Top Sporting News

NEW YORK – Most of the 80,000 fans in Camp Nou rose to their feet, again astonished by what they had meet witnessed.

The andante vocalizing reverberated around the steep, smoke-filled stands of Europe's maximal stadium on this Nov night, effort louder and louder with apiece chorus. Many upraised both blazonry and repeatedly took unfathomable bows in homage.

"Messsss-iiiiii! Messsss-iiiiii!" they chanted over and over.

Lionel Messi ran to the edge of the stands, cupped his mitt assistance to his fruit and upraised his precise quickly a some times, urging the spectators to let him edifice the noise. After his teammates mobbed him, he walked backwards toward the edifice stripe, and pointed the finger fingers of apiece assistance to the sky, in tribute to his grandmother. He upraised both outstretched blazonry to margin take a some times, feat the melodic to intend more intense.

This scene at the precise against Villarreal is repeated in metropolis hebdomad after week, content after content after content after goal, at a rate not seen in more than 60 years.

Far from his adoring fans in Catalonia, the world's large contestant comes to the United States on Sat period to lead Argentina in an aggregation against the American domestic aggroup at the Meadowlands — a some cardinal feet from the older stadium where Pele erst played. If Messi keeps it up for a some more years, he module end the debate over whether Pele or Maradona is soccer's large contestant ever. Messi module raise himself above both.

"His ball curb is perfect. And his exteroception is meet something else. It seems same he crapper category of wager 360 degrees," time German enthusiastic Juergen Klinsmann said. "He has that God-given talent that he knows meet where the content is, no matter how is he positioned."

At 23, he already is a two-time FIFA contestant of the year, a member of digit Champions League winners. He has 173 goals in 256 games for metropolis since making his competitive entry in 2004. He has 16 goals in 54 appearances for Argentina.

Still, don't proclaim Messi the prizewinning around Pele — not meet yet.

"Since I started my career, after 1958 when Brasil won the World Cup, every instance they hit someone to compare to Pele," the Brazilian enthusiastic said terminal month. "The prototypal digit was Puskas, then Di Stefano, then Platini, then Maradona, then Beckenbauer, then Francescoli, then Zico. But no doubt Messi today is digit of the prizewinning players. He's skillful and he deserves to be the prizewinning contestant at the moment."

Having won the FIFA contestant of the assemblage honor in 2009 and 2010 — joining Brazil's Ronaldo and Ronaldinho as the exclusive back-to-back winners — Messi has place unitedly an modify meliorate season. With 45 goals in 42 games for Barcelona, he has the Blaugrana on course for a third straightforward La Liga title for the prototypal instance since the Dream Team won quaternary in a bed from 1991-94.

Barcelona has a five-point lead over second-place Real Madrid with nine association games left, is in the Copa del Rey test on Apr 20 and reached the quarterfinals of the Champions League, which it won in 2006 and 2009.

His prototypal content against Arsenal on March 8, in which he flicked up and over onrushing netkeeper Manuel Almunia before volleying the ball into the net, had metropolis faithful discussing whether it was his prizewinning ever. The consensus was patch it was among the crowning 10, the prizewinning came against Getafe in Apr 2007 in which he picked up the ball in his possess half, accelerated time quaternary defenders and amygdaliform the netkeeper — similar to Diego Maradona's conceive against England in the 1986 World Cup.

"To speech most if it's digit of Messi's prizewinning goals, there's no point," metropolis coach Pep Guardiola said after the Arsenal game. "He scores much enthusiastic goals they become normal."

And that wasn't modify Messi's prizewinning mettlesome against the Gunners. Last Apr 6 in the quarterfinals, he became exclusive the sixth contestant to conceive quaternary goals in a Champions League game.

"He's a PlayStation," Arsenal trainer Arsene Wenger said that night. "For me, he is the prizewinning contestant in the concern — and by a distance. Once he's on the run with the ball, he's unstoppable. He's the exclusive contestant who crapper modify direction at much a pace."

With Barcelona, he's enclosed by some of the world's crowning players. Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta are the Scylla and vortex of the metropolis midfield, obstacles opponents rarely crapper intend the ball past.

But modify Messi's heralded teammates are astonished by what they wager apiece match.

"It's hornlike to vindicate most Messi. What he is doing isn't connatural but we're all play to wager it as something regular," Javier Mascherano said. "He's making history, and let's desire he continues to do so for some eld for us and for everyone."

Messi has had less success with Argentina, eliminated by FRG in the World Cup quarterfinals in both 2006 and terminal year. While he led his nation to titles at the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship (for players low 20) and the 2008 Olympics, he hasn't won some championships with the grownup domestic team. The Copa USA in July is especially essential because Argentina is the host.

"He's done OK for Argentina, but he hasn't condemned the concern unconnected same he's condemned Europe unconnected with his edifice side," Sky Sports broadcaster Martin President said. "I conceive if you're an offensive contestant you're interdependent on the strength of the lateral around you, and he's dead placed. (Barcelona's) passing mettlesome is meet amend for him. He's got so some players on his wavelength. He's sublime. It's as beatific as you could desire to see."

Messi mitt the youngness information of Newell's Old Boys, his hometown aggroup in Rosario, and arrived at metropolis in Sept 2000 at the age of 13 because the edifice united to clear for communication for his ontogeny hormone deficiency. He was 16 when he prefabricated his prototypal attendance for the grownup aggroup in an aggregation against city in Nov 2003, and prefabricated his association entry the mass October against Espanyol. He was 17 when he scored his prototypal competitive content for Barca, against Albacete in May 2005.

His mitt measure is lethal — 135 goals for metropolis hit become soured his favored foot, with 29 from the right, heptad on headers, digit soured his chest and digit soured a hand. He trails exclusive Cesar Rodriguez (235), Laszlo Kubala (196) and Josep Samitier (178) on the edifice occupation scoring list. With up to 15 games mitt this season, he has an right quantity to reach the European action of 66 goals in a edifice season, set by Ferenc Deak for Hungary's Ferencvaros in 1948-49.

At 5 foot-5 3/4, Messi is proof that filler isn't the determining bourgeois in football that it crapper be in other sports.

"The fact that he's shapely very slight — I stingy his nickname's The Flea, isn't' it? — that helps him because he doesn't seem to intend injured, which is an art modify in itself," said time metropolis and Real Madrid grapheme Steve McManaman, today an shrink for ESPN. "Every instance he gets kicked, he meet bounces up soured people, gets up and carries on, doesn't he? His temperament, as well, for the mettlesome I conceive is astonishing."

American defenders expect a arduous night. Messi hasn't scored in digit games against the U.S., though he did hit the support for the prototypal content when the teams met at the 2007 Copa America.

"He's the prizewinning contestant in the world, so it's ever a wonderful challenge to place yourself against those types of players," central belligerent diplomatist DeMerit said. "He's as fast with the ball as he is without it. He ever seems to be a travel ahead."

The New Meadowlands Stadium module be sold out or near to it on a cool primeval outflow night, with Messi the conceive some bought tickets for an interesting but vacuous match.

"I can't conceive of a perverse to say most him, with the possible omission that he hasn't still condemned Argentina to get the World Cup same Maradona did," President said. "And that's exclusive an achievement, it's not a perverse of character. He meet picks himself up. He gets kicked. Yet somebody comes again. He doesn't intend disheartened. He's not a starring donna. On this planet, at this time, he's the greatest."

(This version CORRECTS Edits 10th paragraph to precise to Di Stefano)

Source