That’s what BBC’s Tim Vickery thinks:
“With all the individual endorsement deals, FIFA World Player of the Year awards and so on, it can be easy to lose sight of the fact that football is a team game.
“A player’s performance, though, should not be judged on how many stepovers he performed, but by how his display contributed to the team’s objective.
“Lionel Messi against Arsenal is an illustration. The little man had a profound effect on the game. He wants the ball played to his feet and the opposition are justifiably terrified by the prospect of him turning and spinning into one of his dribbles, and so they try to crowd him out.
“The centre-back on that side of the field is concerned with pushing up and denying him space, which means that if Ibrahimovic can spin off the other centre back he is through on goal. There is no cover. The mere presence of Messi has negated the key advantage of the back four formation.”
I couldn’t agree with Vickery more. The fact is that Messi cannot demonstrate his most obvious talents when the opposition are so focused on negating those talents. So Messi must do whatever he can to help his team. He must become the beautiful decoy.
And that’s why we shouldn’t really focus on the fact that Messi hasn’t looked the best player in the world in recent games. It’s a paradox that only the top coaches can fully appreciate: Messi’s “best-ness” can make him appear not to be the best because of how opposing teams and players try to negate him.
