[WC] World Cup 2010 - General Talk Thread (11 Viewers)

GordoDeCentral

Diez
Moderator
Apr 14, 2005
71,040
LOL @ choked

Argentina can't function without him!

no gameplan, no tactics and no creativity...Maradona's team is living on a prayer, and Messi's contribution!

other side of the spectrum, yes argentina can and the only reason he plays every game to the end is to give him more time to score and play even better. And Diego has been really good at both anticipating and plugging holes, watch with more objectivity and you ll see it
 

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Alen

Ѕenior Аdmin
Apr 2, 2007
54,121
Messi has been good this WC.
He's been nothing more than ok. One must consider the fact that he's not playing where he plays the best and he's given some different tasks compared to what he does in Barca. That's all true and fine.

But when France and Argentina made the finals, you knew that the main man in the team did a massive job to take them there and that he was brilliant, not just fine.
So far we can't say that Messi did anything special.

But it was easy for Argentina so far. This is where the tough part begins and now we will see if he is able to do what some players were doing in the past when they were the main reason for the success of their team. If Messi shines against Germany and then against Spain (probably), everyone will forget the previous 4 matches.
 

GordoDeCentral

Diez
Moderator
Apr 14, 2005
71,040
He's been nothing more than ok. One must consider the fact that he's not playing where he plays the best and he's given some different tasks compared to what he does in Barca. That's all true and fine.

But when France and Argentina made the finals, you knew that the main man in the team did a massive job to take them there and that he was brilliant, not just fine.
So far we can't say that Messi did anything special.

But it was easy for Argentina so far. This is where the tough part begins and now we will see if he is able to do what some players were doing in the past when they were the main reason for the success of their team. If Messi shines against Germany and then against Spain (probably), everyone will forget the previous 4 matches.
but this is a huge improvement in his national team form, and besides the mexico game he was solid in all of his games. Argentinians are actually finally starting to cheer his name. Not to forget the main reason why tevez and pipita are shining is the attention defenses are dedicating to the little man.
 

Fred

Senior Member
Oct 2, 2003
41,112
Your exaggerating there Alen, he might not have been his usual world class self, but he was still very good, and he still did things most players couldn't do. The criticism you can level at him is that he doesn't influence the game as much as he does at Barcelona, sometimes he could go a whole 15 minutes without doing anything, another thing is he has not been clinical in front of goal.

But the way your talking about him makes him sound like he's not performing at all, when that is not true. He has easily been Argentina's best attacking player so far, and he has without doubt been one of the best 5 players in the tournament up until now, now that is pretty low for his standards because he is used to being two classes above everyone else. But in no way can you classify his performances as just being "ok". He has been the direct cause behind more than half of Argentina's goals.
 

Dragon

Senior Member
Apr 24, 2003
27,407
but this is a huge improvement in his national team form, and besides the mexico game he was solid in all of his games. Argentinians are actually finally starting to cheer his name. Not to forget the main reason why tevez and pipita are shining is the attention defenses are dedicating to the little man.
Higuain didn't have his own personal mark vs Greece :p

Another Argie I've liked is el Kun
 

Alen

Ѕenior Аdmin
Apr 2, 2007
54,121
but this is a huge improvement in his national team form, and besides the mexico game he was solid in all of his games. Argentinians are actually finally starting to cheer his name. Not to forget the main reason why tevez and pipita are shining is the attention defenses are dedicating to the little man.
That's all true and fine. I also think he's been instrumental.

But when you hear Messi you expect a show and that we haven't seen yet. Being just "very useful" won't put you among the stars who won world cups and played unforgettable matches.
 

Fred

Senior Member
Oct 2, 2003
41,112
That's all true and fine. I also think he's been instrumental.

But when you hear Messi you expect a show and that we haven't seen yet. Being just "very useful" won't put you among the stars who won world cups and played unforgettable matches.
When you put it that way, it makes a lot more sense.

"He's been nothing more than ok"

That is definitely an exaggeration, unless you mean he's been nothing more than ok by his high standards.

Just out of curiosity, do you agree that he's been Argentina's best attacking player? If not, who do you think has been more impressive?
 

Alen

Ѕenior Аdmin
Apr 2, 2007
54,121
When you put it that way, it makes a lot more sense.

"He's been nothing more than ok"

That is definitely an exaggeration, unless you mean he's been nothing more than ok by his high standards.

Just out of curiosity, do you agree that he's been Argentina's best attacking player? If not, who do you think has been more impressive?
I'd even say best player, not only best attacking player. For those who know football and follow football, it's easy to notice Messi's influence and importance. As Deneb said, he's contributing massively just by taking 1,2,3 players on him and giving more space to the rest. But as time goes on he seems to become more frustrated that he can't score and against Mexico he contributed less than in the groups, plus he was losing many balls. He should relax.

And yes, by his standards he's been only ok.
 

Fred

Senior Member
Oct 2, 2003
41,112
Nobody is comparable to Maradona. I usually have this self imposed rule not to judge players that i haven't watched play live(and regularly), thats why i don't have an opinion when it comes to who the best players in history are, but when it comes to Maradona, watching his highlights makes you realize there is no player that is even remotely comparable to him.
 

Enron

Tickle Me
Moderator
Oct 11, 2005
75,701
Maradona is all that football is. He's the very good and the very bad. His talent and grace on the pitch are unquestionable, his actions off the pitch are unmentionable.

It's all summed up in one match. He made one of the most brilliant goals ever and then punched the ball into the net. I love his play, but I'll always hate his personality.
 

GordoDeCentral

Diez
Moderator
Apr 14, 2005
71,040
Maradona is all that football is. He's the very good and the very bad. His talent and grace on the pitch are unquestionable, his actions off the pitch are unmentionable.

It's all summed up in one match. He made one of the most brilliant goals ever and then punched the ball into the net. I love his play, but I'll always hate his personality.
do you enjoy beethoven?
 

Ford Prefect

Senior Member
May 28, 2009
10,557
On the 'England' team

“People keep talking about world-class players but they’re not. They have to take a long, hard look at themselves. They get away with murder. You say they’ve been good in the Premier League. But tell me the players who had a good season. There’s probably only Wayne Rooney, who had a brilliant season. And even though he still hasn’t done it on the world stage, he has the best chance. Look at the goalkeepers. David James was relegated with Portsmouth and Robert Green just about stayed up at West Ham. Glen Johnson did OK at Liverpool but John Terry had his issues. I don’t think he had a great year. Matthew Upson was not great at West Ham and Ashley Cole, to be fair, has just come back from injury. James Milner had a good season, yet Gareth Barry was very average for Manchester City. To keep criticising and questioning the manager is crazy. He didn’t do anything wrong in the qualifying campaign. They should just leave him to get on with the job. He is absolutely brilliant and England are lucky to have him.” - Roy Keane.
 

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