After another poor outing with the Albiceleste, I wonder how much damage Messi's poor performances for the national team would do for his legacy when inevitably compared with the greats of the game.
Firstly, I think the rather fanciful claim of people that Maradonna won the World Cup single-handed is rather vacuous. Football is an 11-on-11 team game and any great weaknesses in a team would be ruthlessly exploited by the top sides. I can't understand how any one player can carry a team to glory. If you understand the games dynamics, you'd know Argentina's team spirit, miserly defence and solid team shape played a key role in their World Cup win. Maradonna standing out as the brains and leader of the outfit doesn't make it a one-man show.
I think stressing how a team is the sum of its parts is important in judging the increasing under-performance of many stars at international level. The ongoing Copa America has seen the likes of Messi and Argentina's fearsome strikeforce, Falcaó, Suarez, Sanchez, Neymar etc fail to leave an indelible mark on the tournament with largely uninspired, insipid displays. In Europe, the likes of Ronaldo (despite the delusion of his fanboys), Rooney, Torres, Benzema etc have severally failed to perform to expected standard on the international stage. Even our own mercurial French man, Thierry Henry never replicated his Arsenal form for France (despite breaking the national scoring record).
Now, I have a lot of theories on why so many modern day superstars aren't punching at their weight level on the international stage, which would make this a rather long-winded post but to shorten it: Do you believe international football in the modern game is an anachronistic way of judging players or do you believe it still holds fair.
In light of this, if Messi's current dry run for Argentina continues while his excellence for Barca holds true till the end of his career, would it detract from his status among the greats of the game?
Firstly, I think the rather fanciful claim of people that Maradonna won the World Cup single-handed is rather vacuous. Football is an 11-on-11 team game and any great weaknesses in a team would be ruthlessly exploited by the top sides. I can't understand how any one player can carry a team to glory. If you understand the games dynamics, you'd know Argentina's team spirit, miserly defence and solid team shape played a key role in their World Cup win. Maradonna standing out as the brains and leader of the outfit doesn't make it a one-man show.
I think stressing how a team is the sum of its parts is important in judging the increasing under-performance of many stars at international level. The ongoing Copa America has seen the likes of Messi and Argentina's fearsome strikeforce, Falcaó, Suarez, Sanchez, Neymar etc fail to leave an indelible mark on the tournament with largely uninspired, insipid displays. In Europe, the likes of Ronaldo (despite the delusion of his fanboys), Rooney, Torres, Benzema etc have severally failed to perform to expected standard on the international stage. Even our own mercurial French man, Thierry Henry never replicated his Arsenal form for France (despite breaking the national scoring record).
Now, I have a lot of theories on why so many modern day superstars aren't punching at their weight level on the international stage, which would make this a rather long-winded post but to shorten it: Do you believe international football in the modern game is an anachronistic way of judging players or do you believe it still holds fair.
In light of this, if Messi's current dry run for Argentina continues while his excellence for Barca holds true till the end of his career, would it detract from his status among the greats of the game?
