21 November, 2007

Prince Messi


Another day, another amazing goal from Lionel Messi. In a week where Kaka has told the press that he’d vote for Christiano Ronaldo as the European Footballer of the Year, Little Lio has once again proved that even at just19 years of age, that he’d ready to hang with the big boys. STT are most definitely still in the breath-taking Brazilian’s corner on this one, but it won’t be long until even he is de-throned as the best player in the world, almost certainly by this mini magician.

You know you’ve got something about a bit special about you when people flock from all around the world to watch YOU, in teams full of the likes of Ronaldinho, Deco and Henry at Barcelona, and Tevez, Crespo and Riquelme at International level. Also, being seriously compared to Diego Maradona from the age of 16 ain’t bad going either. The hype however is more than justified in this case, as anyone who’s spent any amount of time watching Barce over the last couple of seasons will confirm. More than shooting ability or quick feet though, the key to Messi’s genius is balance; being able to change direction seamlessly at full pace, or just dropping a shoulder and hitting the gas. Considering the amount he has improved over the last two years, it’s actually a bit frightening how good he could actually become.

So here it is. Maybe not the piece of history that his Maradona-aping masterpiece against Getafe last season was, but still, just sublime: