LIONEL MESSI KUTOKA DUNIA NYINGINE NA MAMBO MENGINE YA KIVINGINE VINGINE

MESSI

Kiboko ya rekodi zilizowahi kuwekwa kwenye soka barani Ulaya

BARCELONA, HISPANIA

ILIKUWA wiki mbaya kwa Lionel Messi. Kipigo kutoka kwa Real Madrid kwenye mchezo wa Clasico uliofanyika Camp Nou kilisababisha Barcelona kulitema taji la La Liga.

Na ndani ya wiki hiyo hiyo, maumivu yaliendelea kwa Muargentina huyo wakati alipokosa penalti kwenye mchezo wa nusu fainali ya Ligi ya Mabingwa barani Ulaya dhidi ya Chelsea na miamba hiyo ya Nou Camp ikitolewa kwenye michuano ya Ulaya na kulitema taji hilo.

Kulikuwa na majonzi, huzuni na kuumia baada ya matokeo hayo ndani ya wiki moja. Kuona timu hiyo kupoteza mataji mawili ndani ya wiki moja ni suala gumu linaloumiza.

Baada ya kutupwa nje ya michuano ya Ulaya, siku mbili baadaye Messi alibaki kwenye majonzi baada ya kocha wake, Pep Guardiola kwamba ataitema timu hiyo mwishoni mwa msimu.

Maisha ya Messi kwa msimu huu ndani ya uwanja kwa msimu huu yamekuwa ya aina yake. Kwa sasa ndani ya dimba, Messi amekuwa akifanya mambo makubwa.

Mabao mawili kwenye ushindi wa 7-0 dhidi ya Rayo Jumapili iliyopita ilirejesha uso wa furaha kwa Messi na namna walivyomshangilia kocha wao juzi ni jambo linalotia faraja zaidi.

Usiku wa juzi, Messi alifanikiwa kufunga ‘hat-trick’ kwenye mchezo wa ushindi wa 4-1 dhidi ya Malaga – lakini ushindi huo haukuizuia Real Madrid kunyakua ubingwa wa La Liga kwa msimu huu.

Mwenye furaha kwenye ushindi huo ni Messi – ambaye amezidi kuonyesha makali yake na kuandika rekodi nyingine kwenye kufumua nyavu kwa msimu huu.

Kwa sasa mchezaji huyo amekuwa mchezaji aliyefunga mabao mengi zaidi barani Ulaya kutokana na kufikia mabao 68 kwa msimu huu (yakiwamo mabao 46 kwenye Primera Division, na kuwa kinara wa nyakati zote kwa kufunga mara 14 katika michuano ya Ligi ya Mabingwa barani Ulaya).

Wakati Leo alipofunga mabao 53 katika msimu wa 2010-11 kulingana na Cristiano Ronaldo kwenye mabao yake aliyofunga msimu uliopita, alikuwa ndio kwanza ana umri wa miaka 23.

"Bado sijafikia kilele cha kiwango changu," alidai Muargentina huyo.

Kauli hiyo ni wazi ilionekana kuwachanganya mabeki wa timu pinzani. Je, ni idadi gani ya mabao atafunga mchezaji huyo kwa msimu ujao?

Kiukweli mchezaji huyo hakuna kinachoweza kumzuia chini ya ardhi kwenye kufikia malengo yake. Kutwaa tuzo ya Mwanasoka Bora wa Mwaka wa dunia mara tatu si jambo hapa.

Akiweza kufunga mabao mengi katika msimu wa 2010-11 na kufikia mabao 60 mapema mwezi uliopita, rekodi ya kumfikia Gerd Muller kwa mabao – ambaye alifunga mara 67 ilikuwa kwenye nafasi ya kuvunjwa na mkali huyo muda wowote.

Na hatimaye, ameweza kuivunja. Baada ya kushindwa kufunga katika mechi mbili dhidi ya Chelsea na pia kwenye Clasico, Messi ametikisa nyavu mara tatu katika mechi mbili na kuingia kwenye kitabu cha rekodi kwa mara nyingine na kubakiza mabao mawili tu kufikia 70 msimu huu, jambo linalowezekana kutokana na kubakiza mechi tatu kwa msimu huu.

Licha ya kushindwa kuivusha timu yake kwenye michuano ya Ulaya, Messi amekuwa na msaada mkubwa kwenye kikosi hicho cha Catalan, wakiweza kukipa taji la Spanish Supercopa, Uefa Super Cup na Club World Cup na kuna uwezekano wa kunyakua Copa del Rey msimu huu, mechi ambayo itakuwa ya mwisho kwa kocha Guardiola.

Hivyo – tatizo pekee lilijitokeza Camp Nou ni kupoteza mataji yao mawili makubwa, lakini kwa kuendelea kuwa na ‘Mr Messi’ wanaamini kuna mengi mazuri yataendelea kupatikana kwenye timu hiyo.

Raul's 71 Champions League strikes, Villa's five-minute hat-trick, Pele's 1281 goals: The records Messi has yet to break

Another major goal-scoring record was obliterated by the Barcelona wizard this week, but there are still some benchmarks that he has yet to smash

May 3, 2012 9:00:00 AM

 

MORE ON :  FC Barcelona, Lionel Messi

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ANALYSIS
By KS Leong

Will he or won't he become the greatest footballer ever?

Lionel Messi's latest record-breaking feat on Wednesday when he smashed Gerd Muller's landmark of 67 goals in a single European season has only strengthened his case to be recognised as the best player in the history of the game.

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While the jury is still debating on whether he really deserves to be hailed as the greatest of all time, as some of his colleagues at Barca have labelled him, there is no doubting that Messi is, by quite a country-mile, the best of his generation. And he has made breaking records his part-time hobby this campaign.

