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The Evolution of Lionel Messi.
A thread:
A thread:
Lionel Messi, arguably the greatest player of all time, had to go through many changes to adapt to the continuous evolution of football.
As a young talent at Barca B and La Masia, Messi preferably lined up on the LW or attacking midfield position utilizing his quick dribbling and ball retention to create scoring opportunities.
His first stage of evolution occurred when Frank Rijkaard promoted him to the first team where Eto’o played as a lone 9 and Ronaldinho played in Messi’s favored LW and CAM role, while Ludovic Giuly occupied the RW.
He was then placed in an unfamiliar RW position.
He was then placed in an unfamiliar RW position.
Messi utilized his dribbling to sprint down wide areas and cross the ball into the box to Eto’o and Ronaldinho to create scoring opportunities for them.
In the 05/06 season he started showing signs of the player he was going to become the following seasons.
He grew in confidence in front of goal and instead of staying wide he began to cut inside more often to take more shots for himself.
He grew in confidence in front of goal and instead of staying wide he began to cut inside more often to take more shots for himself.
“My Evolution was a normal process. When I made my debut I was 17 years old. I used to play in a different position in a different manner.” ~ Lionel Messi.
In the following two seasons he was a very talented winger but didn't get much numbers as he was in a declining Barcelona team and suffered from injuries in the 07/08 season.
But the next phase of his evolution came...
But the next phase of his evolution came...
2008 came the appointment of Pep Guardiola. The Spanish tactician made major changes in the squad (selling strikers, Eto’o and Ibrahimovic).
One of those changes was pushing Messi in the strike position and changing him to a false 9. It was revolutionary.
One of those changes was pushing Messi in the strike position and changing him to a false 9. It was revolutionary.
Messi scored 91 goals in a calendar year during his time as a false 9.
He broke countless records and won four Ballon D’Ors in the process, cementing his place as one of the best of all time.
He broke countless records and won four Ballon D’Ors in the process, cementing his place as one of the best of all time.
Messi’s shift to false 9 made him unstoppable. Teams found it difficult to defend against him because of his extraterrestrial dribbling ability, playmaking ability and movement.
In 2014, with the purchases of Neymar and Suarez, Luis Enrique shifted Messi back to the right where he took up more of a creative role, drifting more to the attacking midfield position with Ney and Suarez ahead of him. They caused havoc together.
With the departure of Neymar, all the creative responsibilities once shared with him were placed on Messi’s shoulders and because of the aging midfield he began to drop deeper to collect the ball to playmake.
This assist map by @TacticoModerno gives some evidence of this.
This assist map by @TacticoModerno gives some evidence of this.
Messi’s goalscoring numbers have dropped slightly but his playmaking has been at its best. He is still playing at an elite level and arguably this is the best version of Messi.
With his continuous evolution he can still play at a consistent level.
With his continuous evolution he can still play at a consistent level.
In the near future, we might see Messi dropping deeper into midfield eventually playing as an advanced 8 in a midfield three or maybe back into his favored number 10 role.
Only time will tell.
Only time will tell.
