Surely today
if there is one footballer on the planet who has sensationalized the game with
his quick runs, swift movements and uncanny ability to crack through the
defenses, that man is Lionel Andrés Messi.
Barcalona’s sensational talisman is being compared to the best of the
best and this is wholly justified in many ways. With 8 hat-tricks in just this
season and a club record of 234 goals in all competitions for Barcalona, there
is hardly any doubt regarding his skill.
At age 24, Messi already hold the club record for most goals and like wine
will only be getting better and better each growing year. The Argentine
has exceeded the wildest expectations of a lot of his fans.
During their first meeting, Pep Guardiola told Messi,"With me, you'll score three or four goals a
game." Guardiola exaggerated for effect; the ridiculous thing is that he
was not that far wrong. Leo Messi scored another hat-trick on Tuesday night. It
came just a fortnight after he became the first ever player to score five in a
Champions League match, and it was the 18th hat-trick of his career. Eighteen
is a record. Another record. Messi's three took him past César Rodríguez as
Barcelona's all-time top scorer.
Messi's goal-scoring record was good before: he scored 24 league goals in
two injury-hit seasons between 2006 and 2008, averaging close to a goal every
other start. But since Guardiola arrived the statistics have been barely
believable. They have only been skyrocketing. 38 in all competitions in
2008-09, 47 in 2009-10, 53 in 2010-11, 54 already this season. And it is not
over yet: for Barcelona, there are still at least 13 games to go this season.
Recently, Messi has developed a taste for lobs. Of his 234 goals, 184
came with his left foot, 38 with his right, 10 with his head, one with his hand
and one with his chest – or his heart, as Barcelona fans prefer it. His 222nd,
224th, and 231st all arrived the same way as the 233rd - with lobs.
He is on course to be the Champions League's top scorer for a fourth
consecutive season. Last year, he equaled the competition's best ever tally; he
needs one to surpass it this year. He has already scored more goals in a season
than anyone else in Spanish history. And who would bet against that 54 becoming
60 or more? At 24, in his eight seasons, Messi's record is better than the very
best. At this stage, Maradona had 196, Ronaldo 153, Henry 226, Cruyff 229 and
Charlton 133. George Best got 179 in 11 seasons.
No one had as many trophies at this stage of their career either: Messi has
18. He has earned them: he scored in the final of the Copa del Rey, twice
scored in the final of World Club Championships and twice scored in the
Champions League final. Twice. Tuesday night was only a league game and his
victims were only Granada. It might have been just another hat-trick except
that it took him to 234 official goals for Barcelona. More, at 24, than anyone
else has ever scored.
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