I am not one to say "I told you so."
That was a bold-faced lie. I am totally one to say "I told you so," and that's why I am saying "I told you so."
Or, rather, I almost told you so.
Some months ago I wrote an article that argued the merits of Lionel Messi leaving Barcelona and joining Liga MX side Queretaro.
It is incredibly hard for an individual player to have an affect on a soccer match. The game is comprised of 22 players that at any one time could be making more of an impact than any one player. There could be a defensive battle on the left side of the field that renders the right winger a spectator. The left-back in a defense could be such a defensive liability that the opposing attack choses to go nowhere else but through him, leaving the corresponding right back to do little more than mark space in solitude.
We all know that being voted homecoming king or queen is just a lame high school popularity contest with no implications for one’s future (say nerds like me). So which footballers in 2015 deserve a crown and the first slow dance?
Mexico tied Argentina Tuesday, 2-2, in a lively match that got more interesting as it went. Mexico took a 2-0 lead into the 85th minute via a Chicharito Hernandez penalty kick and a nice shot from Hector Herrera, but Sergio Aguero and Lionel Messi proved too much for Mexico to contain near the end. Here are our takeaways.
It was mostly positive for Mexico, given they drew with one of the best teams in the world.
They played 85 minutes of solid soccer.
Carlo Ancelotti has seen it all. If you think that the Real Madrid team he coached last year was the most talented team he has ever managed, then you haven’t heard of the AC Milan sides of the mid 2000s. Yes, the 2014/15 version of Real Madrid had Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, James Rodriguez, Sergio Ramos, Karim Benzema, Luka Modric, and Toni Kroos; yes, all of those players could be the best player at a top club.
This is just too much soccer talent for one meeting. Lionel Messi, hands-down the best male soccer player in the world, was in Houston training with the Argentine national team. Carli Lloyd, hands-hown the best female soccer player in the world, was also in Houston, because she plays for the Houston Dash of the NWSL. A rendesvous seemed obvious. And it happened.
Despite his status as one of the most celebrated young players in the world, Chelsea's Eden Hazard still fights his own mental demons.
In a recent interview with Sport / Foot Magazine, Hazard opened up about what he sees as the difference between him and modern day legends of the game like Messi and Ronaldo:
While Wayne Rooney was not exactly having the game of his life in Swansea, his family was in Barcelona on holiday. Rooney's son Kai got to take a break from the usual crew at Manchester United and hang out with a different collection of footballers than normal, the likes of Neymar, Messi, Suarez and Gerard Pique.
Jose "Joey Bats" Bautista is a big deal to Major League Baseball fans, but Lionel Messi is a big deal to Jose Bautista.
At a recent Toronto Blue Jays practice, Bautista swapped his Blue Jays jersey for a fan's Messi Barcelona jersey, then practiced with the Messi jersey on.
You can't do it all alone, even if you're the best player in the world. This was the message Lionel Messi gave when interviewed after winning the UEFA Player of the Year award (again).
"What we all achieved is all thanks to this great team," Messi said. "When you manage to achieve all your objectives with the group, then your personal objectives can also be achieved."
Messi cements his reputation as a humble superstar here, knowing that even he can't win every game by himself (although in truth he could probably get close).
Stay classy, Messi.