Skip to main content

Messi’s enduring brilliance rewarded with another Ballon d’Or Paris (AFP) – Some might question whether Lionel Messi really deserved to win his latest Ballon d’Or prize ahead of other worthy candidates, but the Argentinian has been rewarded for continuing to be so good for so long. The most turbulent year of Messi’s glittering career, in which he was forced to tearfully bid farewell to Barcelona, ends with him –- at the age of 34 — claiming a record-extending seventh Ballon d’Or for the best player in the world. In Germany they thought it had to be Robert Lewandowski’s year after he missed out 12 months ago when the 2020 edition was scrapped due to the pandemic. Karim Benzema might have had plenty of support in Spain for his remarkable performances with Real Madrid, and Jorginho could stake a claim following a year in which he won the Champions League with Chelsea as well as Euro 2020 with Italy. Yet it is the enduring brilliance of Messi -– who won the last award in 2019 — which stays in the minds of the jurors when it comes to voting. Having joined Paris Saint-Germain in August, he is the first male player to win the award while with a French club since Jean-Pierre Papin of Marseille in 1991, although it was his achievements with Barcelona and with Argentina that counted towards him effectively retaining his crown. Messi tried unsuccessfully to force his departure from Barcelona in August 2020 but he showed no signs of rancour as he stayed put at the Camp Nou and ended last season with 38 goals in 48 games for his boyhood club. – International success at last – These are the kind of remarkable figures that he has made so mundane over the course of his career –- indeed he had actually scored more goals than that in 10 of his previous 11 seasons. Messi was the top scorer in La Liga for the fifth consecutive year with 30 goals and won the Copa del Rey, scoring twice in the final as Barcelona beat Athletic Bilbao 4-0. This will always be remembered as the year his long association with the Catalan giants came to an end, after 672 goals in 778 appearances, a record goal tally for one club. However, 2021 was also the year he finally won a major international title, captaining Argentina to victory in the Copa America with a 1-0 win against Brazil in the final at the Maracana. He scored four goals in the tournament as Argentina won the South American championship for the first time since 1993. “I think I won this trophy thanks to what we did at the Copa America so I dedicate this to my teammates,” he said after being handed his latest Ballon d’Or at the Chatelet Theatre in central Paris. – Unfinished business – However the shame was that hardly any fans were in the stadium to witness Argentina’s Copa America success due to coronavirus restrictions, only adding to the sense that, despite all he has achieved, Messi still has unfinished business. Not least at PSG, where he has so far played just 11 games since arriving in August, and scored just four goals. Messi did provide three assists for the Parisians in a Ligue 1 match on Sunday but it remains to be seen how motivated the Argentinian is by the French league. He has other priorities. “My dream is to win another Champions League,” he said at his unveiling in August, with the last of his four European Cups coming in 2015. Then there is the really big one: the World Cup in Qatar will be underway this time next year and Messi will be 35 by then. That will surely be his last chance to win the greatest trophy of all, and you imagine he would swap his seven Ballons d’Or to get his hands on it.


Paris (AFP) – Some might question whether Lionel Messi really deserved to win his latest Ballon d’Or prize ahead of other worthy candidates, but the Argentinian has been rewarded for continuing to be so good for so long.

The most turbulent year of Messi’s glittering career, in which he was forced to tearfully bid farewell to Barcelona, ends with him –- at the age of 34 — claiming a record-extending seventh Ballon d’Or for the best player in the world.

In Germany they thought it had to be Robert Lewandowski’s year after he missed out 12 months ago when the 2020 edition was scrapped due to the pandemic.

Karim Benzema might have had plenty of support in Spain for his remarkable performances with Real Madrid, and Jorginho could stake a claim following a year in which he won the Champions League with Chelsea as well as Euro 2020 with Italy.

Yet it is the enduring brilliance of Messi -– who won the last award in 2019 — which stays in the minds of the jurors when it comes to voting.

Having joined Paris Saint-Germain in August, he is the first male player to win the award while with a French club since Jean-Pierre Papin of Marseille in 1991, although it was his achievements with Barcelona and with Argentina that counted towards him effectively retaining his crown.

Messi tried unsuccessfully to force his departure from Barcelona in August 2020 but he showed no signs of rancour as he stayed put at the Camp Nou and ended last season with 38 goals in 48 games for his boyhood club.

– International success at last –

These are the kind of remarkable figures that he has made so mundane over the course of his career –- indeed he had actually scored more goals than that in 10 of his previous 11 seasons.

Messi was the top scorer in La Liga for the fifth consecutive year with 30 goals and won the Copa del Rey, scoring twice in the final as Barcelona beat Athletic Bilbao 4-0.

