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Canales Daily: Living In A Messi Moment
The great players of the past have moved on, but the present greatness of Lionel Messi is amazing as well
Aug 7, 2009 1:04:19 PM
By Andrea Canales
When I first started writing about soccer, I'd listen to stories of notable players that other sportswriters had covered. In particular, Larry Morgan would reminisce about covering the Los Angeles Aztecs of the North American Soccer League when the great Johan Cruyff played for the club.
Cruyff was only with the club one year, but I still sighed with envy and wished I had gotten a chance to see the amazing Dutch player, a legend for Barcelona, play in person. Sure, there's clips on the Internet and videotapes of his incredible moves, including the turn so innovative it was named after him, but that's not the same as watching that great talent live and in the moment.
At the Rose Bowl last week, and in Seattle more recently, people turned out by the thousands to make sure they didn't miss a legend in their own time.
Lionel Messi doesn't seem very imposing off the field. At the team's Beverly Hills hotel for a press conference, I nearly bumped into him in the lobby. Slightly shaggy-headed, five feet, seven inches, casually dressed in a polo, shorts and athletic sandals, he moved past the waiting reporters, who were slightly stunned, as he wasn't on the schedule to appear. He just happened to be passing by after the team's lunch. "Leo!", the journalists called after him, but he trotted on to the elevators and was gone.
That wasn't unusual, as Messi tends not to be vocal with the press.
Instead, he does his talking on the field. Deceptively fast, cunningly creative, he has an intuitive sense of where the ball is at all times, where it might be headed next and where might be the best place to put it to help his team.
Though he didn't score against the Los Angeles Galaxy, it was the rebound from his shot that Pedro Rodriguez collected for the opening goal. Messi pounced on the ball that Josh Saunders spilled, nimbly avoided the scrambling goalkeeper and drilled a shot that hit A.J. De la Garza on the goal line before the defender knew what happened.
Versus Seattle, Messi was even more dominant. In the early going, Sounders goalkeeper Kasey Keller heroically saved shot after shot, as Messi set up most of the chances, but then it almost was as if the little forward said, "Enough."
Messi took a scorching shot from distance to breach Keller's stoic defense of the Sounders' net. It had the perfect angle to elude the goalkeeper's dive and the power behind the shot was of the sort that normally launches balls into the upper tier of the stands, but this time, it was perfectly controlled.
Some players loaf a little without the ball, waiting for the moment it is on their foot before galvanizing into action. Messi is well aware that play on the ball is not even half of what is needed to score a goal. The spacing and movement of the entire team factor into creating an opportunity.
His second goal against Seattle was the result of trusting Xavi to make the right pass perfectly, moving into the open space in faultless timing and concluding with a cheeky finish between the legs of Keller.
Messi is a Mozart in cleats, a prodigy in full bloom of his skill, and still young enough that the realization now is that perhaps he is capable of another level yet, a gear as yet unseen in the sport.
In the meantime, the present magic is enchanting enough, the sort that sends kids out the door with the ball at their feet, eager to try to master a trick, or to practice a shot. Who knows if one of the thousands of children watching Messi live on this U.S. tour and newly enamored of the sport of soccer hasn't made a fateful decision to leave aside baseball or basketball, and chase the rolling ball on the grass instead, trying to follow in Messi's footsteps? Who knows what talent that might produce?
Whether in converting new fans or the next generation of players, Messi's play is as attractive and addictive as the Pied Piper's music, even to those who know little about soccer. His signature moves and techniques may one day bear his name, just as Cruyff's did.
One thing I am sure of, is that someday, I'll reminisce about being one of the ones lucky enough to see Messi play in person.
Andrea Canales is Chief Editor of Goal.com North America
For more on Spain click ahead to Goal.com's Spain homepage!
When I first started writing about soccer, I'd listen to stories of notable players that other sportswriters had covered. In particular, Larry Morgan would reminisce about covering the Los Angeles Aztecs of the North American Soccer League when the great Johan Cruyff played for the club.
Cruyff was only with the club one year, but I still sighed with envy and wished I had gotten a chance to see the amazing Dutch player, a legend for Barcelona, play in person. Sure, there's clips on the Internet and videotapes of his incredible moves, including the turn so innovative it was named after him, but that's not the same as watching that great talent live and in the moment.
At the Rose Bowl last week, and in Seattle more recently, people turned out by the thousands to make sure they didn't miss a legend in their own time.
Lionel Messi doesn't seem very imposing off the field. At the team's Beverly Hills hotel for a press conference, I nearly bumped into him in the lobby. Slightly shaggy-headed, five feet, seven inches, casually dressed in a polo, shorts and athletic sandals, he moved past the waiting reporters, who were slightly stunned, as he wasn't on the schedule to appear. He just happened to be passing by after the team's lunch. "Leo!", the journalists called after him, but he trotted on to the elevators and was gone.
That wasn't unusual, as Messi tends not to be vocal with the press.
Instead, he does his talking on the field. Deceptively fast, cunningly creative, he has an intuitive sense of where the ball is at all times, where it might be headed next and where might be the best place to put it to help his team.
Though he didn't score against the Los Angeles Galaxy, it was the rebound from his shot that Pedro Rodriguez collected for the opening goal. Messi pounced on the ball that Josh Saunders spilled, nimbly avoided the scrambling goalkeeper and drilled a shot that hit A.J. De la Garza on the goal line before the defender knew what happened.
Versus Seattle, Messi was even more dominant. In the early going, Sounders goalkeeper Kasey Keller heroically saved shot after shot, as Messi set up most of the chances, but then it almost was as if the little forward said, "Enough."
Messi took a scorching shot from distance to breach Keller's stoic defense of the Sounders' net. It had the perfect angle to elude the goalkeeper's dive and the power behind the shot was of the sort that normally launches balls into the upper tier of the stands, but this time, it was perfectly controlled.
Some players loaf a little without the ball, waiting for the moment it is on their foot before galvanizing into action. Messi is well aware that play on the ball is not even half of what is needed to score a goal. The spacing and movement of the entire team factor into creating an opportunity.
His second goal against Seattle was the result of trusting Xavi to make the right pass perfectly, moving into the open space in faultless timing and concluding with a cheeky finish between the legs of Keller.
Messi is a Mozart in cleats, a prodigy in full bloom of his skill, and still young enough that the realization now is that perhaps he is capable of another level yet, a gear as yet unseen in the sport.
In the meantime, the present magic is enchanting enough, the sort that sends kids out the door with the ball at their feet, eager to try to master a trick, or to practice a shot. Who knows if one of the thousands of children watching Messi live on this U.S. tour and newly enamored of the sport of soccer hasn't made a fateful decision to leave aside baseball or basketball, and chase the rolling ball on the grass instead, trying to follow in Messi's footsteps? Who knows what talent that might produce?
Whether in converting new fans or the next generation of players, Messi's play is as attractive and addictive as the Pied Piper's music, even to those who know little about soccer. His signature moves and techniques may one day bear his name, just as Cruyff's did.
One thing I am sure of, is that someday, I'll reminisce about being one of the ones lucky enough to see Messi play in person.
Andrea Canales is Chief Editor of Goal.com North America
For more on Spain click ahead to Goal.com's Spain homepage!
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