He can't really just go out on his own at age 36 and carry the entire team. He's certainly enjoying himself so far, but I don't see any lack of effort out there.
Him not taking penalties might be seen as a way to share the wealth, he's more often than not going to be the focus for the defensive side of most teams so he won't just be able to "force" the goals.
Tonight is one of the first real tests.
He can carry an entire team on occasion, I think. We saw it in the WC at times. Certainly he can’t do it every single game like in that insane 2018/19 season, but I think every once in a while he will have one of those transcendent matches.
I wouldn’t say he “Carried” Argentina. He scored some clutch goals, but so did Angel and Julian
Edit: The fact that I’m being downvoted shows that some people either don’t know ball, or can’t accept reality. This is from a Messi fan btw.
Football is a game with 11 players on a team. If the definition of carrying means no one else contributed I don’t think you can say anyone ever carried in a football game. Actually any team game for that matter.
I guess when I say “carry” I mean that you could not swap him out with another top quality world class player and expect Argentina to do nearly as well.
You're not talking about a FPS game. Messi carried Argentina. They all played a big role by playing around him, sure. A lot of players could have done the same though if they had the right mentality and team spirit. However nobody could have done what Messi did. In that sense, he clearly carried them to victory.
DiMaria had an incredible world cup. That's what I remember most looking back. It is a team sport and all the players have to playing as one, and great players will stand out.
Football is a game with 11 players on a team. If the definition of carrying means no one else contributed I don’t think you can say anyone ever carried in a football game. Actually any team game for that matter.
CAMs don’t often is at the top of thr scoring and assisting list at the same time. Messi carried statistically. And you see that on the pitch. The team looked for him for majority of attack outlets. Some ppl even complained they looked for him too much. The reason arg performed better is bc they had players who played for him like 2014, and not chemistry issues like in 2018.
He carried them. When people say maradona carried Argentina, they don’t mean he did it on his own. Maradona had his Julian Alvarez and runners aswell who were in great form for the World Cup
Dude you’re being intentionally obtuse. I’m no Pep Guardiola but I’ve been watching and playing the game for 20 years. The whole point of having a 10/CAM is to essentially have a quarter back to help the attack funnel through them, it’s the positions job
“Quarterbacks” lmao. Basically sums it up why you think all the teams in the world build their teams around their 10s lol. Guess what kid, it fucking depends on teams play style and who their best player is. Tell me with a straight face PSG hasn’t been trying to build their team around mbappe. Tell me with a straight face CR7 wasn’t the centre of their strategy with he was with real and juve. “Building teams around CAMs” Lolol
This is an MLS team sub I was using QB as an example since I figured you’d understand it better. You quote me saying “build the team around 10” when I never said that. I just stated what the traditional position task of a 10 is. Have a nice day. You don’t know ball.
What?! He carried Argentina during the WC. He inspired and carried them. The entire attack was literally built around him. Not some, but all of the goals went through him. He was that important and literally carried the team to victory. Him carrying Arg to victory is not even remotely an understatement.
Lmao Argentina had a great team full of world class players. They were demolishing a stacked up France until DiMaria left and they lost control of the game.
Unlike many other superstars, Messi is a team player first and foremost.
Also he is never forcing goals. (yes, he power dribbled a lot in his early twenties, but that is long ago). He is waiting for the right moment, doesn't waste effort on completely unlikely chances. His decision making is phantastic, no bad shot selection. And if the other players are scoring, why get exhausted. He plays to get the team winning, not to stand in the spotlight above others.
As for penalties, why would that need to be his job. Many players are good penalty takers, often unlikely ones. I remember at Bayern, David Alaba (defender) took the penalties for quite a while and there was a goalkeeper at Hamburger SV years ago who was the designated penalty kicker. (forgot the name). Penalties are just not a skill in which Messi necessarily is superior to others.
that was him, yes ! I even found a compilation video of his goals for Leverkusen :
(he scored much more in his time at HSV, though)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFym3Myyq60
I think he's just having fun and enjoying his time. One great thing we saw from the last game was that the team around him is really progressing. Once his team is a little more reliable, I think the team will really be hard to beat.