This will always be remembered as the year his long association with the Catalan giants came to an end, after 672 goals in 778 appearances, a record goal tally for one club.

However, 2021 was also the year he finally won a major international title, captaining Argentina to victory in the Copa America with a 1-0 win against Brazil in the final at the Maracana.

He scored four goals in the tournament as Argentina won the South American championship for the first time since 1993.

“I think I won this trophy thanks to what we did at the Copa America so I dedicate this to my teammates,” he said after being handed his latest Ballon d’Or at the Chatelet Theatre in central Paris.

– Unfinished business –

However the shame was that hardly any fans were in the stadium to witness Argentina’s Copa America success due to coronavirus restrictions, only adding to the sense that, despite all he has achieved, Messi still has unfinished business.

Not least at PSG, where he has so far played just 11 games since arriving in August, and scored just four goals.

Messi did provide three assists for the Parisians in a Ligue 1 match on Sunday but it remains to be seen how motivated the Argentinian is by the French league. He has other priorities.

“My dream is to win another Champions League,” he said at his unveiling in August, with the last of his four European Cups coming in 2015.

Then there is the really big one: the World Cup in Qatar will be underway this time next year and Messi will be 35 by then.

That will surely be his last chance to win the greatest trophy of all, and you imagine he would swap his seven Ballons d’Or to get his hands on it.



from World Soccer Talk https://ift.tt/3d3jpMk
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Where to find Colombia vs. Ecuador on TV and streaming If you’re trying to find out how you can watch Colombia vs. Ecuador, you’ve come to the right place. With the national teams in the CONMEBOL region continuing their path to qualify for the 2022 World Cup, the latest game in the World Cup qualifying features Colombia vs. Ecuador, live on U.S. streaming and pay-per-view television. Here are all of the details of where you can watch it via legal streaming and pay-per-view television: Who: Colombia vs. Ecuador What: CONMEBOL World Cup qualifier When: Game kicks off at 5pm ET / 2pm PT; Thursday, October 14, 2021 Where: Live exclusively on fubo Latino, fuboTV and pay-per-view   Broadcasts of games are available in English-language and Spanish-language. The only legal and exclusive ways to watch Colombia vs. Ecuador live are fubo Latino, fuboTV and pay-per-view. With fubo Latino, it’s $32.99 per month. Plus you get over 25 live TV channels. With fubo Latino, you can watch the game(s) on your PC or Mac as well as Roku, iPhone and Android phones, Amazon FireTV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Android TV, Samsung Smart TV and Xbox One. If you connect any of these devices to your TV, you can watch the game on your big screen. In addition to live and exclusive coverage of all of the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers, fubo Latino also includes: • Univision • TUDN • FOX Deportes • ESPN Deportes • beIN SPORTS • And, in all, over 25 live channels of the TV you love. Courtesy of World Soccer Talk, download a complimentary copy of The Ultimate Soccer TV And Streaming Guide, which features details on where to watch all of the leagues from around the world on US TV and streaming. SEE MORE: Schedule of World Cup qualifiers on US TV and streaming To find out when soccer games are on, download the free Soccer TV Schedules App which includes listings of all of the live soccer matches available in the United States (available on Apple iOS devices and Android devices).  

If you’re trying to find out how you can watch Colombia vs. Ecuador, you’ve come to the right place. With the national teams in the CONMEBOL region continuing their path to qualify for the 2022 World Cup, the latest game in the World Cup qualifying features Colombia vs. Ecuador, live on U.S. streaming and pay-per-view television. Here are all of the details of where you can watch it via legal streaming and pay-per-view television: Who: Colombia vs. Ecuador What: CONMEBOL World Cup qualifier When: Game kicks off at 5pm ET / 2pm PT; Thursday, October 14, 2021 Where: Live exclusively on fubo Latino , fuboTV and pay-per-view   Broadcasts of games are available in English-language and Spanish-language. The only legal and exclusive ways to watch Colombia vs. Ecuador live are fubo Latino , fuboTV and pay-per-view. With fubo Latino, it’s $32.99 per month. Plus you get over 25 live TV channels. With fubo Latino, you can watch the game(s) on your PC or Mac as well as Roku...
Post a Comment
Read more

