Current Events > Lionel Messi is impossible.

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https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/lionel-messi-is-impossible/

Excerpt:

By now I’ve studied nearly every aspect of Messi’s game, down to a touch-by-touch level: his shooting and scoring production; where he shoots from; how often he sets up his own shots; what kind of kicks he uses to make those shots; his ability to take on defenders; how accurate his passes are; the kind of passes he makes; how often he creates scoring chances; how often those chances lead to goals; even how his defensive playmaking compares to other high-volume shooters.

And that’s just the stuff that made it into this article. I arrived at a conclusion that I wasn’t really expecting or prepared for: Lionel Messi is impossible.

It’s not possible to shoot more efficiently from outside the penalty area than many players shoot inside it. It’s not possible to lead the world in weak-kick goals and long-range goals. It’s not possible to score on unassisted plays as well as the best players in the world score on assisted ones. It’s not possible to lead the world’s forwards both in taking on defenders and in dishing the ball to others. And it’s certainly not possible to do most of these things by insanely wide margins.

But Messi does all of this and more.

I fucking love this article. People who don't know football (soccer) just assume that Messi is considered the best for those highlight reel dribbles, they even go on to criticise him for not being a natural athlete like Ronaldo and that his game lacks balance because he only uses his left foot.

Such a crock of shit. He's more like Federer. Even his weaker points are better than everyone else.

In American football terms, imagine someone being the best in the world at being a linebacker, quarterback and offensive guard, but what everyone knows you for is that you're the best wide receiver.
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lol manlet
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foreveraIone posted...

lol manlet

Yet is infinitely more successful than you at life.
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DemonBuffet posted...

foreveraIone posted...

lol manlet

Yet is infinitely more successful than you at life.

Forevealone is just continuing a weird gimmick he picks up from time to time where he likes to tell me that lionel messi is a manlet for no particular reason. Maybe because one time like a year ago I got into an argument with him about it without realising he was trolling.
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pinky0926 posted...

not being a natural athlete like Ronaldo

What does this mean?
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1b2m7tUIXj0
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YoungMutual posted...

pinky0926 posted...

not being a natural athlete like Ronaldo

What does this mean?

Ronaldo is obviously built like a Greek God, and he loves taking off his shirt to show off his impeccable body. Messi is like, 5'6" with the help of HGH, and his body is (I assume) less sculpted.
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YoungMutual posted...

pinky0926 posted...

not being a natural athlete like Ronaldo

What does this mean?

Messi is small in stature and not the most physically aggressive player around. He also greatly favours his left foot in almost every instance. This leads a lot of people to think that he's an idiosyncratic player and that he has weaknesses in his game. Ronaldo on the other hand is tall, muscular and plays aggressively. He easily takes long range kicks and prances around the field like a gazelle. So the argument goes: Ronaldo is the more "all rounded player", Messi is just the little weird guy who performs magic from time to time.

It's nonsense though, as the stats prove. Messi is idiosyncratic but not because of a lack of athletic ability.
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http://1tvs492zptzq380hni2k8x8p.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Screen-Shot-2017-04-12-at-4.45.39-PM.jpg
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FlashOfLight posted...

http://1tvs492zptzq380hni2k8x8p.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Screen-Shot-2017-04-12-at-4.45.39-PM.jpg

what is this about
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