IS MESSI THE BEST EVER?

The very basic level of sports.

THE BEST PLAYER IN THE WORLD

CASE FOR LIONEL MESSI

       When we all hear the name Lionel Messi, what comes to our mind is that 5ft7 dude, with the most mesmerising left foot ever seen and a host of awards and personal achievements (including 5 balon d'ors). The debate for who is the world's best player raging on in the past 11 years, this is because two footballers have 'duopolized' it. They are Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. As a matter of fact, the last time any other player won it apart from them was Kaka in 2007. Since then, it has been a tug of war with Messi being narrowly on top, at least for the next few months. Messi has 5 balon d'ors while Ronaldo has 4. However, Ronaldo is widely tipped to pip Messi to this year's prize. Messi and Ronaldo continue to divide fans, coaches and fellow players alike, at the same time they continue to draw pundits from every angle for the consistency and brilliance. However, one baffling issue is that we can not say for sure who is out rightly better. Year after year they continue to set and break records while making other footballers look silly on the pitch (ask Boateng about Messi and do the same to Pique about Ronaldo). So what we at grass sports want to do now is to present a case why Messi is should be considered as the best.

       'Coaching the best player in the world is an honour for me'. This was the statement made by Sampaoli when he was newly appointed as the new coach of the Argentine national team. Messi is widely regarded by journalists, fans and players alike as not only being the current best footballer alive but being the best ever. To sum up Messi in one word for us would be 'magical'! The way Messi touches the ball is with the elegance of a ballet dancer yet with the girth of a tiger. Messi has won 5 balon d'ors, scored the most goals in a calender year (91 in 2012), scored the most goals in a champions league match (5), scored the most goals in la liga, provided the most assists in la liga, etc. To start listing all of Messi's accomplishments would be a hard task! Messi is a player that can easily adapt. In 2012, Pep Guardiola used him in the much revered 'false 9' position, and Messi excelled greatly. He was the propeller behind a Barca team under pep that is widely considered as the best in history. Messi is a proven goal scorer and assists provider haven won the European golden shoe a number of times. He is capable of winning games all by himself for barcelona, haven done this on several occasions. What is Messi's biggest attribute however is his uncanny ability to beat defenders with relative ease. Messi has a left foot that can dribble past 5 defenders at the same time! It doesn't matter the status of the defender, Messi can humiliate anyone when he pleases, just ask Sergio Ramos and Jerome Boateng! Messi also has in his possession the ability to pick out expert passess like a seasoned midfielder. This has led coaches to tweak the system so he can drop behind and dictate the pace of the game. A brilliant strategy for a player gradually leaving his prime. Messi is also sort of an introvert and a like-able fellow. He dedicates all his goals to his late grand mother.  This has drawn fans to him dearly. The only dent in his magnificent armour is the lack of a trophy with the Argentine senior team. In conclusion, Messi is truly the best (and probably) the best to ever kick a football, what a player!

What do you think, is he really the best? Share your views below.

ATLETICO DRAWS AGAIN

The very basic level of sports.

ATLETICO DRAWS AGAIN

Now we will be looking at the Roma vs Atletico Madrid game.

      Frankly speaking, this game failed to live up to its billing. It lacked the spark and thrills of the other matches. Atletico on a good day are up there with the best of the best in Europe but, they have been rightly accused of being too conservative at times. This was supposed to be a match to state their intent, to send a message to their group, but they failed to take advantage of it. Roma, albeit good, are not on the same level as Atletico and they were expected to lose the game. However, Atletico sat back, were happy to soak up pressure and failed to make good use of their counter attacks. This style of play can have an effect on their players. For example, Antonie Griezman does not get the same kind of buzz that Ronaldo, Messi, Neymar and even Mbappe gets, this is largely due to the kind of team he finds himself. In conclusion, we at grass-sports rate that match as 'VERY BORING'

Our analysis:

       Atletico: 6

       Roma: 5

The very basic level of sports.

NEYMAR CATAPULTES PSG TO STUNNING START.

