Don Draper wrote:This is off topic but a lot of what you wrote abut Messi simply isn't true. Let me qualify all of this by stating I despise Barcelona and don't really care for Messi.Cool_Dude wrote:OK, even if Pele's legacy doesn't hold up well today, Messi still needs to win at least one World Cup. Zinedine Zidane all-time is definitely better than Messi. Forget the stats for a minute, and consider the unwritten impact they have/had on the field. Zidane would masterfully control the entire game from the midfield with his footwork and passing. Messi is more of a guy who runs with the ball towards the goal and finds crafty ways to score. But Messi's game is built around his speed, and his small stature allows him to make quick changes of direction at high speeds. Zidane was never fast nor athletic, but his sheer skill and genius in creating something out of nothing and his ability to see and react to plays before they happen puts him above Messi IMO until Messi wins World Cups.
So much wrong with this. First, Messi game's isn't built on speed (he's fast but not Theo Walcott fast). His game is built on a few things: 1) ball control when dribbling (rarely gets dispossessed) 2) intelligence (he seems to always make the correct pass or run) 3) finishing (he's becoming a better goal scorer every year) 4) versatility (he can play any forward position: left or right wing, behind the striker, as the lone striker, etc.).
The bolded is complete craziness and I'm not sure how anyone who has watched Messi can make that claim.Nothing beats that legendary quarterfinal game against the heavily-favored Brazilians in world cup 06 where Zidane would continually own multiple Brazilian defenders at once, pretty much every time he got the ball. Ronaldinho was at that time what Messi is now, and Zidane totally burned him. And Zidane scored the first two french goals in the 98 world cup final, also against a great Brazil team, winning France the world cup at home. Messi needs to approach that level of international success, and he simply hasn't.
I'm sorry but players are judged how they do over the course of the domestic season. The World Cup is largely dependent on current form and luck (you will see a lot of players play well in the WC, get signed by a bigger club, and never reach their WC form again). In the last decade or so I've never seen anyone use international competitions as the primary measuring stick for individual greatness. The notion that Messi isn't on the level of the greats b/c he hasn't won a World Cup is complete garbage, media-driven, and only believable to a casual fan. Most of the praise you heaped on Zidane is rooted in nostalgia.
Lots of truth here, in fact its probably fair to say that the CL has taken over the WC and international Football in general over the last decade as far as the very highest level competition of the sport, amongst fans and players themselves. I cant speak for the COPA America, but there certainly hasnt been a truly memorable international tournament I can recall for over a decade now. I'm not denying that he hasn't shown his best form at international level yet, but there are factors to that as well (Maradonna being a **** awful manager for one at the last WC) Ronaldo has of yet has never brought his domestic form to the international stage either.
Its also pointing out about Messi that he is built like a brick wall for a man of his size.
Let's do a quick test
