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  1. Cup final for my team tomorrow. Second biggest cup competition in the state. Feeling right shite, dislocated my big toe on Thursday, everything is fucked but going to give it a go! Clubs first final since 1992. Let's hope this time tomorrow I'm back on here celebrating a true underdog story!!!
    2 points
  2. I hope he was there to encourage Messi into getting this new contract signed ASAP. If it wasn't for injuries then Puyol could have just been retiring around now, or last season. Unfortunately injuries took their toll and he had to retire earlier than he wanted to. Either way, he managed to have a long career and one of the most successful for any defender(both for club and country) in the modern era. A warrior who always gave 100% and a true professional, who didn't care about the fame side of football or the media attention you gain from it. You don't get many players like that anymore.
    1 point
  3. Puyol returns home to attend Messi's 594th official Barça game Why has Carles Puyol returned to Barcelona today to watch Lionel Messi play against UD Las Palmas on an odd number like his 594th official game for the club? The reason is that 593 were was the official amount of games Puyol played of Barcelona and Messi is about to surpass "El Gran Capitán" to move into third position as the player that's played the most times for the club. He still has Andrés Iniesta in 2nd with 638 and Xavi in 1st position with a whopping 767 official games for FC Barcelona. Carles Puyol held an interview with Barcelona based daily sports newspaper Mundo Deportivo where he had these anecdotes to tell about what he lived through as Messi's colleague and his personal thoughts on the genius. Messi is level with you on 593 games for the club, but he's managed it earlier than you at 30 years of age? Leo is going fast in everything he does and he's always been that way. I hope he ends up playing 500 more games for the club. The ranking says that Messi is in third position right now, behind Iniesta on 638 games and in first position Xavi on 767 official games. Do you think he's capable of going past them and becoming the player with the most games for Barça? It's not going to be easy to be honest, but if his body respects him where injuries are concerned as he gets older and he continues to evolve in the areas of the field where he can watch his physical exertion , then it is possible. You were playing for quite some time when Messi first broke into the team. What was the detail that most impacted you about him when he first played with you? The ease with which would not only read the game so as to decide beforehand on what to do off the ball, but then this incredible intuition on what the rival in front of him would do with his body movement depending on what choice he decided to make on the ball. That for me is the genius of Messi because he like Iniesta, know and read the possibilities that can be achieved before their opponent does. He wasn't up for fun and games even in training because he would want to be on the winning side even there. Seeing as you were more of a veteran than Messi when he first started playing in the first team... Did you give him any advice at the start so that his integration would be easier? He was and is very timid... He's an introvert and was more so then as what can only be described as a child breaking into such a team. But the Barcelona dressing room in general has always been a very close knit group and in that sense life in the squad is made very easy for players. Nobody is above anyone else and in that factor is where some others haven't lasted long or as long at Barcelona because to suppress how you are can only be done for so long. Did he ever try his tricks on you in training games like a nutmeg or something to overplay on? When he's on the filed of play be it an official game or even just training he's very competitive. Messi doesn't know how to differentiate between what's theoretical or competition. Most players use training to enhance their fitness or to progress in tactical or personal football areas. Messi uses everything and did so as a kid to win! He had all the tools, you knew there was very little to teach him even coaches in the tactical areas of football theory never said anything to him because off the ball he knows where to position himself for the good of the team. I remember a training game once where Pep put me as a man to man marker on Messi... Guardiola told me to use my usual method of playing as if I was in a much because otherwise we all knew Messi wouldn't play. I have to admit I tried everything and actually got upset at the way he was treating me in what I thought was disrespectfully... I even tried to kick him with Guardiola trying to stop the training game and everyone around us stopping and me running after him aiming air kicks at his arse. In the end we fell down and laughed. Obviously there was no malice from him or from me, but imagine how players on opposing sides feel when they're playing against him? What is the thing that has impacted you the most about Messi? Everything about him is incredible but for me his biggest asset and the detail that keeps him at the top is his ambition. The thing is that at the beginning he was spectacular in itself. He would take the ball and run with it dribbling past anyone that got in his way. The only way to stop him is to foul him because not only is he