I must preface this article with a preamble context: that I am ardent supporter of Lionel Messi, and have been for four years now. Not eons, but since Messi started playing first team football for Barcelona, I tipped him for the Ballon d'Or and he surely has not disappointed.
I have, time and time again, watched and analyzed Messi play, looking at nuances of the subtle side of his game, his tenacity, the intuition in positioning himself, his speed, and for the several times Andres Iniesta has not been on the field, his ability to serve as the sleek Xavi mate on the midfield. He truly is one of the most talented footballers this generation has seen on the field.
And yet, Messi has his weaknesses. His game, just like Achilles, remains imperfect in this sense: he sometimes does not try as hard and does not work as hard enough.
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And this came out so strongly and clearly in Barcelona's 3-1 loss at the San Siro. We all know Messi to be the fearless runner into defenders, as one of Barca's most active players. Someone who, when dispossessed will immediately be back on his feet, winning the ball and forcing defenders to make errors. Barcelona's win over Arsenal at the quarterfinals of the Champions league comes to mind. He single handedly dismantled the Gunners, making them pay for every error they made.
However, during Inter's game, Messi ran just over 8220 M, a below average performance and less than any player who played for the full 90+ minutes. No doubt Inter has some stifling defense and that the Argentine was keenly marked, but the Messi we know who beats his markers with his slender and sleek dribbles, won just a single foul outside his realm, the 18 yard mark. He indeed spent most of the game in a peripatetic style withdrawn on the midfield. Statistics showed he completed fewer successful passes than five of his mates, a relatively poor show from the reigning World Player of the Year.
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