When Lionel Messi first broke into the Barcelona group he wasn’t the silent, devastating predator we all know and deify in the present day.
Prior to his days of lurking within the shadows, methodically stalking his prey earlier than pouncing with the hypnotic ruthlessness of a peregrine falcon, Messi was an explosive dynamo – a mesmeric, however comparatively typical, winger enjoying on the final line of defence with one everlasting setting: GO!
Any why not? The little Argentine was completely suited to the position. He had tempo and agility popping out the wazoo, and a mind for objective that almost all prime strikers might solely dream of. And but, Pep Guardiola was perceptive sufficient, and courageous sufficient, to play him a lot deeper.
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It all started forward of Barcelona’s journey to the Bernabeu to face Real Madrid in May 2009. A win would all however seal the La Liga title, and the primary prong of an historic Treble. While analysing his opponents, Guardiola observed {that a} sizeable hole opened up between Madrid’s defenders and midfielders each time they pressed the opposite group, and he devised a daring plan to use it.
“When the midfielders chased the ball the defenders stayed behind, opening up a space of about 30 metres,” ex-Barcelona treasurer Xavier Sala-i-Martin recalled on the BBC documentary Pep Guardiola: Chasing Perfection. “And Pep thought, wow, what if we put Messi in the midfield, with 30 metres to run into.”
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It labored gangbusters, with Barca working out 6-2 winners and Messi scoring two and helping one other to seal his aspect’s greatest win over Los Blancos for 35 years. Afterwards, Guardiola was so blown away by the success of his tactical tweak that he determined to maintain Messi within the position completely.
“That day changed the history of football,” Sala-i-Martin insisted. “Also the history of Barcelona and the history of Messi.”
(Image: Getty Images)
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Messi ended the season with 38 targets in all competitions, the final of which being the second strike in a 2-0 win over Manchester United within the Champions League closing. A 12 months later he ended the marketing campaign with 47 targets, and after that he bagged 53, after which 73.
His new position afforded him the liberty to have an effect on the sport from all angles, mixing his ridiculous attacking qualities together with his similarly-mind-boggling, and oft under-appreciated, artistic ones, and in doing so, squeezed each final drop of magic out of arguably the best and most full footballer of all time. Bravo, Pep. Bravo.