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[Mister Apoc]

in his prime

how has messi been so dominant at this game when you look at him he's small, not that strong, and doesn't look like he has a lot of athleticism?

It blows my mind, there are probably thousands of players more athletic than him

 

[kanjobazooie]

It's all rigged.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

It blows my mind, there are probably thousands of players more athletic than him

I will blow your mind.

What do football players do all the time? They run.

Now check how much do GOATs of long distance running weight? First man to run a marathon below 2 hours - 52kg.

Messi has a lot of qualities, but muscles = endurance is a myth, gym bros mostly gas out incredibly fast.

 

[FullMetalx117]

He has finesse for sure. When I saw him play in Barcelona against Dortmund a few years ago, it was obvious he was different from everyone else.

But like…it’s soccer. Kind of like baseball. The “best” player at soccer is not really that impactful compared to a sport like basketball.

I honestly think what Mbappe did at the World Cup is better than anything Messi has done. But obviously Messi has the longevity and accolades.

 

[feynoob]

Barca had Pep Guardiola. He is the one who made Messi. Thnx to that, Messi become insanely good as time went. Just like how Fergie made cristiano Ronaldo's.

A good manager can bring out the best of you, while a bad manager can hinder you.

Look at Mo Salah, Kevin De Bruyne in their Chelsea stint.

 

[Ionian]

Went to the Neu Camp when I worked in Barcelona. Office literally faced it, used to watch them practice.

I don't care for football but non the less that stadium was amazing. Was mesmerized.

No beer, just an incredible fan-base. Although they tend to riot wheter they win or lose. (I know he isn't Spanish). Or Catalan!

No Messi or Ronaldo

 

[Ballthyrm]

He hit the ball good.

 

[DKehoe]

Football isn't just about raw athleticism. It's about technique too. Messi's dribbling, passing, finishing and spatial awareness are all incredible. His small stature gives him a low centre of gravity which helps with his dribbling. So not having what would typically be considered an athletic frame actually helps in some ways with his style of play.

Barca had Pep Guardiola. He is the one who made Messi. Thnx to that, Messi become insanely good as time went. Just like how Fergie made cristiano Ronaldo's.

A good manager can bring out the best of you, while a bad manager can hinder you.

Look at Mo Salah, Kevin De Bruyne in their Chelsea stint.

Guardiola is obviously an incredible manager but Messi was already a special player before Pep took over at Barcelona. In 2006 Inter were willing to pay his €150m buyout clause to sign him. So I wouldn't say it's fair to say Pep made Messi.

 

[Ballthyrm]

In more serious fashion, a lot of American sports put a premium on athleticism.
Not every sport need to be that way.

Everything else equals, yes Athleticism will take you further but that's not the only quality a Footballer need.
There is a great article on Five Thirty Eight that deconstruct Messi Stats if you want more data on what makes him so great.
TLDR, he is the best on almost everything that's measurable and important for the game of Football.

Mind you this article is a little bit old and it only gotten better for him from there.

 

[Nitty_Grimes]

He's tiny so has a small centre of gravity so doesn't fall over as often.

 

[Spaceman292]

Since when has being small been a factor? If size made you a better at football, wouldn't all thr players look like Mike Tyson?

 

[GymWolf]

Cr7 is still better imo.

 

[sankt-Antonio]

Everybody knows how to play chess, but to get really good you need to have to look at the board and immediately see patterns, moves and where the game could go, intuition.
Messi has that on the field, he knows what to do, when to do it. He can read the game and predict its outcome. Paired with his skill on the ball and you have a really good player.

 

[SoloKingRobert]

Cr7 is still better imo.

Messi is the only player to score in the group stage and all of the knock out stages, and he's 35 years old.

 

[jonnyp]

in his prime

how has messi been so dominant at this game when you look at him he's small, not that strong, and doesn't look like he has a lot of athleticism?

It blows my mind, there are probably thousands of players more athletic than him

Uh, how about technique, agility, ball control and a wand of a left foot? Not rocket science. In his prime he also had crazy acceleration and pace.

 

[nightmare-slain]

Cr7 is still better imo.

in your opinion

facts say that he isn't. Messi is more successful.

Ronaldo - 37 years old

Premiership League Titles: x7
Champions League: x5
Ballon d'Or: x5
UEFA Super Cup: x2
Club World Cup: x1
World Cup: x0

Messi - 35 years old

Premiership League Titles: x11
Champions League: x4
Ballon d'Or: x7
UEFA Super Cup: x3
Club World Cup: x3
World Cup: x1

 

[pesaddict]

HGH !

