The world’s best player&nbsp; ensured Barca avenged the Coppa del Rey exit at the hands of Sevilla&nbsp;when he scored two goals in the 4-0 rout of the Rojiblancos. Lionel Messi not only helped the Catalan club thump Sevilla but also made sure the lead over Real Madrid got extended to a comfortable five points. Along the way Messi has reached another landmark in Barcelona history and made sure his name will be forever etched in the club’s folklore. He became the youngest player in the club’s prestigious history to reach 100 goals.
The humble Messi did not take the opportunity to gloat about his achievement but rather warned the season is still young with many games to be played and insisting it is too early to start celebrating. His maturity and focus are exemplary and the Coach Josep Guardiola must be counting his lucky stars for having such a talented player who is concentrated on achieving glory for the club as opposed to playing for personal achievements. Messi has actually scored 101 goals in 188 appearances for the club, including a remarkable 68 league goals in 124 matches.
Messi has scored 14 goals and assisted on six others in just 15 league matches while his totals for the season are 21 goals in 27 appearances in all competitions. More importantly, Messi led Barca to winning all six trophies in 2009 (La Liga, Copa del Rey, European Champions League, Supercopa de Espana, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA World Club Cup) in a historic and amazing feat unmatched by any other European club. Messi also had the honour of scoring Barca’s 5000th goal La Liga goal in February 2009 against Racing Santander.
Barca will be challenging for trophies for many seasons to come as long as the 22-year-old Argentine star remains with the club and does not suffer any injuries. If he remains with the club for several years then he will probably be considered Barca’s best player ever. Some pundits and fans are already calling him Barca’s best ever. For now, Messi is satisfied with playing his part in bringing trophies to the club.

Messi Reaches The Century Mark With Barca - World Soccer Talk

Messi Reaches The Century Mark With Barca

<div><figure class="image"></figure></div>It is mouth-watering just to imagine a match featuring the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Xabi Alonso and Karim Benzema taking on an opposing team which includes Lionel Messi, Thierry Henry, Xavi Hernandez and Zlatan Ibrahimovic to name just a few.
The dream of many football fanatics has come true following a spending frenzy by Los Blancos which included the record signing of Portuguese Ronaldo from Manchester United. The club obviously made other big name signings and also fortified its defense with the hope of challenging the Catalan club for honours both in Spain and Europe.
Barca did not hold back and retaliated by capturing Inter’s Ibrahimovic though that came at a steep price. Inter received star striker Samuel Eto’o in return in addition to&nbsp;a hefty payment for the Nerazzurri. The proud Catalan club still has plenty of weapons upfront besides the famous names mentioned above. Andres Iniesta has become an integral cog in the team’s free-flowing approach and often contributes with decisive balls from midfield while young striker Bojan Krkic is beginning to emerge as a threat. Krkic’s playing time will still be limited with the presence of Henry and Ibrahimovic yet he is sure to get regular cameo appearances under Coach Josep Guardiola’s stewardship.
Barca’s strengths are not limited to the frightening forward lineup or the midfield’s flair and solidity but also the defense’s compactness under the leadership of Carles Puyol. While Xavi and Iniesta supply the attackers with the ammunition to score goals, the energetic Yaya Toure supports the defense and covers the space left by the midfielders roaming forward. Captain Puyol marshals the defense and has found an able deputy in&nbsp;the form of Gerard Pique.
As for Los Galacticos, Kaka and Ronaldo pull the strings from midfield and move forward to support Captain Raul and French striker Karim Benzema. Behind them former Liverpool star Alonso ensures the team ticks like a well-oiled machine while Mahamadou Diarra recovers plenty of balls, breaks up opposition moves and offers cover for the defense. Iker Casillas remains a trustworthy goalkeeper between the posts and often performs incredible saves while Raul Albiol and Alvaro Arbeloa were brought in to strengthen the defensive line.
Real Madrid&nbsp;was not able to lure French International and Bayern Munich star Franck Ribery leaving club President Florentino Perez visibly disappointed. While Barcelona appears to be more of a solid, free-flowing and united team, Los Blancos have yet to mesh together and are still reliant on individual talents and flashes of brilliance from stars such as Kaka.
So the question for La Liga and all football fans is probably best summed up in this question: Would you pick a cohesive yet very talented team like Barca or will you bet on Real Madrid winning titles through the contributions of the individual superstars? It is Barca’s impressive talent working for the collective&nbsp;good&nbsp;in a face-off with&nbsp;Real’s awfully talented superstars who are still relying on their skills to gel into a successful team.
Both Kaka and Ronaldo achieved success with their previous clubs but they have not played together prior to this season and Los Blancos have not won in Europe for a long time. On the other hand, Barca have won a historic treble last season and probably have the best player in the world at the moment in the shape of Leo Messi.

ALL POSTS TAGGED "guardiola" - Page 2

Ballon d'Or

Messi Reaches The Century Mark With Barca

Leagues: La Liga

Would You Pick Real Madrid Or Barcelona?