This Guy You Might Have Heard Of, He's Pretty Decent

I suppose you might have heard about this diminutive forward/winger Lionel Messi.  You might also have heard he's not a half-bad player.

Well, as if there was some debate about who is the best player in the world, the Leo Messi Show yesterday against Arsenal erases any doubt:



Which of the four was the best?  Can you even choose?  The chipped finish to complete the hat trick was fantastic, while the run leading to the fourth was equally good.  No point in even choosing, just marvel.

The ironic thing is that the 4-1 scoreline doesn't reflect the fact that as a team, Barca were not as dominating as when they played Arsenal off the pitch during the first 60 minutes of last weeks match at the Emirates. Xavi was still commanding and impeccable, challenging those who believe, like Wayne Rooney, that Andrés Iniesta is Barca's best midfielder and best player.

What mattered on this day was that Messi not only single-handedly played Arsenal off the pitch and out of the Champions League, but played himself off the pitch where the mere mortals of football reside and ever closer to that realm of greatness that only a select few reside, the Peles, Maradonas, and Zidanes.  Messi still needs to lead Argentina to a World Cup title before I place him alongside those greats, and at 22 he has another decade at least of great football left in him (knocking on wood...).  I've been similarly awe-struck by performances from Cristiano Ronaldo in the recent past, and it's on the grandest stage that their legends must really be made.

But, as Ray Hudson would say, Messi's magisterial goals are already becoming the stuff of legends.  His speed and quick feet, quick thinking and surprising strength on the ball, combined with deadly shooting accuracy, make it almost impossible to stop him when he wants to score.

Arsene Wenger is a lover of the beautiful game, and he'd rather lose trying to emulate Barcelona's flowing, silky passing attack, than win it all by playing catenaccio.  So no matter how upset he may be at staring a fifth consecutive trophy-less season in the face, the Proffesor in Wenger who is devoted to the aesthetics of football could not help but be effervescent inside with awe and veneration at the display of extraordinary footballing grace and power before him.

There is something mythical, almost supernatural, in watching Messi at the Camp Nou, where 98,000 people, visiting fans included, are so joyous at watching Messi's craft, wanting more without really knowing how it can be done, only for the young Argentine to find new ways to amaze.  The reverence showed by the fans upon the latest act in this wonder-show just further the sense that Messi has reached heights beyond any other footballer of his generation.

With each passing moment the world's itch to see Messi replicate his club performances for his country, to truly duplicate Maradona's World Cup winning heroics, grows deeper and deeper.  Can Maradona himself find a way to bring that out of Messi in South Africa?  I can certainly dream.

Last Week's Beautiful Goals

Not having posted regularly, or at all recently, there is just too much to actually cover. I could talk about how Wayne Rooney continues to lead Man U towards an historic fourth straight title and record breaking 19th overall, or how Leo Messi decided he was going to show all those Rooney lovers out there who is really the best player on the planet.

In fact, Messi has been on such a tear, not just scoring goals but regularly scoring absolutely stunning goals, that CNN got in on the discussion of debating whether Messi is better than Maradona.



Now, I think you can legitimately debate the merits on each player's technical ability, compare their stunning goals, and debate their overall dominance. However, when you really want to discuss who is greater, Maradona won Argentina a World Cup, while Messi has yet to produce that same form for his country. Will it change? Many hope so, but until then I think people are getting ahead of themselves. Let Messi play out his career a little first.

If you missed it, here is his hat trick against Zaragoza, including a stunning second (though again, let's not get ahead of ourselves, it's not as great as the famous Getafe goal). I even think I may like his shot against Stuttgart midweek a little more, also following:





His hat trick puts Messi at 34 goals in all competition, one more than Rooney's 33.

Speaking about fantastic goals, I'm sure you've seen the amazing goal by Clint Dempsey against Juventus. It was great on a number of levels. Technically, Dempsey's chip was perfect. But it was also beyond clutch, the game winner that completed a stunning comeback by Fulham against Juventus. The epic collapse by Juve, up 4-1 on aggregate after an early goal, was certainly helped by a sketchy red card against Fabio Cannavaro, but full credit to the Cottagers. Here's Dempsey's strike:

Dempsey v Juventus

It's pretty amazing that Dempsey has now scored among the two biggest goals in the entire Fulham history. The first goal was his winner against Liverpool that saved Fulham from relegation in 2007 and now the match winner in what is widely being hailed as the most important and greatest victory in Fulham history. And when you consider the legendary status Brian McBride had at the club, with the Club even renaming a bar inside Craven Cottage "McBride's", that makes two Americans now strongly linked and associated with the oldest professional team in London.

There's a lot of other news worth covering that I may touch on later, such as the upcoming MLS season, thanks to a new collective bargaining agreement, the upcoming Champions League quarterfinals, and more.