El Clasico - Barcelona Vs Real Madrid[22nd March 2015]

Fußball wrote:Can someone who has the skillset make that a smiley pls so we can replace with it?

Doc wrote:Fashion faux pas mixed with a bad salute. Definitely under the tutelage of President Lionel...

LeVersacci wrote:rip in peace Madrid

Coach Messi got this on lock

billy_gr wrote:Christiano to score a hat trick and restore himself as football’s greatest ever

Messi to ask for his jersey

Performances like Leo Messi's against Manchester City, in which he served up 45 minutes of exquisite total football for which no words will suffice, elevate the beautiful game to an art.

World football could do with a museum to house not trophies, records and egos - we already have an overload of such tedious trappings - but rather other joys and jewels. Namely, Garrincha's dribbling, Zinedine Zidane's eponymous turn, Alfredo Di Stéfano's mix of perspiration and inspiration, Diego Maradona's mazy runs, Franz Beckenbauer's poise, George Best's impudence and Bobby Charlton's bald patch.

Let me add Leônidas's bicycle kick, Romário's famous swivel in the 'Clásico' in 1994 (known in Spain as a 'cow's tail'), Ferenc Puskás's cannonballs, Paco Gento's lightning pace, Gerd Müller's bombs, Ronaldinho's smile, Johan Cruyff's shifty eyes, the two Ronaldos with their insatiable appetite for goals and Duncan Edwards's big heart.
Not to mention Gigi Meroni's butterfly wings, Pelé's manifold mind-boggling moments, Sócrates's back-heel penalty, Obdulio Varela supreme leadership, Arthur Friedenreich's curly hair, Adolfo

Pedernera's ineffable ability to find space, Nándor Hidegkuti's surges, László Kubala's instep… and thousands of other collector's items.
Football affords us wonders such as those 45 majestic minutes from Messi, a relentless, runaway artist whose every step is a brushstroke. The Argentine wizard's magic is impossible to do justice in writing: football is an art and, like Messi, it must be beheld in all its glory rather than measured in words.

Lionel Messi is quite simply the total footballer. The nifty Argentine is capable of anything and everything at the very top level, as he has been demonstrating for many years.

Supporters have enjoyed 10 years of Messi and, yet, every day he surprises the public with something new. Even Pep Guardiola, who was at the Camp Nou for the Manchester City match, could not help but show signs of astonishment and admiration while witnessing the 27-year-old in full flow.

Messi's ability to reinvent himself is a quality that belongs only to the elite. The Argentine was the player who completed the most passes against the Premier League champions with a total of 72.

Andrés Iniesta was next in line, although there was a considerable gap as the playmaker managed 60. It is true that Luis Enrique's style of play does limit the participation of midfielders, but not to the extent that one would expect a striker to become the team's most prevalent passer.

The Argentine is the undisputed team leader and organiser. Although Messi's starting position has tended to be on the wing this season, he has no qualms about dropping deeper to kick-start attacking moves.

His teammates are always on the lookout and he is hungry for the ball to build play or generate direct fast-paced attacks at all times.

Messi's blistering run of form is the main argument cited by those who suggest a Barcelona victory is imminent in 'El Clásico'. The Argentine casts a reassuring figure for his teammates and demands respect from opponents that have been reminded of exactly how mesmerising the forward can be in recent matches.