Klopp questions Liverpool attitude after Brighton draw Liverpool (AFP) – Jurgen Klopp criticised the way Liverpool responded to squandering a two-goal lead as Brighton claimed a 2-2 draw at Anfield on Saturday. Jordan Henderson and Sadio Mane had put the Reds 2-0 in front after 24 minutes but Graham Potter’s team fought back with goals from Enock Mwepu and Leandro Trossard either side of half-time. It was just the sixth time Liverpool failed to win a Premier League home game after leading by two goals. Yves Bissouma hit the post and Trossard had a late goal disallowed for offside as the Seagulls threatened to complete a remarkable comeback win. “In the second half, we were not good enough. The body language I didn’t like it all,” the German said.  “It was like, ‘Oh my God, it’s really tough’. Yeah, it was clear before the game. “The best way to defend Brighton is to have the ball and play in the spaces where they are exposed, but we didn’t do that and that’s a problem.” Mane and Mohamed Salah had goals ruled out for handball and offside respectively as Liverpool dominated but failed to blow Brighton away in the first half. Klopp’s side remain second but missed the chance to keep pace with leaders Chelsea, who moved three points clear following their 3-0 win at Newcastle and Manchester City’s shock 2-0 defeat to Crystal Palace. “It feels like a defeat, not only because we were 2-0 up and didn’t win. It’s because we scored two of the most beautiful goals I’ve ever seen us score, which were disallowed,” added Klopp. Liverpool host Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday before visiting fourth-placed West Ham in the Premier League next weekend.

Liverpool (AFP) – Jurgen Klopp criticised the way Liverpool responded to squandering a two-goal lead as Brighton claimed a 2-2 draw at Anfield on Saturday. Jordan Henderson and Sadio Mane had put the Reds 2-0 in front after 24 minutes but Graham Potter’s team fought back with goals from Enock Mwepu and Leandro Trossard either side of half-time. It was just the sixth time Liverpool failed to win a Premier League home game after leading by two goals. Yves Bissouma hit the post and Trossard had a late goal disallowed for offside as the Seagulls threatened to complete a remarkable comeback win. “In the second half, we were not good enough. The body language I didn’t like it all,” the German said.  “It was like, ‘Oh my God, it’s really tough’. Yeah, it was clear before the game. “The best way to defend Brighton is to have the ball and play in the spaces where they are exposed, but we didn’t do that and that’s a problem.” Mane and Mohamed Salah had goals ruled out for handball an...
Post a Comment
Read more

Champions ‘cease operations’ as money problems dog Chinese football Shanghai (AFP) – Chinese Super League champions Jiangsu FC have “ceased operations”, the club said on Sunday, underlining the financial problems roiling football in the country. Jiangsu, who won the domestic title for the first time just three months ago, are owned by the conglomerate Suning — which also owns Italian giants Inter Milan. The demise of Jiangsu, until recently known as Jiangsu Suning, could be followed in the coming days by the closure of fellow CSL side Tianjin Teda. Chinese football has in recent years gained a reputation for lavish spending on foreign players and coaches, as the country pushed to become a world leader in the sport. Jiangsu brought in ex-England coach Fabio Capello and signed Brazilians Alex Teixeira and Ramires for 50 million euros and 28 million euros respectively. In the summer of 2019 they came close to capturing Real Madrid superstar Gareth Bale. But, even prior to the coronavirus pandemic, money had begun to dry up across Chinese football. “Even though we are reluctant to part with the players who have won us the highest honours, and fans who have shared solidarity with the club, we have to regretfully make an announcement,” Jiangsu FC said in a statement. “From today, Jiangsu Football Club ceases the operation of its teams.” The club from the eastern city of Nanjing blamed an “overlap of various uncontrollable elements”. “In the past six months the club has been looking around to seek a takeover, trying with utmost sincerity to transfer the club’s equity, not giving up a single opportunity to pass on the club,” it said. Amid reports of financial difficulties, Suning’s chairman Zhang Jindong earlier this month hinted at a pivot away from sport, in comments which also did not go unnoticed in Italy, where Inter are battling rivals AC Milan for the Serie A title. “We will focus on retail business resolutely and without hesitation will close and cut down our business irrelevant to retail,” he said.

Shanghai (AFP) – Chinese Super League champions Jiangsu FC have “ceased operations”, the club said on Sunday, underlining the financial problems roiling football in the country. Jiangsu, who won the domestic title for the first time just three months ago, are owned by the conglomerate Suning — which also owns Italian giants Inter Milan. The demise of Jiangsu, until recently known as Jiangsu Suning, could be followed in the coming days by the closure of fellow CSL side Tianjin Teda. Chinese football has in recent years gained a reputation for lavish spending on foreign players and coaches, as the country pushed to become a world leader in the sport. Jiangsu brought in ex-England coach Fabio Capello and signed Brazilians Alex Teixeira and Ramires for 50 million euros and 28 million euros respectively. In the summer of 2019 they came close to capturing Real Madrid superstar Gareth Bale. But, even prior to the coronavirus pandemic, money had begun to dry up across Chinese football. ...
Post a Comment
Read more