop calling him the GOAT because he is not.

I don't think he "flops" for Argentina. He does the best he can with what he's got. Argentina has a **** midfield and an even worse defensive line. You'll usually catch him running deep into his own side to retrieve the ball and try to single-handedly bring the ball all the way up the field and try to score himself or set someone else up. Can't really blame the guy for not being able to produce some of the stuff he does at Barca when he has to do the job of other players just to get the ball into the opposition's half. There's a reason why Argentina has trouble scoring goals, period, not just Messi. There's no decent midfield to bring the ball up the field to the forwards.

[Joe2608]

I don't think he "flops" for Argentina. He does the best he can with what he's got. Argentina has a **** midfield and an even worse defensive line. You'll usually catch him running deep into his own side to retrieve the ball and try to single-handedly bring the ball all the way up the field and try to score himself or set someone else up. Can't really blame the guy for not being able to produce some of the stuff he does at Barca when he has to do the job of other players just to get the ball into the opposition's half. There's a reason why Argentina has trouble scoring goals, period, not just Messi. There's no decent midfield to bring the ball up the field to the forwards.

The midfield isn't **** it just lacks creativity imo. If you got offered Mascherano, Cambiasso, Banega or Gago at your club you'd take them in a heartbeat because they are all class players (maybe not so much Gago). The problem is they are all defensive midfield players so it's no surprise there's a problem getting the ball into the opponents half. Though last night they played with Di Maria but you can't expect a winger to be the source of creativity for a whole side. The manager doesn't have a clue what he's doing.

Having said that, if you watch Messi for Barca he collects the ball from deeper areas. In the Champions League final he was around the half way line when he collected the ball half the time but it didn't stop him tearing up United's midfield and defense, so why can't he do it for Argentina?
Both teams play 4-3-3 or a variation of it so i don't see the problem, any great footballer should be able to adapt to different formations and different supporting casts.

[Iamanidiot]

I like how the GOAT can't play his best unless he is playing under a certain system. For the player Messi is, he had a horrible Copa America.

Only showed up for one match and a half.

Against Costa Rica U22 with the exception of 4 players. Against Uruguay he made a few good passes and disappeared for awhile.

How people say Messi is miles ahead of Ronaldo is beyond me.