He became only the third player to win the Ballon d'Or three times; he is now the joint top scorer in a single European Cup season with 14 goals; he became the first player to score five goals in a single game in the Champions League era; he is the youngest player to reach 150 La Liga goals; he has surpassed Cristiano Ronaldo's haul of 40 strikes in one league term; he became Barca's all-time top marksman in official games; and of course there is his tally of 68 competitive goals and counting which took him past Muller. All of those were achieved in the first five months of 2012.

But despite his numerous records and goals, there are still countless major milestones that he has yet to shatter, milestones that, many would argue, the 24-year-old has to reach before he can be considered the greatest footballer ever.

Below we list some of the all-time records Messi is yet to conquer.

BARCELONA & LA LIGA

ALL-TIME RECORD		MESSI'S TOTAL
Barca all-time appearance record: Xavi - 626		326
Barca all-time top scorer in La Liga: Cesar Rodriguez - 192		165
Barca all-time top scorer (including friendlies): Paulino Alcantara - 369		259
Most goals scored in a single game for Barca: Joan Gamper - 9		5
Most Liga titles won for Barca: Xavi, Pep Guardiola, Josep Samitier - 6		5
La Liga all-time appearance record: Andoni Zubizarreta - 622		212
Most La Liga titles won: Francisco Gento - 12		5
All-time La Liga top scorer: Telmo Zarra - 252		165
Most goals scored in a single Liga game: Laszlo Kubala, Bata  - 7		4
Fastest hat-trick in La Liga (in minutes): David Villa - 5		12

Messi recently wiped out three records from this list: he has beaten Clemente Gracia's mark of 59 goals (including friendlies) in a single season as he currently stands on 70 (including friendlies), and he has eclipsed two of Cristiano Ronaldo's records from last season; six hat-tricks in one term (currently on seven) and 40 goals in one La Liga campaign (currently on 46).

Looking further ahead, the Argentine is bound to become Barcelona's all-time top scorer in the Spanish top flight as he needs just 28 strikes to usurp Cesar Rodriguez's tally of 192. And if he maintains his current scoring rate, he could overtake Paulino Alcantara in a season-and-a-half's time to become the club's all-time top marksman including unofficial games.

BARCELONA & CHAMPIONS LEAGUE/EUROPE

ALL-TIME RECORD		MESSI'S TOTAL
Most Champions League trophies for Barca: Andres Iniesta, Carles Puyol, Xavi, Victor Valdes - 3		3
Most Champions League appearances: Raul - 144		68
Most European Cup/Champions League trophies: Francisco Gento - 6		3
All-time top scorer in Champions League: Raul - 71		51
All-time top scorer in European competition: Raul - 73		52
Most top-scorer awards in Champions League: Gerd Muller - 4		3
Most goals in a single European Cup season: Jose Altafini - 14		14
Most scoring final appearances in European Cup/Champions League: Alfredo Di Stefano - 5		2
Most goals in European Cup/Champions League finals: Alfredo Di Stefano, Ferenc Puskas - 7		2
Most hat-tricks in the Champions League: Filippo Inzaghi, Mario Gomez, Michael Owen - 3		3

Any records in this category will have to be saved for next season and beyond. But barring a hat-trick from Bayern Munich's Mario Gomez in this year's Champions League final against Chelsea, Messi will tie Gerd Muller's total of four top-scorer awards in the competition.

One milestone that the Argentine did crack recently was Ruud van Nistelrooy's 12 goals in a single Champions League campaign. With 14 now, the Barca ace is levelled with Jose Altafini's mark, which was set during the European Cup era.

Messi continues to home in on Raul's legendary haul of of 71 goals in Europe's premier club competition. He is only 20 strikes behind, and at the rate he is going, he could comfortably smash that record within the next two campaigns - especially as the Schalke 04 veteran will be leaving Europe this summer.

ARGENTINA & INTERNATIONALS

ALL-TIME RECORD		MESSI'S TOTAL
All-time appearance record for Argentina: Javier Zanetti - 145		67
All-time top scorer for Argentina: Gabriel Batistuta - 56		22
All-time appearance record in World Cup finals: Lothar Matthaus - 25		8
All-time World Cup top scorer: Ronaldo - 15		1
Most World Cup wins: Pele - 3		0
Most goals in a single World Cup tournament: Just Fontaine - 13		1
Most World Cup tournaments: Antonio Carbajal, Lothar Matthaus - 5		2
All-time Copa America top scorer: Norberto Mendez, Zizinho - 17		2
Most Ballon d'Or wins: Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini, Marco van Basten -3		3

A lack of success on the international stage has always been Messi's Achilles Heel, and it's one of the main reasons why his fiercest critics, including Pele, have so far refused to recognise him as one of the greatest players of all time. On paper, he looks unlikely to equal or break any of the significant landmarks such as Ronaldo's status as the all-time World Cup top scorer, or beating Just Fontaine for most goals scored in a single finals tournament.

However, overtaking Gabriel Batistuta as his country's leading marksman is a distinct possibility, as he requires 35 more goals with the best part of a decade of international football ahead of him. As for individual honours, Messi could go into the history books in eight months' time if he becomes the first footballer to claim four Ballon d'Or crowns. With the way things are going so far in 2012, you wouldn't bet against him.

There is one record to end all records, the Holy Grail of landmarks which, if Messi is to achieve, could go some way to closing all arguments about whether or not he is the greatest ever: Pele's 1281-goal haul for club and country.

With only 270 official goals so far for club and country, Leo is still over 1000 strikes away from Pele's legendary mark. That's a long way to go and Barca will have to dig up the archives of Messi's goals in the junior teams, and he may have to keep a log of the number of times he will score when playing against his grandchildren in the backyard if he is to reach that tally!

Friday, May 04, 2012