Zubizarreta: Anybody who loves football feels lucky to watch Messi

Dec 10, 2012 2:05:00 PM

The Barcelona sporting director believes that the players made it hard for themselves during their 2-1 win over Betis on Sunday night, in which the Argentina forward scored twice

Barcelona sporting director, Andoni Zubizarreta, believes that Lionel Messi’s talent is enjoyed by all those who love football.

The Blaugrana forward, who is still only 25, broke the latest record in his prestigious career by reaching 86 goals in 2012 with two strikes against Betis on Sunday night, surpassing Gerd Muller’s previous best-ever tally of 85.

Zubizarreta thinks that Messi will be remembered over the coming years as one of the all-time greats, and admitted that the club were scared he could have picked up a bad injury in Barca’s 0-0 draw with Benfica last Wednesday.

"In the end, Messi's records will be valued over time," he told Canal+. "It sounds simple but it serves to describe the player as well, who has such talent.

"We had the scare the other day, but anyone who loves football feels lucky to see Messi on the field."

The former Spain goalkeeper also voiced his opinion on Barca’s performance in their 2-1 win over Betis at the weekend, which he believes was made unnecessarily difficult by an inferior second-half showing.

Zubizarreta added: "In the beginning we had a lot of control in the game, we seemed fluent but, at 2-1, [Betis] could have gotten into the game.

"During the second half we have learn to keep our form up. We have forced a lot and it was a very over-complicated victory."