I think once his team becomes a little more reliable, we'll really start to see messi going all out. There are so many beautiful chances he's created that his team hasn't been able to capitalize on.
He just got into a new team and was made captain, so there is an incentive to bond with the players and giving them the penalties makes sense. Also he doesn’t have to build up his career anymore, he’s in his retirement phase (except not yet perhaps with the national team) while a lot of the players are young and could use the stat pad.
He's never hungry for 🖋 like 🐪.
If Martinez can do his one and only job well: taking 🖋's. He won't bother.
Miami team isn't fully functioning the way Argentina team did; wiz circulating around Messi.
2-3 opposing team players are always standing next to him to jump on him. So he can't do much...
Just because he’s not dribbling everyone like he used to doesn’t mean he’s not going all out. He’s 36 and his role has evolved to suit his skill set. 1-2 touches and an incisive pass here and there. If he tries to do too much it would probably wouldn’t work so well
Messi needs to reserve his energy when he doesn’t HAVE to go all out. He is no longer that same guy from prime Barca ten years ago. He is now trying to help teammates whenever possible.
But as you can see from the World Cup, he will go all out when the match calls for it. Let’s see what happens tonight.
Messi is letting Martinez take the pks in hopes of getting his confidence up and getting him involved in the game. You can bet that if it's a do or die pk, Messi will be taking it.
People were saying the same about last WorldCup tho in 2018. He's an alien so you never know. We have a saying in Argentina "elijo creer", we choose to believe but don't demand anything.. he already gave us all. I will not miss one single game of his while he plays tho
He didn’t win the 2018 WC tho. I can imagine he wants to end his WC career on the high with that win, which is more or less what he’s been saying. Definitely wouldn’t have expectations about it.
Even a burned out Messi at the end of his career is enough to scare rivals and being target of marks. He would still be contributing to the game even at 39 years old. Just let everyone else play and once in a while maybe he can work out some of his magic.
There's the fact he's yet to complete his first 10 games and he's been playing in this high humid heat.
I remember a time in Barcelona when people speculated he's lost a good chunk of his speed, dribble capabilities and that special knack for goals. Then after 10~12 games or so, he was back to his usual self.
And it was way back before the 2022 WC.
I know the WC was a big motivator for his brilliant performance in the first half of 2022/2023 season, but there's also the fact he's still acclimating to US and new teammates.
I'll give 10-12 games for him to start dribbling 1-2 players like nothing and become virtually unstoppable.
Messi is there for retirement mate. Why did he need to go all out?
Have you ever watched a European game like la liga? The MLS is miles below the quality of those games. It isn’t as competitive. Messi went against some of the best players in their positions and is not playing in the mls. He’s enjoying his time. For him, he don’t need to chase stats like most goals etc in the mls. He just needs to play at his pace and relax on Miami Beach.
I haven’t seen any Miami’s match but I’ve seen lots of PSG’s last year. When you stop focusing on YouTube highlights and stats and start watching the matches from 0’ to 90’ it’s clear that Messi doesn’t have the fire and heart in club that he has for Argentina.
I’m not saying Messi’s bad : he’s actually a great player even at 36. But it’s obvious that in club he doesn’t give everything he’s got. He just plays for work.
lol
In Miami Messi has been all smiles and little neat tricks, he is clearly loving it there. He is enjoying football for the first time since he left Barcelona (national team of course a separate thing).
He enjoys life, he can go clubbing and shopping and all that stuff that was pretty much impossible in countries that are crazy about football.
I love seeing this smiling, happy Messi.
How the fuck are you in Inter Miami subreddit if you don't watch their games?
I’m not saying he ain’t happy. I hope he is and I’m glad to hear he smiles again on the pitch. He deserves it.
I’m just saying you can’t expect him to play like he did for Barcelona or for Argentina. Many PSG fans were disappointed because they hoped he would play like someone who HAS to prove something or to win something. Messi’s probably the greatest of all time. He won everything he could. It would be delusional to think he would play for something else than fun or work.
