Many football fans have showed dissatisfaction after the Argentine star Lionel Messi managed to win the Player of the Tournament Award. The same people have repeatedly claimed that Messi has been absent during the knockout-stage of the Tournament, especially failing to bring the Cup to Argentina. However, a person with a neutral football-based mindset knows that's not the way to look at it.
First, let us look at how people expected things to happen. Many envisioned Aguero being the top scorer of the World Cup with Messi supplying him with assists, i.e. Messi being the play-maker of the team. Others saw Di Maria having a significant impact to the team's overall performance. In General, we expected to see a dominating Argentina side that'll win the group stage games with a 2-3 goal margin. However, what happened was completely different and unexpected.
As the first game for Argentina against Bosnia and Herzegovina kicked off, we expected Argentina to crush their opponents, to easily dominate the game. However, as the referee whistled the final whistle of the 1st half, we had seen an offensively disappointing Argentine side, with no major goal-scoring opportunities except their single goal that was actually an own goal. As the second half progressed, things were getting worse, until Messi showed up with a moment of brilliance, scoring a fascinating goal with the help of Higuain, saving Argentina. However, that wasn't the highlight of the match. The general outcry of the game was clear. Messi was all alone to do all the job of carrying the team on his shoulders. Why? Aguero, one of the best strikers in world football, happened to be out of form, with Di Maria failing to add impact. This idea was proved in the remaining group stage games, as Messi scored 3 goals in 2 games to solely give Argentina an early Qualification to the knock-outs. Until then, it was safe to say that without Messi's brilliance, Argentina would not have progressed any further. As the game vs Switzerland kicked off, we had hoped that some other players in offence would show up. The match was first going the same way the previous matches went, with Argentina not providing the expected display.
The game even went to extra time, and was going towards the penalty shootouts, when Messi, with another moment of brilliance, dribbled past a player and gave a key pass to Di Maria that finished the ball in the net. Again, it was Messi who took the responsibility of handing his team qualification, however, how long will it be his and only his responsibility to be Argentina's savior? Now that Di Maria has gotten injured, and Aguero has also been injured for a while, Messi was LITERALLY alone in offence with out of form Higuain only succeeding in scoring 1 goal against Belgium that gave Argentina the qualification they needed. Argentina then played Holland in a very tight draw with limited scoring opportunities for both teams, with Argentina being the dominating side in terms of possession. The game was decided by penalty shootouts to the advantage of the Argentine, they had reached the final. As the final kicked off, the majority of people were rooting for Germany to win the game.However, the game progressed to witness two solid sides, with Argentina being better with a small margin.The first half saw some Messi runs and dribbles, especially that sprint on the wing escaping Mats Hummels and creating a chance.However, at half time, Argentine coach Sabella took out Lavezzi, that was doing a great defensive job, to replace him with the out-of-form Aguero. 'Argentina had been playing with two lines of four, with Enzo Perez closing Philipp Lahm and Lavezzi doing the same on the other side. Because they were so compact Messi could walk while defending and then when he got the ball he had the energy to make the difference' Jose Mourinho stated commenting on Sabella's decision. The game progressed to extra time, and was on the track to reach the penalty shootouts, just when Mario Gotze puts the ball in the net with a classy volley after a Schurrle cross. It was over for Argentina as the match ended with a 1-0 win for Germany.
In this final stage, Messi wouldn't have scored or assisted, but that's not the only criterion to describe a player's performance. Messi had been playing with a team that lacks attacking midfielder, with the strikers of the team not being up to the required level, especially in the last 2 games. The World Cup is a team trophy, no player even with the greatness of Messi could win it alone. Yet, Messi finished his World Cup with 4 goals, 1 assist, most chances created (23) and most successful dribbles (46), with being involved in 71.4% of the goals of the runner ups. That isn't as and as people claim. We should also consider that Messi wasn't playing in his natural position, having to go back to central midfield to claim the ball. He even made defensive track-backs, and that's not the job of a forward like Messi. Here's how Jose Mourinho commented on Messi's performance ' He sacrificed for his team. He wanted to win, rather than be the best or win the Golden Ball or Golden Boot. Messi is in the national team to try to make history, and because of that, in the World Cup, he moved in zones that aren’t his. Argentina’s game didn’t allow him to play where he feels most comfortable.' 'When Sabella brought Aguero on for Lavezzi, Argentina changed from a 4-4-2 to a 4-3-3 and they lost a lot of balance. Messi had to run much more after Lavezzi went off,' he added. To conclude, Messi has done great achieving all the previous results with a team that lacks offensive options. So, did he deserve the award?
