Lionel Messi official tracking thread (2011-2012 season)

[ck26]

Originally Posted by Savi

It helped him physically, but hormones don't influence skill now don't they?

I don't really want to join this discussion, but I want to address one point about "skill" and "talent"

What is "talent" ? The term is used to describe the ability to perform sport-specific tasks on the field, independent of simple locomotion. We don't call "speed" or "endurance" skills ... but the ability to dribble a soccer ball, shoot a hockey puck and throw a left jab are all skills.

Absolutely anybody with a fully-functional body can do anything on the soccer field Leo Messi can. You can shoot as accurately as Leo Messi ... you can make a pass as accurately as Leo Messi ... you can learn to see the field as well as he does. You just have to practice as much as he has.

Unfortunately, I'm 28, so I'm 4 years behind him already. Also, I have a full-time job that limits my ability to practice significantly. I get about 3-4 hours a week of soccer / futsal. Nobody is born with "natural" ability ... Leo Messi is the best player in the world because when he was the 9-year old in that video, he was playing 4 or 5 hours a DAY, every day. If you practice anything for 10,000 or 12,000 hours, with good coaching and competition, you'll be world-class at it too.

Leo Messi has amazing vision and awareness on the field ... he's better than Xavi and Iniesta and Thiago and Dos Santos, but not so much better that "the benefits of schooling for years at La Masia" can be ignored as the root cause of a lot of it. Leo has decent open-field speed but his real strength is short-distance quickness ... the ability to dart through a crowded 5-yard stretch of field and get into space. How much did years of growth hormone affect this? Hard to say ... I'm not a scientist, and the kid I see looks pretty quick too. But not as quick as 24 year old Leo Messi.

I don't think there's a definitive answer to this question, but I think a couple years of growth hormone can go a long way to improving a young player's physical gifts (not just height), and I guarantee it's something plenty of parents in the world are looking at curiously.

[the edler]

Originally Posted by speik

Let's say he continued to receive treatment till he's 19. will he be taller than what he's at right now? or does the growing stop at 17

the age when you start to grow and stop to grow, and by how much, is individual, so it's hard to know, but at 17 i don't think it would have made that much of a difference

if he started a lot earlier it's very possible he could have grown considerable taller but that also depends on his genes and how tall his parents are

[Savi]

Update:

g43 @ Santander: 2+0
g44 @ Sevilla: 1+0
g45 vs Granada: 3+1
g46 @ Mallorca: 1+0 (Pique scored after a Messi shot hit the post, not an assist I guess)
g47 @ Milan: 0+0
g48 vs Bilbao: 1+1
g49 vs Milan: 2+0 (Iniesta scored on a deflected Messi shot which also is not an assist)


49 games this season

58 goals (36 in 29 La Liga games - 14 in 9 Champions League games)

22 assists

9 hattricks (8 with Barça including a 4 and a 5 goal game - one with Argentina)


- He has scored 21 goals in his last 11 games, including an 8-game goalscoring streak which ended at the San Siro against Milan.

- Barça are up to 157 goals this season (in 53 games). Messi has been officially in on 80 (51 %). However, Messi has only played in 49 of those games, which means he was in on 80 of 140 for 57%. Remember, these are 'official' numbers. If you would count secondary assists, deflected shots, rebounds off of Messi shots, that number would even be higher.

Records:
- He set a new personal best in goals (53 last season)
- He became Barça's all time top goalscorer. He now has 238 (previous: Cesar Rodriguez scored 232 from 1942-1955)
- Yesterday, he became the youngest player to reach 50 goals in the Champions League
- He has 14 CL goals this season, breaking the previous record (Van Nistelrooy, ManUtd, 12 goals in 2003)

Potential records:
- He needs 3 assists to set a new personal best (24 last season)
- He needs 1 more goal to break the all-time European Cup goalscoring record in 1 season (Jose Altafini, Milan, 14 goals in 1963)
- He can become the first player to win the EC/CL top goalscorer title 4 years in a row
- He can tie Gerd Muller (Bayern) with his 4th top goalscorer title overall in the EC/CL
- He needs 21 goals to break Raul's career CL goals record
- He needs 38 goals to break Cesar Rodriguez' record for most goals by a Barça player in La Liga
- He still needs 98 goals to become La Liga's all time top goalscorer (David Villa needs 90 )

[NMF78]

There are still 11 games (possibly 12) games left for Barcelona this season, i think he will finish up clearly over 60 goals this season which is an amazing accomplishment.