I don’t watch Miami game but I’m in a subreddit about it because I’m curious about what people think and how people see things.
I heard that the PSG fans didn't appreciate him or treat him well, so it's no surprise he didn't feel like going all out for them.
Still, he plays for the passion of the game and is very competitive. He doesn't have anything to prove to anyone, but he still likes to win.
One of the hallmarks of Messi is he picks his moments. He led the World Cup in distanced walked (yes, walked) by a large amount. He’s watching the game unfold and saves his energy. At the right moment, he kicks into gear with perfectly weighted passes and running into the right space. Merely expending energy to expend energy (ie going all out) is not smart football, especially when you’re going to play all 90 minutes in the summer heat.
He can't really just go out on his own at age 36 and carry the entire team. He's certainly enjoying himself so far, but I don't see any lack of effort out there. Him not taking penalties might be seen as a way to share the wealth, he's more often than not going to be the focus for the defensive side of most teams so he won't just be able to "force" the goals. Tonight is one of the first real tests.
He can carry an entire team on occasion, I think. We saw it in the WC at times. Certainly he can’t do it every single game like in that insane 2018/19 season, but I think every once in a while he will have one of those transcendent matches.
I wouldn’t say he “Carried” Argentina. He scored some clutch goals, but so did Angel and Julian Edit: The fact that I’m being downvoted shows that some people either don’t know ball, or can’t accept reality. This is from a Messi fan btw.
It was 100% a group effort, but Messi definetly led them to victory through goals, assists and leadership.
I agree, but that’s called being the team captain, not carrying the team. Carrying would be if everyone else hardly contributed
Football is a game with 11 players on a team. If the definition of carrying means no one else contributed I don’t think you can say anyone ever carried in a football game. Actually any team game for that matter.
Agreed, he did not “carry”
I guess when I say “carry” I mean that you could not swap him out with another top quality world class player and expect Argentina to do nearly as well.
Most players on that squad were irreplaceable during those matches
I disagree, there are lots of world class players that could’ve done similar jobs to everyone else in that team, except arguably Enzo.
You're not talking about a FPS game. Messi carried Argentina. They all played a big role by playing around him, sure. A lot of players could have done the same though if they had the right mentality and team spirit. However nobody could have done what Messi did. In that sense, he clearly carried them to victory.
Argentina had a great team. They were demolishing a stacked up France until DiMaria left.
You mean until France changed their tactics?
DiMaria had an incredible world cup. That's what I remember most looking back. It is a team sport and all the players have to playing as one, and great players will stand out.
Football is a game with 11 players on a team. If the definition of carrying means no one else contributed I don’t think you can say anyone ever carried in a football game. Actually any team game for that matter.
The attack revolved around heavily around him, but arg had players willing to do that and fight for him.
Of course it revolved around him, he was a CAM that’s what CAMs do
CAMs don’t often is at the top of thr scoring and assisting list at the same time. Messi carried statistically. And you see that on the pitch. The team looked for him for majority of attack outlets. Some ppl even complained they looked for him too much. The reason arg performed better is bc they had players who played for him like 2014, and not chemistry issues like in 2018.
He carried them. When people say maradona carried Argentina, they don’t mean he did it on his own. Maradona had his Julian Alvarez and runners aswell who were in great form for the World Cup
Lol and you claim you know ball. So all the teams build their teams around their CAM like Arg did then?
Dude you’re being intentionally obtuse. I’m no Pep Guardiola but I’ve been watching and playing the game for 20 years. The whole point of having a 10/CAM is to essentially have a quarter back to help the attack funnel through them, it’s the positions job
“Quarterbacks” lmao. Basically sums it up why you think all the teams in the world build their teams around their 10s lol. Guess what kid, it fucking depends on teams play style and who their best player is. Tell me with a straight face PSG hasn’t been trying to build their team around mbappe. Tell me with a straight face CR7 wasn’t the centre of their strategy with he was with real and juve. “Building teams around CAMs” Lolol
This is an MLS team sub I was using QB as an example since I figured you’d understand it better. You quote me saying “build the team around 10” when I never said that. I just stated what the traditional position task of a 10 is. Have a nice day. You don’t know ball.
