Tag: Lionel Messi

Messi in 700 Goal Club: Career Graph and an Imaginary Interview

Against Atlético de Madrid, Lionel Messi reached the 700 goals milestone in his career. He scored the 700th goal, an elegantly executed panenka shot from the penalty spot in a La Liga match on 30 June, 2020.

The statistics is out there of his 700 goals:

630 goals for FC Barcelona

441 goals for La Liga

70 goals are for the Argentina National team

582 goals with his left leg

90 goals by penalty kick

Messi did not celebrate his 700th goal as the 2-2 draw in the Spanish League dealt a major blow to Barcelona’s title wish. FC Barcelona’s third draw in four rounds left them in the second place on the league table, one point behind the leader Real Madrid. FCB has 70 points from 33 matches while Real Madrid has 71 points from 32.

Still the world wanted to celebrate the football wizard’s new achievement. His goals have the same recipe. All of those were a golazo. These are free-kicks, slaloms in which he leaves all defenders behind, strikes from outside the box after having dribbled past the goalkeeper with a header or volley or with a panenka penalty shot.

LM10 continues to increase his number of goals year after year. He kicked off with his goal number one against Albacete on May 2005. He scored first 100th goal against Dinamo Kyiv in September 2009. On August, 2011, his 200th was against Real Madrid. Just after a year on October, number 300 was achieved against Rayo Vallecano. The 400th was celebrated while facing Granada on September, 2014. His goal number 500 was against Valencia on April, 2016. Then, he completed the 600th on March, 2018 against Atlético de Madrid with an amazing free-kick. Then Messi rounded off his 700 career goals against the same team with which he also had his 600th.

Messi is the seventh member in this ‘700 Club’.

Josef Bican has 805 goals in 530 matches.

Romario has 772 goals in 993 matches.

Pele has 767 goals in 831 matches.

Ferenc Puskas has 746 goals in 754 matches.

Gerd Muller has 735 goals in 793 matches.

Cristiano Ronaldo has 728 goals in 1005 matches.

Lionel Messi has 700 goals in 862 matches.

Let us celebrate Messi’s latest achievement with an imaginary interview with him, on behalf of millions of fans:

Question: Congratulations, Sir, on the 700th goal! When you get the ball, do you think about your next step or is your game more spontaneous?

Answer: Definitely it is important to have the next step but it comes to me spontaneously.

Question: At what age did you realise that you have some amazing skills on the field?

Answer: I was not even in my teens then. But I played so naturally that it did not occur to me consciously. My grandma, Celia who provided lot of support to me, used to tell others about it.

Question: Do you have any competitive desire to play in the English Premier League?

Answer: No. I have current contract with Barcelona till 2021 and if thereafter the club is still interested in me I would love to be with them.

Question: What has been the greatest advice given to you by any of your coach?

Answer: When on the field think of the ball and your feet only.

Question: When are you planning to come to India? You know you have a huge fan base here.

Answer: Whenever an opportunity would arise. I know I have numerous dedicated fans in India.

Question: How do you live with the pressure of your position? Are you self-critical?

Answer: Obviously there is tremendous pressure. Yes, I am always assessing myself. Otherwise you cannot reach the top and be there for long.

Question: How did you cope up with the World Cup and Copa America losses?

Answer: It really hurt. But then with the passing of time I convinced myself that I must continue to play.

Question: How do you feel when people criticise you for your lesser performance in the Argentina national team?

Answer: It pains me as I always dream to provide my best for my country. But there are some things which you cannot control even if you wish.

Question: You have donated around one million dollars to Hospital Clinic, a public hospital in Barcelona and half a million euros to the Fundacion Garrahan in Argentina to help in the battle to control the coronavirus. Then what is the real issue between you and the court regarding the tax and jail controversy?

Answer: I think everybody must make such contributions for social good. About the legal issues my lawyers are taking care of them.

Question: How do you maintain the balance between your professional and personal life so well?

Answer: I think both are essential parts of my life but I do not pursue one at the cost of the other.

