Barcelona ace Lionel Messi scored two outrageous free-kicks against Espanyol over the weekend.
The first was another trademark curling effort unleashed from that devastating left boot of his which left Diego Lopez clutching at air, while simultaneously leaving those in the Cornella-El Prat speechless and unmoved in equal measure.
Why? Well this is a man who has now scored 20 goals from direct free-kicks in the past four years, more than Juventus (18), Real Madrid (14), Bayern Munich (13), Chelsea (11) and Liverpool (11).
It almost seems harder for him to miss than score from a dead ball scenario; his precision and accuracy seem to convince you that his brain and perception must be in that lethal left foot of his.
His second was simply mesmeric, and there are few words – if any – to describe just how incredible a pinpoint strike it was. But how did the mercurial marvel from Rosario become a set-piece specialist?
Looking at a timeline of his free-kick taking career, vital quotes from reputable footballing personalities and the key stats, Squawka have dissected just how Messi took the mantle and became the free-kick master.
Early career
Having progressed through the esteemed La Masia academy, Messi soon became a prominent member of the Blaugrana XI under Frank Rijkaard, but with a squad containing the likes of Ronaldinho and Deco, the Argentine was far down the free-kick taking pecking order.
However, as stars moved on, Messi soon became the main man in Catalonia, but he would not net his first direct free-kick until 2008 in a 6-1 mauling of Atletico Madrid: a quickly taken strike which found the back of the net while Gregory Coupet was trying to organise his wall – not the graceful goal we have become accustomed to, but the start of something beautiful.
That would be his only free-kick goal for the 2008/09 season, while the following campaign he would also struggle to hit the heights of his present day form, netting just twice – one in La Liga against Almeria and his first in Europe against Dynamo Kyiv.
That year would, however, prove significant in Messi’s assent to set-piece stardom, as former Argentina fitness coach Fernando Signorini shed light on how a certain Diego Maradona gave some inspiring words to his successor: “I started walking to where Diego was, and at the same moment I see Messi place the ball down,” he explained in an interview with LaSexta (via Marca).
“He takes three shots and misses all three and turned to us with a look of clear frustration. Diego arrives and they talk to each other, the world seems to stop at that moment. He places the ball in the same place and then gives some very paternal words.
“He told him not to take his foot off the ball so quickly when he takes a free-kick.”
This did not foster an immediate change, and though the Argentine would score 53 goals in 2010/11 as he cantered to a second Ballon d’Or, he quite incredibly, only scored one from a direct free-kick, coming against Deportivo La Coruna.
However, from there, Messi seemed to finally grasp Maradona’s paternal advice and 2011 onwards would see the magician channel his inner Ronaldinho and reach legendary free-kick status.
The transformation: 2011/12 – 2014/15
Messi may have honed his technical craft on the priceless words of Maradona but it has been the application of his relentless practising that has really allowed the Argentine ace to master the art.
And so, it may have seemed an obvious question, but when asked whether Messi practises free-kicks, current manager Ernesto Valverde almost seemed embarrassed to answer: “Yes. He’s always practising, and he’s always scoring.”
But this was not always the case. Former La Masia chief Albert Benaiges has claimed the Catalan academy hardly focus on practising the skill: “We would give the odd bit of advice, but it was not a part of the game we worked on particularly hard,” he told Goal.
However, former teammate Roger Giribet did reveal that the aspiring starlets would heed knowledgeable advice from ex-Barca B coach Angel Guillermo Hoyos, and Messi in particular, soaked it all up to devastating effect: “I think it was Hoyos who told us we had to set the ball with the air valve on the grass — that way we would make it come down easier after kicking.”
It is here then that the age-old maxim ‘practice makes perfect’ resonates with Messi, as he would score an incredible 12 direct free-kicks between the 2011/12 season and the 2014/15 – with his goals starting to play a key role in dictating the outcome of matches.
Two against Real Madrid in 2012, one in the Champions League against Ajax, and three winning goals in that period, as Barcelona clinched two La Liga titles and the continental crown.
His first winner in that period came for Pep Guardiola’s side in 2012 against Atleti, again catching the goalkeeper unawares, this time Thibaut Courtois was the victim, while further winners came against Granada in 2013 and Athletic Bilbao in 2014.
The mastering: 2015-present
As mentioned, the previous four seasons have seen Messi net 20 direct free-kicks, 22 if you include the 2015 UEFA Super Cup against Sevilla, while he has already netted four this season, against Alaves, PSV in the Champions League, and the aforementioned brace against Espanyol.
Such has been his goalscoring prowess from dead ball situations that Ivan Rakitic has even joked to not watching him take them, as he knows they will go in: “A lot of the time when we get a free-kick we are already thinking about the celebration,” he said, as quoted by the Daily Mail.
In 2015/16 Messi netted seven (two in the Super Cup), with goals coming against rivals Espanyol twice, Celta Vigo, Sevilla and Deportivo in La Liga.
The following campaign would see his free-kick form nosedive to four, with three coming against Athletic Bilbao on three separate occasions, while Villarreal were the other victims.
But that form soon picked back up, and it is the previous two seasons that have been simply breathtaking, with Messi equalling his best tally of seven last term, scoring six in the league, more than any other player across Europe’s top five leagues.
This even prompted the usually reticent Andrea Pirlo to speak out and rank Messi as one of the three best free-kick takers currently in the sport.
And so, he has followed that form up this campaign, already topping the charts across the continent with three in La Liga, which means he has now scored more free-kicks in Europe’s top five leagues during the past decade (27) than any other player (9% conversion rate).
Espanyol manager Rubi even conceded that it is almost futile trying to prevent Messi from scoring a free-kick: “You try little things, moving a little bit, jumping.
“But with someone like him, there’s not much more you can do,” he said. “Maybe don’t use a wall or come up with something new… I don’t know.”
After the match, Messi also reaffirmed his intense practising mentality: “I try to follow a ritual, trying to do it in the same way if it works so that it comes off again. It came off twice but sometimes you take a ton and none go in. I was lucky enough that two went it.”
Messi has, in fact, scored eight winning goals from direct free-kicks in his career, and 10 alone in 2018, while the only La Liga players since 2010 who have scored multiple free-kicks from 25 metres or more in a single match are Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
It took Messi five years to score his first direct free-kick in a Barca shirt, but we are now witnessing something special, and perhaps the greatest free-kick taker of all time.
The post How Lionel Messi became the master of free-kicks appeared first on Squawka News.
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