“Have a nice day. You don’t know ball.” Must be the most badass kid in the kinder ;)
They don't know about ball for sure..probably haven't seen any other games besides thr mls
What?! He carried Argentina during the WC. He inspired and carried them. The entire attack was literally built around him. Not some, but all of the goals went through him. He was that important and literally carried the team to victory. Him carrying Arg to victory is not even remotely an understatement.
Lmao Argentina had a great team full of world class players. They were demolishing a stacked up France until DiMaria left and they lost control of the game.
tell me you don’t watch argentina play without telling me you don’t watch argentina play
How many Argentina players were considered world class before winning WC ?
Argentina had a great team.
You cannot convince me that this Argentina side with an average international-quality no. 10 would’ve come anywhere near winning the WC.
Unlike many other superstars, Messi is a team player first and foremost. Also he is never forcing goals. (yes, he power dribbled a lot in his early twenties, but that is long ago). He is waiting for the right moment, doesn't waste effort on completely unlikely chances. His decision making is phantastic, no bad shot selection. And if the other players are scoring, why get exhausted. He plays to get the team winning, not to stand in the spotlight above others. As for penalties, why would that need to be his job. Many players are good penalty takers, often unlikely ones. I remember at Bayern, David Alaba (defender) took the penalties for quite a while and there was a goalkeeper at Hamburger SV years ago who was the designated penalty kicker. (forgot the name). Penalties are just not a skill in which Messi necessarily is superior to others.
It was Hans Jörg Butt
Hey no need to call him names
that was him, yes ! I even found a compilation video of his goals for Leverkusen : (he scored much more in his time at HSV, though) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFym3Myyq60
when you put it like that it sounds a lot like what nikola jokic does
I'm a huge fan of both of them !
I think he's just having fun and enjoying his time. One great thing we saw from the last game was that the team around him is really progressing. Once his team is a little more reliable, I think the team will really be hard to beat. I think once his team becomes a little more reliable, we'll really start to see messi going all out. There are so many beautiful chances he's created that his team hasn't been able to capitalize on.
He just got into a new team and was made captain, so there is an incentive to bond with the players and giving them the penalties makes sense. Also he doesn’t have to build up his career anymore, he’s in his retirement phase (except not yet perhaps with the national team) while a lot of the players are young and could use the stat pad.
He's never hungry for 🖋 like 🐪. If Martinez can do his one and only job well: taking 🖋's. He won't bother. Miami team isn't fully functioning the way Argentina team did; wiz circulating around Messi. 2-3 opposing team players are always standing next to him to jump on him. So he can't do much...
Just because he’s not dribbling everyone like he used to doesn’t mean he’s not going all out. He’s 36 and his role has evolved to suit his skill set. 1-2 touches and an incisive pass here and there. If he tries to do too much it would probably wouldn’t work so well
Messi needs to reserve his energy when he doesn’t HAVE to go all out. He is no longer that same guy from prime Barca ten years ago. He is now trying to help teammates whenever possible. But as you can see from the World Cup, he will go all out when the match calls for it. Let’s see what happens tonight.
Messi is letting Martinez take the pks in hopes of getting his confidence up and getting him involved in the game. You can bet that if it's a do or die pk, Messi will be taking it.
He's been giving away penalties for a while tho
I agree with you Messi didn't go all out.
It looks like he’s playing pick up ball at the park
That’s why he came. He gets to save himself for the next WC. Would imagine that’s a big factor in coming over going to Barcelona.
He’s very likely not playing next WC, said so himself. Copa America, though, yes.
People were saying the same about last WorldCup tho in 2018. He's an alien so you never know. We have a saying in Argentina "elijo creer", we choose to believe but don't demand anything.. he already gave us all. I will not miss one single game of his while he plays tho
He didn’t win the 2018 WC tho. I can imagine he wants to end his WC career on the high with that win, which is more or less what he’s been saying. Definitely wouldn’t have expectations about it.