[Vasilevski]

Got to 60 today... lol

[MagicianHishon]

Originally Posted by viktors89

Got to 60 today... lol

Messi>>Stamkos.

[MagicianHishon]

[Baarle]

Originally Posted by Ronaldo

cool story bro

[PERRYKIRK]

I'll tell you who he doesn't score against, Chelsea!

[MagicianHishon]

Originally Posted by Baarle

cool story bro

Originally Posted by PERRYKIRK

I'll tell you who he doesn't score against, Chelsea!

Enjoy the finals.

[Jussi]

[MagicianHishon]

[Mr Irreverent]

This whole thing is Karma for the last Chelsea semifinal from 3 years ago. Messi will be fine, besides I don't think his scrotum ever recovered from the splits he did in London last week.

[NMF78]

Another hattrick tonight, so 68 goals for the season so far.

[metric]

Originally Posted by NMF78

Another hattrick tonight, so 68 goals for the season so far.

And he broke Gerd Muller's record for most goals in a European season.

[Savi]

Up to 70 now halfway through the 2nd half at home to Espanyol.

[Savi]

Make it 71. Another hattrick.

[Savi]

72 lol. 4-goal game

[Vasilevski]

Best season ever

[Samzilla]

Originally Posted by Ronaldo

You forgot a row for Messi: "Goals against the Blues in 8 lifetime matches...0"

[Savi]

Final update

g50 @ Zaragoza: 2+1
g51 vs Getafe: 1+1
g52 @ Levante: 2+0
g53 @ Chelsea: 0+0
g54 vs Real Madrid: 0+0
g55 vs Chelsea: 0+1
g56 @ Rayo: 2+3
g57 vs Malaga: 3+0
g58 vs Espanyol: 4+0
g59 @ Betis: 0+0
g60 vs Athletic: 1+0


60 games played this season

73 goals (50 in 37 La Liga games - 14 in 11 Champions League games)

28 assists

11 hattricks (10 with Barça including a 5 goal game and two 4 goal games - one hattrick with Argentina)

1.22 goals per game average (Ronaldo had 1.09)
1.68 'points' per game average


- He has scored 36 goals in his last 21 games for an incredible average of 1.7 gpg.

- Barça have scored 173 goals in 60 games when Messi was in the line up. With his goals+assists he was in on 101 of those goals for an average of 58%

Records:
- He set a new personal best in goals (53 last season)
- He set a new personal best in assists (24 last season)
- He broke the all-time world record for most goals in one season
- He became Barça's all time top goalscorer. He now has 253 (previous: Cesar Rodriguez scored 232 from 1942-1955)
- He became the youngest player to score 50 goals in the Champions League
- He has 14 CL goals this season, breaking the previous record (Van Nistelrooy, ManUtd, 12 goals in 2003)
- He's the first player to ever win the CL top goalscoring title 4 years in a row

Future records to break:
- He needs 21 goals to break Raul's career CL goals record
- He needs 24 goals to break Cesar Rodriguez' record for most goals by a Barça player in La Liga
- He still needs 84 goals to become La Liga's all time top goalscorer


Best season ever? I think so

[NMF78]

Originally Posted by Savi

Best season ever? I think so

not in terms of championships, but statistically and also in term of his play and consistency certainly

[BMann]

Plenty of classless bandwagoners from the plastic club on here.

No wonder they support such a classless club.

[NMF78]

Originally Posted by takharov

Plenty of classless bandwagoners from the plastic club on here.

No wonder they support such a classless club.

Barcelona has more class and style then all clubs in England combined.

[Savi]

Was just switching over to the Argentina-Brazil friendly game to see Messi score a sensational goal

He already has a hattrick btw Argentina leads 4-3