Question: What advice do you want to preach to the upcoming football players with ambition to be professionals?

Answer: What they need is hard work, sacrifice and luck. I know it is complicated but they must fight to the end.

Me: Thank you for sparing some of your most precious time for this interview. All the best for your future endeavours. The world is with you.

‘Happy Birthday, Football Magician’: Lionel Messi is Thirty Three Today

We all know this person so very well. Today’s ‘birthday man’ is one of the greatest celebrities in the football world. We commonly know him as GOAT (Greatest Of All Time)! Yes, you must have guessed it right! Feliz Cumpleaños (Happy Birthday) to our one of the most favourite football players— Lionel Andrés Messi Cuccittini!!

Lionel Messi made his debut in FC Barcelona first team in 2004-2005 La Liga at just seventeen. He was the youngest player to represent FCB ever. Since then he is breaking goal records and raising the bar for the future players. He plays as a forward and is currently the captain of both FC Barcelona and Argentina National Team.

Messi was born on 24 June, 1987, in Rosario, Argentina. Having received his first ball when he was four he started playing with his elder brothers. However, just as obvious as his outstanding ability it became more apparent that he was smaller than his friends. The doctors discovered that he had a restrictive growth hormone deficiency. The expensive injections made his family left with huge costs to pay for his continued treatment. In 2000 when he was thirteen Barcelona came to his rescue and changed his life forever. Messi was invited to Spain for a fifteen-day trial. The club agreed to sign him and pay for his medical bills in a contract that was written out on a paper napkin.

Messi always has number 10 on his jerseys in both teams. He is often seen with a smile on his face and humble about his record-breaking achievements. He has enviable commitment to the game. He is the perfect example of how smaller players can use their size to their advantage. He keeps inspiring many football players around the world. His left foot is a deadly weapon when it comes to shooting goals. His razor-sharp brain with a combination of natural talent and instinct make him the attacking machine. Messi is also deceptively quick. He accelerates from the moment he picks up the ball and speeds past defenders before they are even ready to tackle him.

Messi is married to his childhood sweetheart, Antonela Rocuzzo since 2017. They have a family of three sons, Thiago, Mateo and Ciro. His favourite dog, Senor Hulk, is one of the largest French Mastiff breeds, Dogue de Bordeaux.

He has record in winning awards almost each year:

•  La Liga titles- 10

•  Ballon d’Or awards- 6

•  Best FIFA Men’s Player- 6

•  Best UEFA Player in Europe- 2

•  Golden Boot awards- 5

•  Champions League Winner- 4

•  Player of the Year- 10

•  Spanish Champion- 10

•  Spanish Cup Winner- 6

•  Spanish Super Cup Winner- 8

•  FIFA Club World Cup Winner- 3

•  Under- 20 World Cup Champion- 1

•  UEFA Super Cup Winner- 3

•  Copa America Runner Up- 3

•  Player of the Tournament- 2

•  Silver Boot- 1

•  Top Scorer- 19

•  Guinness World Records Title for the most official goals in 2012

And the list goes on and on. Thus, these all made him a legend in football.

Although Leo holds the all-time scoring records both in La Liga and Champions League he still has plenty of play left for the rest of his career. How many more goals can he score? How many more records will he make? We have to wait patiently for that. Players have some best days as they have some worst. One of the worst days in his life was not to win the FIFA World Cup in 2014. His face had shown how much disappointed he was about being the runner-up. He faced severe criticisms that the dedication he shows for his club is not found for his national team. We, his loyal supporters who watched him grow, would not disown him on that ground. It is quite possible that he tries really hard to win every game for his country but his luck does not favour him at times.

Even if Messi does not break any more record or fail to score spectacular goals every time he has already done enough for the millions of football fans.  The day will come when he will announce his retirement from football. We need not be upset. We can wish him by saying— Thanks, Leo, for all the memories!

Messi’s story proves that size does not matter. Nor can poverty come in the way of talent. Anything is possible if one is good enough to work hard with talent. Success, they say, comes out of one percent inspiration and ninety nine per cent perspiration.