technically perfect, but for such a small player he has such body strength. Infact this is one of the features and the proof on what Cruyff said to change everything. Size and strength has absolutely nothing to do with talent and technique. Infact putting both features together, talent and technique will always win even in defence, but that's for a different interview (laughs). After his spectacular years he's evolved into a complete footballer, someone that can play anywhere from the back of midfield to the front and be the best by a long margin in the world. When I started off in football I was of the belief that work ethic and sacrifice would get you to the top... It does! I never really believed that talent was something you could be born with, but it is possible! So putting both factors together you have two ways to get to the top but only one of them makes you genuinely special and that is born talent. Messi is a genius and that's what's impacted me and everyone that knows him, has played with him or against him. They know it! They may say other things some of them, but they know that we know that they know it. (laughs) Lately some coaches have started to man mark him again like they used to do at the start of his career. You was one of the greatest defenders ever, what do you think about a coach telling you to man mark someone like Messi for 90 minutes? It's difficult to man mark any player for 90 minutes without making any errors. A modern defender works better with the freedom to read the game and the rivals he has in front of him. Within 10 minutes you have a pretty good picture of how they've set themselves up and also how each individual up front moves. Just as players playing in other areas of the field, we use what we're learning in any given game to predict and read our rival so as to be one step ahead. In the case of Messi you have another job on top of all that which is to not only read how he runs, but also to second guess him and be one step ahead. Now, Messi has been playing for over a decade at the highest end of football and I've seen defenders know what he wants to do and still not be able to stop him. So if there are times where you know what he's going to do and you find it extremely difficult to stop him executing his thoughts, the ones you're seeing. Imagine those ones that come from his improvisation! Man marking Messi efficiently can stop him from scoring, but you won't stop him from creating because he's not just a goal scorer. Football is best played with freedom but with a tactical plan set out too. Out of the goals Messi has scored, which one have you felt was the most memorable? Everyone will say the Getafe goal because of how it was so similar to Maradona's. That was a goal which had not only his teammates in awe but also the Getafe players because they tried to bring him down and couldn't. But for me personally there was a game against Real Zaragoza where he scored two absolutely incredible goals... In that game he manipulated 10 rival outfield players and wasn't just a moment to remember. I remember a game Bergkamp played for Arsenal once I saw on tv where he done something similar, but this was different for me because I was on the field. I remember shouting out after the second goal "you son of a bitch" (laughs). But then again everyone will have their favourite and it's a very personal choice. That's the thing with Messi, you get options. I remember once Guardiola put him in the defenders team in a training game and we won for the first time against the attackers. That's how good he is. Messi is 30 now, can he still keep on growing as a player? Football has gone down a strange route where the media feed the fans that after 27 starts a road that leans downwards and with every year it becomes steeper towards the bottom. Us players know that this is not the case... The only thing you lose with age is initial burst of pace but never your top speed and then the second thing is recovery time after games or from injuries... All that takes longer. But the optimum age for a footballer at the hight of his physical powers and knowledge through experience is anywhere from 28 to 30 years of age. Messi is now at his optimum level physically and from there he's translating his game into various avenues he never used to. Messi will always keep on growing as a player because there's nothing like him playing football today. Apart from Messi being in such great condition at the start of this new season. How do you see the team in general? Well they're winning every game they play so I can't really say much. Infact they're winning even in a couple where they haven't played so well which is normal at the start of the season. You have various highs and lows at the beginning but you want to get past that inconsistency by winning as many as possible. So in that sense I see the team very well indeed. Apart from that, it's a long season and many factors can change the course of how you go for the targets you set. You can have a great side and two stupid games end up making your season seem a failure because the level is so high these days.
    1 point
  4. Well that was painful to watch. Will have more to say over the coming days, but for now, there is a drink waiting for me at my fav watering hole. Tired? As close to asleep I have seen, but hats off to City, NEVER has a team been more worthy of three Stamford Bridge points.
    1 point
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