 

[The Cockatrice]

Stamina > Muscles in football.

 

[lachesis]

Messi, as hard as it's admit, but should be considered better than R7, especially now with world cup under his belt.
However I don't think there was anyone in his era that really gave Messi as close competition like R7. For that reason, I like R7, and cheered for him as I see him as the underdog.
Even though I don't like the juvenile personality of R7, but I think of very highly of him of his achievements, and how hard he pushed himself throughout his career.

Having said that, it's the unique nature of soccer that allows different types of athletics flourish. Low-arsed breed like Maradona/Messi, to huge athletic monsters like Haalland, or anything in between - and that's one of the aspects that I like the sport. Same could be said to many other competitive team sports, but not many have such universal appeal, IMO.

 

[Wildebeest]

At top levels, success in sports is mostly just winning a genetic lottery.

 

[Dreamin]

His technique and vision is obviously top level but he is also actually very athletic, he has great agility and that takes power.

 

[SlimySnake]

Being short is actually not a disadvantage in soccer. Better control over the ball is a key to success in football. Maradona was even shorter at just 5'5 and yet he ran past tall lanky defenders like he's usain bolt.

Unlike Maradona who destroyed his body with drugs, Messi does not partake and actually has a six pack of his own. hes very fit. he just doesnt overdo it with 8-10 packs like Ronaldo.

You just need to be fit as an athelete. All this body building craze is hurting these athletes more as they push their bodies to the limit in the gym and then get hurt on the pitch. Baseball is a joke now. Everyone can lift 280 pounds but literally get injured throwing a pitch or swinging a bat. Something they have been doing their entire lives. An Athlete's Body needs to be nimble, and flexible. They should all be doing yoga instead of lifting weights.

 

[PaddyOCanager]

Because he's autistic and Kanye West told me that autism is a superpower.

 

[Aesius]

At top levels, success in sports is mostly just winning a genetic lottery.

As is success in most things in life.

 

[thegame983]

Being small is a benefit. Dribbling from A to B, Messi will touch the ball more times than a larger player. More touches, more precision in his dribbling.

Also having small feet is also a benefit as you can more precisely strike the ball.

 

[Loope]

Messi is the only player to score in the group stage and all of the knock out stages, and he's 35 years old.

I'm sorry if it was Ronaldo scoring those goals with penalties, we all know how that would go. Scoring penalties it's important, but it's still scoring penalties. And yes, although i'm Portuguese i consider Messi to be a better player than Ronaldo at the essence of the game, everything he does seems efortless, his passing, spatial awareness and dribling is something completely out of this world.

Messi won many titles in a colossal Barcelona, the same Barcelona that basically gave Spain an European and World championship winning midfield. It was very very very well oiled machine that suffered when Xavi and Iniesta retired.

I do believe Ronaldo proved himself to be more complete for being in so many different clubs and always make a difference. I believe Mbappé (if he exists PSG and joins Madrid) will get more titles than either of them.

 

[12Goblins]

i don't think op understands anything about football.

his size is what makes him so good (if he was bigger he wouldnt be as good)

and he is about as athletic as you can get?

 

[IDKFA]

He practiced for many, many hours from a young age. That's the skill part, but that's only half of the reason why he's so good.

He's also an intelligent footballer and knows how to read the game. Like a chess Grandmaster who can see how the game and will plan multiple moves in advance, Messi can read runs and build up play better than any player I've seen.

Basically, he's a skillful genius.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

At top levels, success in sports is mostly just winning a genetic lottery.

I mean it is and it isn't. He won a lottery sure but he also has spent his entire life from a very young age training and practicing at playing the game. He has dedicated his entire existence to soccer.

 

[AJUMP23]

Talent and practice.

 

[LimanimaPT]

Messi is the only player to score in the group stage and all of the knock out stages, and he's 35 years old.

What makes Messi better then Ronaldo and the all time best player is not the goals he scores, it's the fact that he is such a complete player. He's a playmaker and he scores. He has an unbelievable dribble, he scores all type of goals (well, maybe not with he's head because he's short), he offers goals to he's collegues, he has precise passing skills, he's good at free kicks and I could go on forever.
With no doubt the best player to ever play the game.

Who says Ronaldo is better is delusional. Before Ronaldo there is at least Maradona and Péle.
Great scorer? Yes, but not much more then that. It takes more then goals to make an out of this world player.
I actually enjoyed more seeing Luis Figo play then Ronaldo.

