Lionel Messi has lost speed but his football brain continues moving faster than most

Maybe, it’s conscionable that heavy wrong him, helium is inactive lone 16. The El Mundo of his Barcelona B teammates. The 1 who ne'er spoke. The 1 who lone spoke the connection of football. The shy 1 who brushstrokes vivid portraits with the ball. Telling him not to play is similar telling Clint Eastwood to hide movies. The 94-year-old’s latest movie Juror No 2 volition deed the surface adjacent week. A decennary ago, helium was asked wherefore helium has not yet retired. He replied: “The creation has not deserted me.” Art has not deserted him either—that is the biggest quality betwixt him and his large modern Cristiano Ronaldo. Messi was shot art; Ronaldo shot craft. Both are noble virtues.

Messi did Messi things 🐐

First MLS chapeau instrumentality to assistance @InterMiamiCF breaks the MLS single-season points record. pic.twitter.com/slAuAVHUS1

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) October 20, 2024

Art dwells connected his feet. The archetypal goal, against the New England Revolution successful the play decider, who were starring Inter Miami astatine 1 stage, showed. Messi and Luis Suarez rolled backmost their Barcelona days with a mates of one-touch passes, earlier the Uruguayan back-heeled the shot to Messi’s path. It’s imperfect, but Messi turns the shot into perfection. Even without touching the ball. He dropped his close shoulder, drafting the defender to the close side. He fto the shot rotation nether him, took a interaction to instrumentality the shot distant from the onrushing defender, slipped distant and twisted his assemblage successful to curl the shot into the acold corner. It was not truthful overmuch a deed arsenic a coax. The shot roseate softly and curved mildly past the outstretched arms of the goalkeeper. There was thing decorous, conscionable elemental and minimalistic movements. Just 2 exquisite touches. A extremity was born. The defender looked numb, arsenic though saying, “there’s not overmuch you tin bash against Messi.” Many defenders person mumbled the enactment successful their heads. Several times.

Just 2.37 seconds later, helium recovered the aforesaid portion of the nett with a poacher’s goal. He latched onto the extremity of a longish walk from the left, sneaked done the unfastened beforehand doorway of the defence, past a brace of distracted defenders. A regular extremity by his standards but those speedy feet were connected amusement again. He received the shot with the extracurricular of his left-boot, shifted to the wrong and past finessed the shot done the legs of the goalkeeper, brushing the underside of his shorts.

The hat-trick extremity was imagined successful Camp Nou. Leonardo Campana chipped the shot from the borderline of the container to Suarez lurking connected the close flank. He composed a volleyed walk that an unmarked Messi sliced the shot into the near corner. Routine goal. But helium was there. At the close time. At the close place.

His critics allege helium has mislaid his speed, his carnal speed. He so has, arsenic for immoderate 37-year-old athlete. But it does not impact him, oregon his game. Because his shot encephalon moves faster than astir others; his reflexes are inactive quicker than most. Age could rob him disconnected his velocity and suppleness. But not his intelligence. Precisely for these reasons, Argentina retains him successful the squad, inactive builds the squad astir him. Not arsenic a goodwill motion to 1 of the top of each time, but due to the fact that they privation him. In the sunset of their career, helium is inactive the pillar that holds them, inactive the antheral from whom each happening originates and ends. If helium retains his signifier and fitness, helium could motorboat his country’s rubric defence successful North America the twelvemonth after.

Two years, helium said aft the Bolivia game, is excessively agelong a play to visualise. “I don’t similar to accelerate clip oregon look ahead. I effort to bask each day. I anticipation I tin support playing astatine this level to consciousness bully and beryllium happy. I haven’t acceptable a extremity to scope the World Cup, but much truthful to unrecorded day-to-day and beryllium well,” helium said.

Then helium uttered a condemnation that explained him. “When I get to bash what I love, I americium happy,” helium said. There is simply a definite purity astir his emotion for the game. It is unconditional and unadulterated, from the depths of his heart, beyond numbers, honours and trophies. Football is not a pedestal for idiosyncratic glory, but an extremity successful itself, the 1 shot has loved backmost too. Only erstwhile the creation deserts him would helium slice beyond the horizon.