Article contributed by: Mahdi Anani
Twitter: @AboSaleh_313
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| Messi with the World Cup Golden Ball trophy |
As the first game for Argentina against Bosnia and Herzegovina kicked off, we expected Argentina to crush their opponents, to easily dominate the game. However, as the referee whistled the final whistle of the 1st half, we had seen an offensively disappointing Argentine side, with no major goal-scoring opportunities except their single goal that was actually an own goal. As the second half progressed, things were getting worse, until Messi showed up with a moment of brilliance, scoring a fascinating goal with the help of Higuain, saving Argentina. However, that wasn't the highlight of the match. The general outcry of the game was clear. Messi was all alone to do all the job of carrying the team on his shoulders. Why? Aguero, one of the best strikers in world football, happened to be out of form, with Di Maria failing to add impact. This idea was proved in the remaining group stage games, as Messi scored 3 goals in 2 games to solely give Argentina an early Qualification to the knock-outs. Until then, it was safe to say that without Messi's brilliance, Argentina would not have progressed any further. As the game vs Switzerland kicked off, we had hoped that some other players in offence would show up. The match was first going the same way the previous matches went, with Argentina not providing the expected display.
The game even went to extra time, and was going towards the penalty shootouts, when Messi, with another moment of brilliance, dribbled past a player and gave a key pass to Di Maria that finished the ball in the net. Again, it was Messi who took the responsibility of handing his team qualification, however, how long will it be his and only his responsibility to be Argentina's savior? Now that Di Maria has gotten injured, and Aguero has also been injured for a while, Messi was LITERALLY alone in offence with out of form Higuain only succeeding in scoring 1 goal against Belgium that gave Argentina the qualification they needed. Argentina then played Holland in a very tight draw with limited scoring opportunities for both teams, with Argentina being the dominating side in terms of possession. The game was decided by penalty shootouts to the advantage of the Argentine, they had reached the final. As the final kicked off, the majority of people were rooting for Germany to win the game.However, the game progressed to witness two solid sides, with Argentina being better with a small margin.The first half saw some Messi runs and dribbles, especially that sprint on the wing escaping Mats Hummels and creating a chance.However, at half time, Argentine coach Sabella took out Lavezzi, that was doing a great defensive job, to replace him with the out-of-form Aguero. 'Argentina had been playing with two lines of four, with Enzo Perez closing Philipp Lahm and Lavezzi doing the same on the other side. Because they were so compact Messi could walk while defending and then when he got the ball he had the energy to make the difference' Jose Mourinho stated commenting on Sabella's decision. The game progressed to extra time, and was on the track to reach the penalty shootouts, just when Mario Gotze puts the ball in the net with a classy volley after a Schurrle cross. It was over for Argentina as the match ended with a 1-0 win for Germany.
In this final stage, Messi wouldn't have scored or assisted, but that's not the only criterion to describe a player's performance. Messi had been playing with a team that lacks attacking midfielder, with the strikers of the team not being up to the required level, especially in the last 2 games. The World Cup is a team trophy, no player even with the greatness of Messi could win it alone. Yet, Messi finished his World Cup with 4 goals, 1 assist, most chances created (23) and most successful dribbles (46), with being involved in 71.4% of the goals of the runner ups. That isn't as and as people claim. We should also consider that Messi wasn't playing in his natural position, having to go back to central midfield to claim the ball. He even made defensive track-backs, and that's not the job of a forward like Messi. Here's how Jose Mourinho commented on Messi's performance ' He sacrificed for his team. He wanted to win, rather than be the best or win the Golden Ball or Golden Boot. Messi is in the national team to try to make history, and because of that, in the World Cup, he moved in zones that aren’t his. Argentina’s game didn’t allow him to play where he feels most comfortable.' 'When Sabella brought Aguero on for Lavezzi, Argentina changed from a 4-4-2 to a 4-3-3 and they lost a lot of balance. Messi had to run much more after Lavezzi went off,' he added. To conclude, Messi has done great achieving all the previous results with a team that lacks offensive options. So, did he deserve the award?
Article contributed by: Mahdi Anani
Twitter: @AboSaleh_313
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