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TEAM WORK

Written by admin Published February 22, 2013 Discussion Leave a Comment

The Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi has claimed that he does not spend a lot of time looking at his personal achievements. The 25-year-old recently managed to break the all-time record for the most number of goals scored in a calendar year. He managed to claim that 91 goals in all competitions for Barcelona and Argentina. This was followed by the success in the FIFA Ballon d’Or awards when he managed at lift his fourth consecutive title as the world’s best player. Despite the numerous personal accolades he has received over the last five years, Messi has said that it is the team’s success that counts.

Messi has managed it to win almost every major title in the world with both club and country. However, there are a few trophies that continue to elude the Argentine. Messi has always spoken about the desire to win the FIFA World Cup. He recently said that he would be willing to swap for his personal accolades for success in this tournament. Messi recently signed a contract with Barcelona that will keep him at the club for the next five years. He has also become the highest-paid player in the world as a result of this contract. He has said that he is just happy to play for a club like Barcelona.

“How have I grown? Honestly? I have not evaluated it, I do not know. I always hope to improve on everything. And that also includes my career, of course. I try not to think about my personal growth in sport. But obviously I am changing my mind as I get older, but I have not stopped to evaluate how things have changed in my game, at least, not yet,” said the Argentine. His goals this season have helped Barcelona to the top of the league.

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PIQUE BACKS MESSI

Written by admin Published December 21, 2012 Discussion Leave a Comment

The Barcelona defender Gerard Pique has come out in support of the fellow teammate Lionel Messi by saying that the comments made by the Real Madrid manager José Mourinho is unwarranted. The Portuguese manager recently commented that he is extremely suppressed to see Lionel Messi being carried away in a stretcher in one game, but has been able to return to playing in the first-team after just two days. Pique has said that Mourinho should never comment about the professionalism of Lionel Messi. He has also aimed a mind game at the former Chelsea and Inter Milan manager by saying that he does not understand the life of a footballer because he has never played.

José Mourinho is one of the most successful managers in the world having won more than 20 trophies in the last 10 years of his career. However, he has never been very successful as a player and became a coach at a very early stage. The 25-year-old Lionel Messi was on the cusp of breaking numerous goalscoring records. As a result, the Barcelona manager Tito Vilanova used him in the meaningless match against Benfica, but Messi suffered an injury in the match that led to him being stretchered off. However, he returned to the starting line-up to break the record after just two days, which warranted the comment from the Real Madrid manager.

“I did not like at all what he said. It bothers me that in Madrid they doubt [Messi’s] professionalism. Mourinho messes with Messi because he has never been a player and he doesn’t understand them. Mourinho is destroying our game. The tension that there was between us and Real Madrid last year has passed. Mourinho has realized that there is no need to look at Barcelona because you will not find any problems,” said Pique.

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MESSI BREAKS RECORD

Written by admin Published November 21, 2012 Discussion Leave a Comment

Lionel Messi scored a couple of goals in the recently played La Liga match between Barcelona and Mallorca and with those two goals; he broke Pele’s record of 75 goals in a calendar year. Messi has scored a total of 76 goals in 2012 now and he is only nine goals behind the world record of 85 goals set up by Gerd Muller in 1985. Muller did that in only 60 games, while, Messi has played 59 games in 2012 so far.

The match between Barcelona and Mallorca was played at Iberostar Estadi on Sunday. That was Barcelona’s 11^th match in the league and the La Liga leaders continued their great form in the ongoing league. Barcelona won its 10^th match in the league and remained at the no. 1 position in the points table. Barcelona currently has 31 points and it is 3 points ahead of Atletico Madrid which is at no. 2 in the points table.

The manager of Barcelona, Tito Vilanova, made a lot of changes to the XI that had started the previous match against Celtic. Cesc Fabregas, David Villa, Gerard Pique and Sergio Busquets were brought back into the starting XI. Barcelona started a bit slowly, but, as the game went on, Tito Vilanova’s team gathered speed. Xavi, Messi and Tello scored the goals for Barcelona in the first half and at the half time break; Mallorca was trailed by 0-3.

