I've seen him. He was amazing. There have been plenty of better players though.

And the number of goals he scored is questionable as well.

tbh I don't really know how you can see Messi in full flight and not be amazed by him. That dribble he did vs Espanyol earlier this season was as if he was dancing on water. His acceleration, balance, touch and change of direction is insane he looks levels ahead of everyone else on the pitch?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BVRlYDkaEM

:confused:

Did they call offsides that play?

Yeah they did.

nuts = tingled



you can skip like 1:15 in.

fox in the box. i don't care where he ranks in terms of all-time players, he's unanimously one of the most fun to watch.

Like I only really know American sports. I started to name drop American athletes but I don't want to get into all that on your thread. But with the sports I do know, when you start talking GOAT... somehow Messi has to have a presence that doesn't allow that play to not count. The striker (?) he passes to would not dare be offsides while playing on the same team as Messi. He'd rather die. To be the GOAT everything has to be in place and then some.

Aren't there rules against "high kicks"? Isn't that some kind of dangerous play? Or is it anything goes as long as you make contact with the ball? I didn't know they were allowed to go Bruce Lee on the field like that.

Left to the ref's discretion but should be outlawed imo. High boot (above knee level) outside the box usually results in a red but guys can fly kick at head height in the box and get away with it.

Somebody will get a boot in the head from a bicycle kick and they'll end up banning it imo.

it's allowed so long as it looks cool

I wish the NBA had that attitude. Maybe it would become watchable again.

Regarding Pele, you have to consider the time period. It's kinda like looking at Jimi Hendrix and saying he wasn't as talented as a lot of current day guitarists because they could probably replicate his shit with their eyes closed.

I'd look at Pele as a genius breakthrough in technology. He was the "invention of the wheel" of football. Sure, he was surrounded by great players but he stood out amongst them for a reason. He was a physical beast at a time when footballers didn't really take it that seriously.

He sparked that evolution. And I can't see any reason why - had he been born in the current era - he wouldn't be just as amazing with all of the advances we have made in the sport.

Put Messi in a time when the ball was heavy as fuck and barely even round, I am sure his dribbles would be comparatively underwhelming. His curled finishes would be minimal. It's about context. That's why it's probably best to go by generation rather than comparing Messi footage to Pele footage as if they were under the same circumstances.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi both crack the Top 5 for be because they are simply too good not to be in there.