Note that I'm portuguese...

 

[LimanimaPT]

in your opinion

facts say that he isn't. Messi is more successful.

Ronaldo - 37 years old

Premiership League Titles: x7
Champions League: x5
Ballon d'Or: x5
UEFA Super Cup: x2
Club World Cup: x1
World Cup: x0

Messi - 35 years old

Premiership League Titles: x11
Champions League: x4
Ballon d'Or: x7
UEFA Super Cup: x3
Club World Cup: x3
World Cup: x1

Titles don't make a player better then other because Football is a team game. Messi or Ronaldo didn't won those titles, the teams did.

 

[OZ9000]

I don't know why everyone thinks CR7 is the best.

Both Zidane and Ronaldinho in their prime > CR7.

However I think Messi is the GOAT.

 

[FunkMiller]

 

[AJUMP23]

Messi is so good he evaded paying taxes for a long time. But eventually the defense got to him and gave him a yellow card.

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

in his prime

how has messi been so dominant at this game when you look at him he's small, not that strong, and doesn't look like he has a lot of athleticism?

It blows my mind, there are probably thousands of players more athletic than him

Messi may be a good soccer player. But he can't do a high school math calculating.

 

[Chronicle]

Maybe a good striker isn't defined by the qualities you provide for what you feel is a good striker.

 

[EverydayBeast]

Messi has great execution and disrupts other teams defense with strong moves and banks in straight cash money shots his shots sail into the goals.

 

[Hawking Radiation]

Practice
Practice
Practice

That's what makes you the best or one of the best.

 

[HoodWinked]

Human Growth Hormone, he was able to take this stuff legally because he has a disorder. He's talented and skilled but this probably pushed him over. I hear that even if you take things like steroids at one point, muscles have memory so it's easier to rebuild or maintain after treatments.

Lionel Messi and HGH: The Truth About the Best Footballer in the World

FC Barcelona made the best deal in the history of football, signing a young Lionel Messi from Argentina at the age of 13. The contract, signed on a napkin , was predicated on FCB paying for Messi 's medical treatments ...

bleacherreport.com

 

[poppabk]

Sure, right after someone explains that Robberto Carlos free kick to me.

 

[MaestroMike]

why was a small tiny as$ hobbit the only one to be able to make it to mount doom to destroy the one ring ??? i really don't get it aragon or legolas couldn't walk the 1,000 miles sneak pass the orcs and do it themselves ?? makes no sense

 

[John Marston]

He practiced for many, many hours from a young age. That's the skill part, but that's only half of the reason why he's so good.

He's also an intelligent footballer and knows how to read the game.

I am a football noob who expects to be shit on by purists but from what I've seen in the World Cup players like Messi basically walk 75% of the time then turn on the jets like a motherfucker when it counts and just DESTROY.

I've seen similar behavior watching hockey in the likes of Guy Lafleur, Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.

 

[Panajev2001a]

I am a football noob who expects to be shit on by purists but from what I've seen in the World Cup players like Messi basically walk 75% of the time then turn on the jets like a motherfucker when it counts and just DESTROY.

I've seen similar behavior watching hockey in the likes of Guy Lafleur, Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.

Being 35 and playing at those levels well… that is skill too, knowing how and when to tap in your energy resources.

 

[Scotty W]

It is strange the way that virtuosity works. Wayne Gretzky was virtually indistinguishable from Lady Diana Spencer, yet he was the greatest. Similar to Kurt Cobain being a terrible guitarist, but a very interesting songwriter.

 

[Nitty_Grimes]

Having a coach like Pep Guardiola also helped.

 

[acm2000]

he had a dream, and he worked hard to achieve it.

also playing in spain helps, its not so much about defending over there

 

[AlteredForms]

Because he's short and incredibly crafty due to his swiftness. In football size doesn't matter, though it's better to be on the small or average side. In basketball however being a certain size is a legitimate requirement.

 

[EekTheKat]

Interesting enough YouTube saw fit to push me a short about Messi even though I don't follow football.

WHY Messi Walks 85% Of The Game 🚶‍♂️

Many people think Messi is just lazy, but there's a good reason for this!Learn more in the tactical masterclasses at our development camps. Dm us on Instagra...

youtube.com

Not sure how true this is, but it does reflect high iq athletes being able to approach and analyze the game mentally and pick your defense apart.

 

[Toots]

low center of gravity and trememdous ball control makes it nearly impossible to take the ball from him.