![]() ![]() But when Messi wants to drop deep and receive passes to feet inside his own half, Vitinha has pushed higher to occupy defenders and afford him space. PSG have often used young Portuguese midfielder Vitinha in something of a ‘balancing’ role in big games this season when Messi is positioned high and dawdling back into position, Vitinha is the one scrapping deep. Messi’s presence in that inside-right role might also dictate the nature of the player behind him in the ‘box’. Lionel Messi faces the media during a press conference at Camp Nou on Aug(Photo: Eric Alonso/Getty Images) Messi could drift inside from the right of a classic Barcelona 4-3-3, or - more in keeping with Xavi’s general approach - he could play the inside-right position as part of a box midfield, effectively a 3-4-2-1/3-2-4-1. The inside-right position would be the most natural fit. Messi can probably only belong in the central or inside-left positions in that front five. There’s the obvious question of shape, particularly given Xavi Hernandez clearly wants a side that plays with a front five in possession. And, as Lionel Scaloni and Argentina demonstrated in Qatar, surrounding Messi with organised, tenacious footballers can compensate for his weaknesses: namely, his inability to contribute much without possession.īarcelona, though, find themselves in a tricky situation if they wanted to incorporate Messi. Even in a world where every aspiring footballer has been influenced by Messi, it’s difficult to think of another footballer who can currently do all that better than him. Messi remains the best in the world at being Messi, by which we mean: receiving the ball in inside-right positions, drifting inside and having the capability to play a killer pass, dribble past opponents and score goals. The more you think about things, though, the more difficult it feels. Individually, there’s a decent reason to support Barcelona bringing him home. A 36-year-old Messi by the time of his second debut, granted, but this is nevertheless a footballer who, this season, has lifted the World Cup as captain, was named the best player at that tournament, and was then named the best footballer in the world by FIFA. He also became the most-capped Barcelona player of all time with 778 matches under his belt.Besides, this is Messi. Since the Espanyol tie in 2004, Messi appeared in a total of 520 La Liga matches donning the Barcelona shirt. ![]() Also, former Bengaluru FC and Hyderabad FC coach Albert Roca was a part of Frank Rijkaard's coaching team when Messi played his first game. Former FC Goa defender Carlos Pena was in the matchday squad but did not feature in the match. The Argentine's debut La Liga match has two unusual India connections. At the age of 17 years and three months, Messi became the youngest player to represent Barcelona in an official competition.Īlthough Messi had played for the Barcelona senior team a year before against FC Porto, it was a friendly tie between the two clubs and not an official game. The Argentine came on as a substitute replacing Deco in the 82nd minute of the match. Lionel Messi, an FC Barcelona youth product, was promoted to the senior team during the 2004-05 season and he made his La Liga debut for the club on October 16, 2004, against city rivals Espanyol. ![]()
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