Messi’s brilliance lies in the way he seeks the best solutions rather than the spectacular.
Do you remember that match when Messi scored from an outrageous bicycle-kick? No? Well, me neither. Okay, let’s try another one: how about when he scored a 40 yard screamer? You know, the one that went right into the top corner? Thing is, I don’t. And I hope you don’t either, because Messi has never scored a goal like that. Of course, it could very well be a coincidence that not a single goal of the hundreds of goals in Messi’s career, fits these descriptions. I think it isn’t. I think these observations point to something more fundamental about ‘La Pulga’ and why he truly is a one-of-a-kind genius. They tell us something about the rationality inherent in Lionel Messi’s game.
People call Messi’s way of playing football all kinds of things: magic, extraterrestrial, genius, unbelievable, or even magisterial (Hi there, Ray). None of what I’m gonna say is meant to challenge these characterizations. True, Messi’s game is often, and I mean: very, very often, spectacular, but at the same time, the following statement holds true: it’s never more spectacular than it needs to be. When Messi goes for the spectacular, it’s always as a means to an end, never as an end in itself. If he can score a goal the easy way, he will do so. If there’s an obvious pass to be played, he will do so. If dribbling through four opponents, for once, isn’t the best option, be sure that he won’t try it but do the sensible thing instead. If you see him scoring some wonder goal after dribbling past six players, I basically guarantee you that doing so was the best option available to him. […]
You see, for all his unlimited talent and all the unbelievable things he is capable of, Messi is a true La Masia graduate. For he knows that simple football, while being the hardest to execute, is ultimately the best football there is. Messi, in a nutshell, is Maradona, but with rationality instead of madness. And that’s why I think it’s highly unlikely that he will score from a bicycle-kick or with a shot from 40 yards out any time soon. Because most of the time, trying these things simply isn’t the rational thing to do. And Messi is all about rationality. –Lukas Tank via @grup14
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