10 - Lionel Messi - v5

Hardy said:

Dybala and Messi did a fucking nothing the few times they played together, spot is pretty much the same and neither of them plays off the ball. Than there tons of better choice than playing with Meza but imho not Dybala.

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Those two are clearly NOT the problem !!

the problem for Sampaoli is where do you play Messi? you put him at CAM and hes a creative outlet linking the midfield but lacks the workrate of a midfielder and this also means your best finisher isn't in the front line. you play him up front and the midfield has ZERO creativity (honestly Argentinas midfielders are pathetic) and nobody to link the midfield with the forwards.

Portugal can play shit and get away with it as Ronaldo, their main man, is like a swiss army knife, hes capable of scoring in so many different ways and in a crucial way; heading. cross a ball in the box or a corner and the guy will always be a threat, theres always a chance he gets his head on the end of it..

Argentina don't have this luxury and part of the problem is Messi having to play 2 roles.

Givenchy said:

the problem for Sampaoli is where do you play Messi? you put him at CAM and hes a creative outlet linking the midfield but lacks the workrate of a midfielder and this also means your best finisher isn't in the front line. you play him up front and the midfield has ZERO creativity (honestly Argentinas midfielders are pathetic) and nobody to link the midfield with the forwards.

Portugal can play shit and get away with it as Ronaldo, their main man, is like a swiss army knife, hes capable of scoring in so many different ways and in a crucial way; heading. cross a ball in the box or a corner and the guy will always be a threat, theres always a chance he gets his head on the end of it..

Argentina don't have this luxury and part of the problem is Messi having to play 2 roles.

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This is for me the problem with Messi and which is why i think he needs to play as a false 9. He lacks the defensive workrate to play as an attacking midfielder. Argentina's midfield has to be a three of Mascherano, Banega and Lo Celso

raki said:

Sampaoli is so retarded

Armani

Mercado - Otamendi-Fazio-Tagliaffico

Lo Celso-Banega

Dybala - Messi - Pavon

Aguero

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not 4231 again

Maybe even more pressure in the last game now. Obviously for every player but all eyes will be on Messi again. He has to do more, if he does not play his heart out and sacrifices his body if necessary, he will be forever remembered for this embarrassing World Cup.
He has to show the world again that he is no joke. Many people are seriously believing that right now when they see Messi for Argentina.

I think messi needs to play the same postion he did against iceland. Clearly he does not fit on the wing which is what he played against croatia, as its so easy to get completely marked out there. against Iceland he had 11 shots...against croatia like what 2?

Which could possibly explain him sulking during the national anthem cause he himself clearly knew it wasnt going to work. Its just a theory, but could explain it a bit.

I dunno how its not easy to see to revert back to what he played against Iceland.

Also Argentina played against Nigera in the friendlines and was winning 2-0 while messi was on the pitch. USE THAT AS A FUKING REFERENCE POINT SAMPOALI U BOLD HEADED C***.

Another thing, besides the defense and goalkeeper, i dont think against Iceland the the argentine attack was broken. The difference between arg vs iceland and Nigeria vs iceland was that in the first game all they needed was a draw hence the huge defensive line. Against nigeria they needed to actually go out and score hence more open space for Nigeria in the final third.

Start armani in goal, lo celso/ benega next to mascherano, and possibly dybala with higuain/ aguero upfront with messi in behind and I think that should do it.

There is absolutly noone in Argentina except Messi with any playmaking quality.
Mascherano has been awful both games and the rest cant do shite.
Portugal has MUCH better players to get the ball forward.
Messi dropped further and further back becouse he never recieved any balls, and you always know something is wrong when he does that.
Didnt get better when all the players Sampoli subbed in were out of the box players..
Would be better to play all of Messi, Aguero, Higuain and Dybala somehow.
Need more players to actually get the ball into the box and stop making 1 million sideway passes.

It's important to note against Ecuador, they don't have all the possession in the world, which was why Messi was given so much space. Playing possession against Nigeria might be risky imo, players like Mascherano will be burnt on the counter. Don't necessarily have to sit back too much but best not to emphasise on too much possession.

