The Great Lionel Messi Cover Act

If you’ve cracked open a fresh newspaper this morning, chances are it won’t be long before you find the newly christened Lionel Messi section, comparing him to Maradona, Cruijff, Ronaldo (the real one), Pele, Gandhi, Da Vinci and Jesus Christ. Last night’s encore was the type of stuff which makes merely witnessing such greatness feel as if you’d scored the goals yourself.

But what’s more about all these comparisons is the eeriness with which Leo himself is almost forcing the comparisons upon us. He’s not only playing like these men, he’s performing near carbon copy replicas of their greatest ever feats. It’s like he’s a one man cover band.

Everyone knows the Maradona comparisons – after all, two pint-sized Argentines with unparalleled gifts in their time make it too easy. And we all know about the two Maradona goals Leo’s scored in his still young career. A DVD of one is likely on the mantle, the other…not so much.

The Getafe Goal:

The Hand of God (Pt. II):

And last night, during his second goal, is when he ventured off the Maradona comparisons, though still staying within the Barcelona party lines, by performing the Houdini-esque escape act Ronaldo graced us with 14 years earlier.

The fight up near the half way line, breaking away from the man who was fouling him then going past another before breaking into space and into the box, where a cut in, then a cut out onto his favored foot and into the back of the goal. Messi? Ronaldo? Both.

And then there are the statistics from that game:

Ronaldo ‘96 v Compostela: 3 goals*, 1 assist.
Messi ‘10 v Zaragoza: 3 goals, 1 penalty (singlehandedly) won, then converted (Zlatan).

* – One an OG.

What’s so staggering about this has nothing to do with the goals themselves, but where on the pitch these “separate incidents” occurred – they’re virtually, if not exactly, in the same spot. If you’d slapped a flag on the pitch where Ronaldo’s shirt was being tugged on that day over a deacde ago, I don’t doubt for a second it might have sprouted between the legs of Lionel last night as he fought for possession. The same can be said for both Diego recreations.

Judging by the brilliance Lionel’s shown in his career thus far, would you doubt for a moment if I said it’s all done consciously, on purpose? I think not.

Now I just wonder if he, like any good cover band, takes requests…

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Category: Spain La Liga