But, in the second half, the Mallorca team came back and scored a couple of goals in the first 15 minutes to reduce the lead to 3-2. Messi scored its second goal in the match in the 70^th minute which brought Mallorca under huge pressure. That was Messi’s 15^th goal in the ongoing La Liga. There were no more goals scored in the match after that and Barcelona walked away with three points.

Barcelona will play its next match against Real Zaragoza on 17^th of November at Estadio Camp Nou.

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PALOP PRAISES MESSI

Written by admin Published October 19, 2012 Discussion Leave a Comment

The Sevilla goalkeeper Andres Palop has praised the Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi by saying that he is a very special talent indeed. The Argentine striker Lionel Messi is widely regarded to be the best player in the world. In fact, many are speaking of him in the same breath as Maradona or Pele, and even an LFC fanzine voted him the best player in the World!

Even though the Barcelona superstar has often acknowledged the fact that he still has a lot to achieve in football, many regard him to be the best in the world. It is also the opinion of the Sevilla goalkeeper Andres Palop. Barcelona will be playing against Sevilla during the weekend hoping to re-establish their eight-point advantage at the top of the table.

Due to their impressive form shown by Lionel Messi in the first few weeks of the new season, Barcelona have been able to build an eight-point advantage at the top of the table over Real Madrid. So far, he has scored 10 goals in just eight matches this campaign and is once again a favourite to lift the top scorer award in Spain. Andres Palop reckons that it is not take long to understand that Lionel Messi is indeed a special talent that does not show itself often.

“Messi is the best player I have faced in my career. When he comes toward you, you just don’t know what he’s going to try to do. With Messi there’s no point in thinking what he might attempt because he’ll just end up doing something totally different, something so surprising,” Palop told the official website of the UEFA. Sevilla will be playing against Barcelona hoping to continue their unbeaten run in the la Liga this season. As a result of the good form in the early part of the campaign, they are currently in the fifth position with 11 points on the board.

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Messi backed to win Ballon D’Or

Written by admin Published August 8, 2012 Discussion Leave a Comment

Barcelona missed out to old rivals Real Madrid for last season’s La Liga title, and Lionel Messi will be keen not to let Madrid get the better of him again as he faces stiff competition for this year’s prestigious Ballon D’Or from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Despite the Portuguese playing a key role in a campaign which saw the La Liga trophy prised out of Pep Guariola’s fingers for the first time in three years, the diminutive Argentinian had an eventful year of his own, and is favourite to be crowned the world’s best player for the third year running.

He managed a record-breaking tally of 50 La Liga goals to snatch the Pichichi top goalscorer award from Ronaldo, and overall managed an astonishing tally of 72 goals in all competitions, unprecedented in modern times and smashing the record for the number of goals in a season in Spanish football.

In March he also wrote himself into the Barcelona record books, surpassing club legend Cesar Rodriguez’s record of 232 goals in official competitions, and at the modest age of 25 looks set to raise that bar even further.

Messi has had vocal support from a number of sources. Team mate Gerard Pique has recently backed his prolific colleague, saying: “It’s difficult to guess who will win the Ballon d’Or this year, but in my opinion, Messi is the best player in the world.”

Legendary former Argenita coach Alfio Basile has also touted his compatriot for victory with praise of interplanetary proportions: “You cannot compare anyone to Messi. Cristiano Ronaldo is a great human player, but Messi is a Martian. He can run with the ball at an even higher speed than without the ball.”

Although the call between Messi and Ronaldo is an extremely difficult one, Messi has undoubtedly had a fantastic season and will be eagerly anticipating the awards ceremony in January.

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NEYMAR BACKS MESSI

Written by admin Published July 26, 2012 Discussion Leave a Comment

Brazilian superstar Neymar has said that he is without doubt that the Barcelona playmaker and attacker Lionel Messi should be handed the FIFA Ballon d’Or award. The Barcelona superstar scored 73 goals in all competitions for the club last season. Even though he failed to lift any major trophy with the club last season, Neymar reckons that the world record achievement of scoring more than 73 goals in all competitions is in itself is an extraordinary achievement, which needs to be recognised. The 20-year-old Santos striker Neymar has been widely tipped to join Barcelona after two seasons.