I am a staunch supporter of both Barcelona FC and Argentina national team which I've been a follower since the 90s. In fact, I have a very faint memory of Maradona winning the WC back in 86. My point is I've seen the evolution of Argentina team. I've seen them win and lose in all the WCs. But ever since Messi donned the jersey of Argentina, he has taken them to the next level, giving the belief of holding the golden cup again, and starting a new era for the Argentinians. In comparison to all the previous WCs and cup matches, now I see a Messi who's no zeal to get to the finals of the WC and winning the cup. He's nervous, confused, scared and at times even tired (mentally). It would be hard for Messi to come back to the Messi who was in the 2014's WC where he had a mission to achieve, but still, I am not writing this team off. With inspired Messi, they can still achieve the unthinkable. I still believe that Messi and the team can qualify and reach the finals, and with luck and good play, they can win the cup.

And for the tactics, I'd say Sampaoli must use whatever he has best to play against Nigeria. And who says Messi can't play with Dybala! As a matter of fact, Dybala can help Messi by attracting players and freeing up Messi.

Nigeria is Leo's last chance to salvage the rest of his career.

Potentially his last game at a World Cup at a badly declining Argentina in a tournament Ronaldo is beasting after winning the Euros. He's probably already won his last ballon d'or whereas Ronaldo probably has another 2 or 3 (or at least this year to go 6-5).

His club career already petering out at a declining Barcelona where he might win more Copa Del Rays but Real completely dominating CL.

What was a great career is descending into tragedy and the consensus will end up being that he wasn't even the best of his era.

Theinvinciblethree said:

I am a staunch supporter of both Barcelona FC and Argentina national team..........as in the 2014's WC where he had a mission to achieve, but still, I am not writing this team off. With inspired Messi, ....r of fact, Dybala can help Messi by attracting players and freeing up Messi.

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That's the problem though isn't it? There was no reason for Messi to be as broken as he is during this WC, right from the off. His body language even before the game seemed off. I think there's something wrong with Messi, whether it's physical or mental, I don't know, but I refuse to believe that this is him being his normal self.

Seeing this, I find it hard that there will suddenly be a sea change in his outlook for the last game. He walked pretty much 90 minutes against Croatia. I understand that stamina decreases with age, so you might only see the best of him in 1 half and a more sedate one in the other. I don't know how you explain 90 minutes of walking, at the biggest stage.

Ritchie said:

His club career already petering out a.

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Barça just won the domestic double again, for the 3e time in 4 years, and the team will be better next year, so lol, fuck off with your defaitist attitude.
He will continue to win plenty of trophies with Barcelona.

Neeraj said:

That's the problem though isn't it? There was no reason for Messi to be as broken as he is during this WC, right from the off. His body language even before the game seemed off. I think there's something wrong with Messi, whether it's physical or mental, I don't know, but I refuse to believe that this is him being his normal self.

Seeing this, I find it hard that there will suddenly be a sea change in his outlook for the last game. He walked pretty much 90 minutes against Croatia. I understand that stamina decreases with age, so you might only see the best of him in 1 half and a more sedate one in the other. I don't know how you explain 90 minutes of walking, at the biggest stage.

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I think the cumulative awful luck he's had since 2015 combined with everything going for Ronaldo has finally took it out of him. CL final probably the final straw. Rather than firing him up the Ronado hat-trick the day before Iceland only added to the fatalism that the gods are with Ronaldo and added to the unreal pressure on him.

Losing 6-1 to Spain (Messi leaving the stands before the end) was also significant as he realised that night they had no chance.

Mitchell1978 said:

Barça just won the domestic double again, for the 3e time in 4 years, and the team will be better next year, so lol, fuck off with your defaitist attitude.
He will continue to win plenty of trophies with Barcelona.

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In modern era CL all that matters sadly and you can't win that without a midfield and a misfiring striker (Suarez).

Nobody outside of Spain cares about Copa Del Ray unless it's part of a treble including CL. Even Real get themselves knocked out early.

La Liga immediately gets overrided if your rivals win the CL.