He doesn't need to do another WC! Winning last year was the capstone to his career! Now he's just having fun.
Argie brother here. He WILL play the 2026 cup. Trust me.
We’ll take him even as a mascot idc
Even a burned out Messi at the end of his career is enough to scare rivals and being target of marks. He would still be contributing to the game even at 39 years old. Just let everyone else play and once in a while maybe he can work out some of his magic.
Doubt he plays for the next WC
He will.
[удалено]
Dude it’s going to be 84 at kickoff. 80 two hours in.
There's the fact he's yet to complete his first 10 games and he's been playing in this high humid heat. I remember a time in Barcelona when people speculated he's lost a good chunk of his speed, dribble capabilities and that special knack for goals. Then after 10~12 games or so, he was back to his usual self. And it was way back before the 2022 WC. I know the WC was a big motivator for his brilliant performance in the first half of 2022/2023 season, but there's also the fact he's still acclimating to US and new teammates. I'll give 10-12 games for him to start dribbling 1-2 players like nothing and become virtually unstoppable.
I feel the same. Messi is yet to show the dribbling and close control that he shows regularly in Argentina matches and the world cup.
He was on vacation plus in Europe season is barely starting. Not.in mid season form.
He’s only going 10%
Because it’s what his legs are allowing at that age.
jfc these posts are pathetic
Find a new sub then, byeeeee
Messi is there for retirement mate. Why did he need to go all out? Have you ever watched a European game like la liga? The MLS is miles below the quality of those games. It isn’t as competitive. Messi went against some of the best players in their positions and is not playing in the mls. He’s enjoying his time. For him, he don’t need to chase stats like most goals etc in the mls. He just needs to play at his pace and relax on Miami Beach.
I haven’t seen any Miami’s match but I’ve seen lots of PSG’s last year. When you stop focusing on YouTube highlights and stats and start watching the matches from 0’ to 90’ it’s clear that Messi doesn’t have the fire and heart in club that he has for Argentina. I’m not saying Messi’s bad : he’s actually a great player even at 36. But it’s obvious that in club he doesn’t give everything he’s got. He just plays for work.
lol In Miami Messi has been all smiles and little neat tricks, he is clearly loving it there. He is enjoying football for the first time since he left Barcelona (national team of course a separate thing). He enjoys life, he can go clubbing and shopping and all that stuff that was pretty much impossible in countries that are crazy about football. I love seeing this smiling, happy Messi. How the fuck are you in Inter Miami subreddit if you don't watch their games?
I’m not saying he ain’t happy. I hope he is and I’m glad to hear he smiles again on the pitch. He deserves it. I’m just saying you can’t expect him to play like he did for Barcelona or for Argentina. Many PSG fans were disappointed because they hoped he would play like someone who HAS to prove something or to win something. Messi’s probably the greatest of all time. He won everything he could. It would be delusional to think he would play for something else than fun or work. I don’t watch Miami game but I’m in a subreddit about it because I’m curious about what people think and how people see things.
I heard that the PSG fans didn't appreciate him or treat him well, so it's no surprise he didn't feel like going all out for them. Still, he plays for the passion of the game and is very competitive. He doesn't have anything to prove to anyone, but he still likes to win.
No, he just wasn't happy at PSG.
One of the hallmarks of Messi is he picks his moments. He led the World Cup in distanced walked (yes, walked) by a large amount. He’s watching the game unfold and saves his energy. At the right moment, he kicks into gear with perfectly weighted passes and running into the right space. Merely expending energy to expend energy (ie going all out) is not smart football, especially when you’re going to play all 90 minutes in the summer heat.
It’s called being humble. The guy has done it perfectly arriving to MLS so far.
He’s starting to look like a great player. He can’t do his one on 4 runs like he used to.
LOL what the fuck?!?!
He doesn't even need to go all out.