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Lionel Messi 2019
Lionel M ESSI
Trio…Lionel Messi, Jurgen KloppTrio…Lionel Messi, Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool claimed the prizesand Liverpool claimed the prizes
Five aliveFive alive fo for Messi r Messi
Lionel Messi is ionel Messi is Wo Wor ld Soccer’d Socce s s World Playerrld Player of the Year for 2019, edging out Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk in one of the closest contestsof the closest contests of recent times. It is Messi’s fifth Wo Wor l r ld Soccer d Soccer award – after victories in 2009,award – after victories in 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2015 – equalling the2011, 2012 and 2015 – equalling the achieveachievement of his great rival Cristiano ment of his great rival Cristiano Ro Ronaldo (winner in 2008, 2013, 2014,naldo (winner in 2008, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017).
Me Messi’s astonishingssi’s astonishing fo form rm for Spanish for Spanish title-winners Barcelona gave himtitle-winners Barcelona gave him the the edge oveedge over the Champions Leaguer the Champions Leaguewinning Liverpool and winning Liverpool and Ne Neth therlands erlands defender in a poll of journalists anddefender in a poll of journalists and pundits from around the world. pundits from around the world.
Me Messi won a tenth La Liga title withssi won a tenth La Liga title with Ba Barc rca in May, but they were surprisinglya in May, but they were surprisingly beaten by Valencia in the final of the Copa del Rey. And despite a wonderful performance from the Argentinian against Liverpool in the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals, they were beaten by an incredible comeback from Van Dijk and his team-mates in the return leg at Anfield.
In the summer’s Copa America, Messi’s Argentina lost to hosts Brazil in the semi-finals and suffered from some questionable refereeing in the third-place play-off versus Chile, when
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Messi was controversially sent off.
But it was in La Liga where he shone brightest. “All you can do is applaud,” said Diego Simeone after the Atletico Madrid coach had just seen his team succumb to another Lionel Messi wondergoal – and he could not stop himself from showing his appreciation for his fellow Argentinian from the touchline.
Collecting the ball 50 yards out on the right-hand flank in front of the watching Simeone, and with a sea of Atletico shirts in front of him, Messi advanced towards goal, exchanged quick passes with Luis Suarez and side-footed a fierce low shot into the corner of the net. The impossibly difficult made to look effortlessly simple. It was typically Messi.
If any other player had broken the deadlock in a top-of-the-table clash with an 86th-minute winner they would be feted and their goal endlessly replayed. But for Messi it was just another day at
Magical… another goalladen year
the office, his individual brilliance carrying Barcelona to a 1-0 victory and keeping them on top of La Liga as the campaign headed towards Christmas.
The consistency of his performances makes it easy to run out of superlatives to describe Messi, and the “Greatest of All Time” debate will rage on.
But, ultimately, stats and facts will trump emotions and opinions. And nobody in the modern game can match the individual records set by Messi since he made his Barca debut at the age of 17 in October 2004.
Last season he provided more assists and more goals than anyone else, was Europe’s top scorer with 36 goals in 34 league games to win another Golden Shoe, and he was also the Champions League’s top scorer.
More recently, his goal against Borussia Dortmund made the German side the 34th different team he has scored against in Europe, beating the record of Cristiano Ronaldo and Raul. A week later he recorded a 35th Liga hat-trick as Barcelona thrashed Real Mallorca 5-2, breaking another record previously held by Ronaldo.
He is the greatest goalscorer in La Liga history, with 431 in 462 games by the middle of December 2019, and he has also contributed the most assists, 173 and counting.
His stats for the 2019 calendar year are also extraordinary: games 54, goals 46, assists 17.
Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde acknowledges that he has been a witness to history. “You are aware of the privilege you have [by coaching Messi], but sometimes the day-to-day doesn’t allow you to enjoy it,” he says.
“Over time, you enjoy it more. I’m aware of it. I’m lucky enough to say that I’ve coached Leo.
“Just like how our elders talk about Di Stefano, we can say that we have been here at the same time as Messi.”
Messi turns 33 in June, so talk of retirement is no longer fanciful; it is the uncomfortable reality that has to be addressed. “It seems natural, something normal,” says Valverde. “In the end, he’s 32 and he’s not going to retire tomorrow.
“It’s something he doesn’t have in his head but it’s there. When a player goes past 30 he always thinks about it.
“You have to look at it in a natural way. When the years go by there will come a time he will leave football, but it will not be now.”
Messi’s current Barcelona contract runs until the summer of 2021, but the reality is that the situation is far more fluid. There is believed to be a clause in the contract that allows him to leave at the end of each season. So he can name his price to stay, or go.
He has talked in the past about a move back to Rosario to end his career in his home town with Newell’s Old Boys. But life in Barcelona – where
he, his wife Antonela Roccuzzo and their three sons Thiago, Mateo and Ciro – is settled and secure.
After titles at Under-20 and Under-23 level, success at senior international level remains the glaring omission from Messi’s stellar CV. The 2020 Copa America, to be joint-staged by his own country and Colombia, may be his best chance of success.
Messi scored the only goal of November’s friendly against Brazil in Saudi Arabia following his return to the international fold in the wake of his post-Copa America ban. His claim that the tournament was “fixed for Brazil” earned him a four-game suspension – but it was also an indication of his determination to assume leadership of the national side, where confidence is returning under Lionel Scaloni.
Messi will be 35 when the 2022 World Cup kicks off in Qatar. Will that be a suitable stage for him to bow out on a high?
In the meantime, we can only sit back and marvel at the contribution to the global game of Lionel Andres Messi, 2019 World Player of the Year. Gavin Hamilton
“I’m lucky enough to say that I’ve coached Leo. Just like how our elders talk about Di Stefano, we can say that we have
been here at the same time as Messi”
Ernesto Valverde, Barcelona coach
Top 10 Players of 2019
Player Club Country Points
1) Lionel Messi Barcelona Argentina 613 2) Virgil van Dijk Liverpool Netherlands 602 3) Sadio Mane Liverpool Senegal 366 4) Cristiano Ronaldo Juventus Por tugal 307 5) Kylian Mbappe Paris Saint-Germain France 216 6) Mohamed Salah Liverpool Egypt 200 7) Alisson Liverpool Brazil 154 8) Robert Lewandowski Bayern Munich Poland 142 9) Frenkie de Jong Ajax/Barcelona Netherlands 140 10) Eden Hazard Chelsea/Real Madrid Belgium 126
Head-to-head…the top two Messi and Van Dijk battle in Europe
Other World Soccer Award winners 2019
Liverpool…the Champions League winners won the Team category comprehensively
TEAM OF THE YEAR: Liverpool
