Messi: ‘The truth is that I’ve been very calm. My teammates, manager and the people that are important to me have confidence in me, and that makes me happy’
Messi: ‘It’s important that the team has found its form again, like we did in Germany. We have to keep on playing like this, important games are coming up’
Iniesta: ‘We have to keep enjoying Messi, and he has to keep enjoying the team around him’
– Surprise, surprise. The day Iniesta returns to form, Leo Messi goes home having scored a quadruple. Coincidence? Don’t be silly, of course not!
Lately, Messi has received much criticism despite giving 100% in every match. La Pulga is the Barca player who has been on the pitch for longer this season and has scored 27 goals for us in the process. Leo is only one goal behind the supposedly superhuman Cristinita Ronalda. So why are some fans unhappy with him?
Well, it all comes down to incredibly high expectations. When you are the star of a team who has won 13 out of the last 16 competitions entered, every dip in form is analysed and journalists are quick to find the reasons – or, in the Madrid media’s case, make them up…
At this moment in time, Iniesta, Messi and Xavi are simply indispensable. If Barca are to retain the Champions League title and challenge for La Liga, those 3 little giants must be fit, motivated and spur the rest of the team on.
Leo, Andres and Xavi have been playing together for so long that they always look for each other on the pitch, combining in short spaces, tiring their rivals until, suddenly, a through-pass creates a clear goalscoring chance or enough space them to dribble their way in.
We all know how it works: Xavi organises, Iniesta creates, Messi finishes. If those 3 are involved, rivals know a tough match is ahead – they are aware they will spend most of the time chasing imaginary shadows.
Don’t get me wrong, I am proud of Guardiola’s policy of promoting La Masia youngsters but, right now, the difference in quality between Cuenca, Tello, Montoya and, say. Alexis, Villa (when fit) and Alves is abismal. Sure, one of them can come into the team and make a positive impact but the responsibility to carry the game forward must remain with the most experienced players.
MESSI IS THE GREATEST PLAYER ALIVE, BUT XAVI AND INIESTA ARE HIGHLY RESPONSIBLE FOR HIS SUCCESS!!!!!!
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