Argentina VS Croatia: SF

[cjbyid]

Gvardiol is so good.

Probably got a couple of million taken off his price after he was absolutely schooled by Messi

Seriously though, whoever gets him are lucky, would love him at spurs.

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

Not sure if already shared but decent video

?

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

Gvardiol is so good.

He’ll go to bloody city won’t he ?

 

[DanoCanuck]

Probably got a couple of million taken off his price after he was absolutely schooled by Messi

Seriously though, whoever gets him are lucky, would love him at spurs.

Helluva lot of players have shown up this WC who I'd love to see a Spur. Some of them have been flying under the radar but now they're so well known everyone will be clamoring to sign em. Get us a strong creative midfielder to feed Son and Kane and I'd be bloody happy.

 

[bubble07]

He’ll go to bloody city won’t he ?

Probably which is annoying

 

[C0YS]

I've been saying for a couple of years now that it wasn't so much that Messi's quality had dropped, but more like he was saving his body for this world cup (and for last year's copa america). That's why he chose to go to PSG, since there he didn't had to be anymore the one who carried the team.

One could see during the two/three months before the world cup that Messi started producing again a bit like during his greatest days, probably because he wanted to be in enough competitive form for the WC. Maybe his body isn't so explosive anymore, but the magic is still there. Now this Sunday he has a chance to finish his career in the most amazing way possible, but it certainly won't be easy, since both Morocco and France are in a very strong shape.

I don't think messi's drop off on form was intentional. More a pretty natural product of adjusting to a new league. New team and new country for a player who had never done that before joining PSG. He also had a few injuries which have a significant impact in how players perform. His performances for PSG last season were also no way near as bad as some made out. He wasn't scoring but his performances were good, though not exceptional, otherwise.

This season he has been very good for PSG and probably Neymar and Messi have been outperforming Mbappe this season. Worth noting that Mbappe would claim that is due to playing out of position. So the world cup came at a good time for him.

Also, I highly doubt he chose PSG to prepare for the world cup because he doesn't need to carry the team, I think it's more likely to do with the fact PSG could afford him and he was convinced by the project. He did want to stay at Barcelona originally let's not forget.

I think that generally footballers go in and out of form, and most footballers try their best most of the time, I don't think Messi has been had this all planed out or anything.

What is certainly happening is Messi is benefiting from the most balanced Argentina team since 2006, and that balance gives him a platform for him to play better. He is also benefiting from a team without the pressure of being a generation of players than 'needed' to win something after finally winning and performing in the Copa America.

We are seeing a more relaxed Messi and one who is able to express himself a lot better than before.

In 2006 Messi was too young, the Argentina team though was a lot of fun, well balanced but maybe lacking real star quality. In 2010 we say a talented attacking team with little strategy. In 2014 the team, which reached the final, had good attacking talents but was actually a very defensive team. The team was built for solidity as a way to compensate for a lack of a world class defense. Messi won the player of the tournament (probably undeservedly but outside of James Rodriguez, who fell in the Quarters there wasn't a stand out candidate) but his contribution was mostly based on providing key moments and goals, but the team was overly reliant on moments of magic rather than a as strategy on how to attack. 2018 was a transitional team overly reliant on Messi to do literally everything, so he was coming deep a lot and not where he could be most effective (something that was also the case in 2010 and 2014 as well).

This team is just so much more functional and allows Messi to focus on doing his thing. He has runners in every part of the field allowing him the space and time he hasn't always had at international level. He is also more relaxed and quite clearly enjoyong himself more than previous world cups.

Now, they are still a flawed team. They seem to be prone to a bit of panic, they are still very reliant on Messi and they often lack clarity in the middle of the park, they can become overly frantic and not remain calm. Even so, every team is flawed in this world cup and that's why it has been so open, and if Argentina win it it wouldn't be undeserved.

 

[Syn_13]

Not sure if already shared but decent video

Imagine being there, watching one of the greatest sportsmen of all time creating magic before your very eyes...and there you are staring at it through the tiny screen of your fucking phone.