Messi has been compared to greats like Maradona
When Adidas sponsored superstar Lionel Messi picked up the Adidas sponsored Golden Ball award for the World Cup’s best player, it served as an analogy for his career.
Lauded and celebrated to the point of virtual deification, but without quite deserving it.
The world seems to be in thrall to Messi magic and while he’s self-evidently a top player, is he really that good?
During the golden years at Barcelona when he won every award under the sun, the diminutive Argentine was fed all the juicy assists he could sink his teeth into by pass masters like Xavi and Andrés Iniesta.
But now we’ve seen him playing in lesser teams the dip in his performances has been marked.
Pundits and fans alike were heralding last night’s World Cup final in Brazil as his chance to join the pantheon of the beautiful game’s greats by leading Argentina to the trophy.
But Germany’s 1-0 win denied him a coronation on the grandest of all stages.
Messi fights for the ball against Germany
Messi didn’t play badly. In 120 Maracanã minutes he touched the ball a total of 66 times, managing four shots – although all off target – as well as two key passes.
Throughout the World Cup his stats were impressive. Messi created more chances than any other player and had far more completed dribbles than anybody else – his tally of 49 left him well clear of Dutch maestro Arjen Robben’s 29.
But in the latter stages, in the big games, against the better teams, it’s fair to say he fell short of expectation. All of his four goals came in the group stages.
Many would suggest he underperformed, but he didn’t. What he showed in the knockout rounds was exactly what he’s got in the locker against the world’s best sides.
That’s why it’s unfair to expect so much from him. Because he’s not a Pele or a Diego Maradona. I would argue he’s not even a Cristiano Ronaldo.
Messi is a very good player. He’s just not one of the greats.
Matt is a football freestyler, world record holder and journalist. Visit mattfreestyle.co.uk or connect with Matt on Twitter and Facebook.
Football Matters 
What Messi did was to bring a play for the team… He played in the right spirit. He didn’t stick to his position as CR7 did, he moved to compensate the weak defense of his team. Argentine side already had attackers, but they lacked good mid fielders, Messi was just filling the gap, because no one else did. Just because he couldn’t get 1 shot past Neuer doesn’t mean he has under-performed. Plus I think it is never even “okay” to judge someone on the basis of a knockout competition. There is always a lot of luck involved.
For instance, Higuan’s goal given offside in the the semi-finals and Messi’s superb attempts just scrapping past the goal post, he had to save himself for the last, by not playing hard as Neymar, and he had to support his team even without the greats like Angelo Di Maria.
You can admit that even without Di Maria, the Argentine side was equal to the Germans, pulling the match to the 2nd period of the extra-time. Plus, Germans were having their best on the field.
I was supporting the Germans, and am very happy to see them victorious, but I can’t deny that the Argentine side may have won it if they had Di Maria, or just if any of those off target wonderful shots had creeped into the net!
#MessiFan #GermanSupporterThisWorldCup
Argentina is not as good as Germany…
Argentina may have di Maria, Agüero and Messi.
But the Germans had a team.