      As promised, we will now talk about the PSG vs Celtic match. The odds were always staked against Celtic as PSG were widely expected to win this one. PSG didn't only win but completely blew away their opponents. There were times in the match where Celtic tried to ask some questions of PSG's defence, but, the truth remains that Brendan Rogers men were thoroughly outclassed and out muscled! One could easily spot the abyss that separated Celtic and PSG. However, this should come as no real surprise because PSG 'spent their way to the top'. They recruited some of the best players in the world and such a result is easily expected to say the least.

      Players such as Edison Cavani, Kylian Mbappe and Di Maria all dazzled, but the one who really caught the eye was Neymar jnr. I don't know if it would be crazy to state that 222m for a player is a bargain but Neymar is proving so! Taking to French league 1 like a fish takes to water, Neymar replicated that form against Celtic. He scored the first goal of the game but also gave the Celtic defenders a torrid time. This even led to one of the Celtic players labelling Neymar as 'the toughest opponent in the world right now'. Neymar completely dictated the pace of the game from start to finish and was the creative bedrock for this team mates. Ronaldo and co better watch out because this Neymar led PSG has a point to prove!

Our analysis:

            PSG: 9.8

            Celtic: 3

PREDICT AND WIN

The very basic level of sports.

As a bonus before our next post, there is a little challenge/competition for our dear readers and subscribers. It is the 'Grass root sports goal scorer challenge'. This is how it works; from a list of 5 top footballers in the champions league, you can select any one player and state the amount of goals that the player will score. For example, I pick Ronaldo and I say he will score a hat trick. So you can pick any player and state the number of goals to be scored.
HOW TO APPLY
1. Register your interest by commenting with your player and the anount of goals to be scored.
N.B:
The players to score are;
1. Cristiano Ronaldo
2. Lionel MessI
3. Robert Lewandoski
4. Neymar junior
5. Harry Kane.
So Pick your player and state the number of goals.
Please note that multiple selections will lead to disqualification.
HOW WILL THE WINNERS BE SELECTED
The first 5 people to successfully predict the number of goals their player will score will receive the prize of airtime rewards.
Who do you think will score? Who do you think will win?
Start commenting below!

The very basic level of sports.

      Welcome to Grass root sports my friend! Today, we are going to be analysing the performances of the top teams in the UEFA champions league. The new champions league season kick-started on the 12th of September 2017, with the head-liner being the Barcelona vs Juventus match. Other matches played were; Manchester United vs Basel, PSG vs Celtic, Roma vs Atletico Madrid, etc. What we will be doing now is to analyse the performance of these clubs and give them a rating on a scale of 1-10. Here we go!
Barcelona vs juventus
Take your mind back to this same fixture in the last champions league meeting. Barcelona had just performed a magic trick against Paris saint german- with the chief magician being Neymar- which involved a come back from a 4 goal deficit. Prior to this time, no other European team had achieved this! Barcelona had just performed a miracle! Juventus on the other hand had eased past A.S Monaco in no spectacular fashion. They were widely expected to be the underdogs, but we all know how that story ended. Fast forward to this current champions league season, a considerably weaker Juve side- having lost Leonardo Bonucci to AC Milan- took on a Barca side that also lost a star man- Neymar. There was a feeling about this match due to the fact that Giorgio Chiellini was sidelined due to injury. So it was a case of a Juve side that was deprived of their star defenders and a Barca side led by Lionel Messi who was hungry to get his first ever career goal against Gigi Buffon. Honestly, the outcome was not all that surprising as Juve were thoroughly beaten, losing by 3 goals to nothing. Barca were ruthless, Messi especially, and completely battered Juve with their lightning speed attack. Suarez was a constant thorn in the defenders' flesh. Dembele also dazzled. Overall, it was a well deserved victory for Barcelona.
Our rating: Barcelona 9.5
               : Juventus 5
Thanks for reading, in our next post, we will talk about the PSG vs Celtic match. Don't forget to comment!