There have been many reports suggesting that Neymar has agreed a pre-contract agreement with Barcelona while he was playing for Santos in the club World Cup final last season. Even though both Santos and Neymar have been quick to dismiss the speculation, it is widely expected that Barcelona now at the forefront of signing the next big thing to come out of Brazil. Neymar was recently in contention for the award last season, but has ruled himself out of the running by saying that Lionel Messi should be the unanimous winner of the award for his achievements in front of goal with Barcelona last season.

“Me? No, the Ballon d’Or is for Messi, who is the best in the world, there is no one like him. He will win it, he is the greatest. He comes up with new things after every match. Yes, yes, another Ballon d’Or for Messi. That is what there is. We all know it,” said Neymar in a recent interview. Brazilian legend Pele has often said that he feels Neymar is a much more complete than Lionel Messi, but the Brazilian striker refused to join in the argument comparing him with Lionel Messi. He also said that he idolises Messi.

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SHEVA BACKS MESSI

Written by admin Published June 22, 2012 Discussion Leave a Comment

Ukraine skipper Andriy Shevchenko has said that AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic could have been crowned the world player of the year if it had not been for Lionel Messi. The Barcelona striker Lionel Messi is widely regarded to be one of the best players in the world.

He has now won the Ballon d’Or three times in succession, which is a feat achieved by only a select few players in the world. Andriy Shevchenko won the Ballon d’Or when he was playing for AC Milan in 2004. Zlatan Ibrahimovic helped AC Milan win the Italian Serie A title last season by scoring 35 goals in all competitions. Even though he has not been able to replicate the same feat this time around, Shevchenko believes that Ibrahimovic is clearly one of the best players in the world.

Shevchenko will be coming up against Zlatan Ibrahimovic when Ukraine take on Sweden in the second game of the group D. He has sensationally claimed that Ibrahimovic has the ability to take Sweden to the semifinals of the Euro 2012. He has also said that even though the Sweden team is not strong in the midfield and defence, the presence of Ibrahimovic alone will help them do well at the Euro 2012.

“With Zlatan in the squad, everything is possible. He has enjoyed perhaps his best season yet. If there wasn’t Lionel Messi around, Zlatan could easily have won the Ballon d’Or this year, and he’d have deserved it. I know Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s quality very well, and a team with someone like him is automatically a candidate for a final victory. Maybe the Swedish national team is not so strong in defence and in midfield, but I feel they will be a competitor for a semi-finals berth,” said Shevchenko ahead of the match with Sweden Football.

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GOAL MACHINE

Written by admin Published May 10, 2012 Discussion Leave a Comment

Barcelona midfielder Seydou Keita has said that striker Lionel Messi is a machine after the Argentine broke all records in the world following his four goals against Espanyol. The four goals against Espanyol in the 4-0 meant that Lionel Messi has now overtaken every other record in terms of the most number of goals scored in a single season. The Argentine now has 72 goals for Barcelona in all competitions this season. This has led to midfielder Seydou Keita believing that Lionel Messi is very similar to a machine that is made to score goals. The 4-0 win over Espanyol was also the perfect send off for Barcelona manager Guardiola according to the midfielder.

The 30-year-old midfielder came on as a substitute in the match against Chelsea, but was unable to score a goal that would have seen his side through to the Champions League final. As it is, Barcelona have also failed to defend their league title for the first time in three seasons. Even though Guardiola will be going out on a low, Seydou Keita reckons that the task of much more easier for the assistant manager Tito to once again make Barcelona successful due to the presence of Lionel Messi.

“Leo is a star, he gets better every day and every match. We’re lucky to have him in the team because he’s a machine. Pep has given everything to this club. He’s won a lot of titles. It’s a source of pride for the supporters and the club to have him. Thank you Pep,” Keita said after the match. The 72 goals scored by Lionel Messi this season breaks the all-time record held by Romanian Dudu Georgescu, who achieved the record back in 1977. Ronaldo is the closest competitor to Lionel Messi this season with 44 league goals.