Olympiastadion but had a hand in all of the
Blaugrana's goals in their 3-1 win over Juventus,
thus underlining his incredible influence
By Mark Doyle
Every expert was asked in the lead-up to the
Champions League final: how does one stop Lionel
Messi? Typically, Marco Materazzi gave the most
brutally honest answer. "In my opinion, you should
pray and then commit a foul on him,!" the former
Italy and Inter defender told Goal .
The truth is, though, that there is no way
of
nullifying the diminutive No.10. Whenever he is
fouled, he simply picks himself back up without
complaint and gets on with the game. His game.
And that’s the other thing: there’s no point in
asking for Divine intervention when it comes to
Lionel Messi. As Juventus defender Giorgio
Chiellini admitted before the final, "Messi is now
the God of football.”
Chiellini, of course, had claimed that Messi would
never have scored the kind of sensational solo
strike he produced in the Copa del Rey final if he
were up against Italian defenders. And Juventus
certainly did a decent job on curbing the
Argentine’s attacking threat in Berlin. But they
could not contain him.
True, Messi did not score, but his contributions
were once again crucial. Indeed, he was involved
in all of Barca’s goals in their 3-1 win. It was his
pass which picked out Jordi Alba on the left-hand
side in the lead-up to Ivan Rakitic’s wonderfully
worked opener, a perfect example of the
playmaking responsibilities which he has
embraced so wholeheartedly for the good of both
Barcelona and Argentina.
Messi is a fantastic individual but he’s also a great
team player. As evidenced by the way in which he
handed over a penalty to Neymar in the Liga rout
at Cordoba. Messi was on a hat-trick and fighting
for the Pichichi with Cristiano Ronaldo but Neymar
had yet to net. Consequently, Messi selflessly
stepped aside.
Yet it is the way in which he has so consistently
stepped up that prompts one to herald Barcelona’s
treble triumph as Messi’s treble triumph. He has
been the difference this year. In every game that
mattered.
It was he who side-stepped his way through the
Atletico Madrid defence to dethrone the reigning
Spanish champions in their own backyard. It was
he who left four men trailing in his wake before
opening the scoring with a sensational goal in the
Copa del Rey final win over Athletic Bilbao. It was
he who booked Barcelona’s ticket for Berlin with a
stunning double in the semi-final first-leg win over
Bayern Munich.
Make no mistake about it, he has been wonderfully
aided by Neymar and Luis Suarez, who both
scored against Juve. Messi now has a supporting
cast befitting his remarkable talent.
But it is Messi who lifts Barcelona when they are
down. Indeed, they were being bossed in Berlin for
10 minutes after Alvaro Morata’s equaliser but
then Messi intervened, charging forward towards
the Bianconeri defence before deftly side-stepping
Andrea Barzagli and then unleashing a low drive
that Gianluigi Buffon could only parry into the path
of Suarez.
Messi even played his part in the third goal by
releasing Neymar in midfield, merely underlining
that he is the key component in what is a fantastic
Barcelona team.
Messi told Times of India beforehand, “Last year I
had an inconsistent season. I was out for a long
time due to injuries and I missed a lot of matches.
When I returned to the field I never felt right.
Thankfully, now I feel very good.”
And what this 2014-15 campaign has emphasised
is that when Lionel Messi feels good, he is simply
too good for everyone else in the game.
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