Lionel Messi: A New Breed of Footballer...

The phrase 'World Class' is used on a daily basis in football, Andy Gray and his colleagues file anything that passes over a goal-line within an inch or two or the woodwork or a ball that reaches its destination without bouncing firmly into the 'World Class' drawer. Protagonists are even encouraged to 'Take a bow' for their magnificent feats and ability. In reality, most of those superlatives are penned in the heat of the moment and on reflection few players manage to reach such a pinnacle that they can be referred to as 'World Class' and only a fraction of those manage to maintain such an accolade.

"Is Lionel Messi the best player this planet has ever seen...??"

Depending on their age, any football fan asked to name the three best players of all time would undoubtedly mention some of the following names; Diego Maradonna, Pele, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldinho, George Weah, Kaka, Marco Van Basten or even Cristiano Ronaldo, your grandparents might mention legends such as George Best, Bobby Moore, Puskas or Jairzinho. It seems this season another name can not only be added to that illustrious list of talent but possibly be placed at the summit; Is Lionel Messi the best player this planet has ever seen??

At 22, the Argentine has come of age, currently on form with 16 goals in 9 games (including 3 hat-tricks) in a season that has so far returned 39 goals from just 42 appearances, he has shone on the highest club stage and even scored in The Champions League Final with a 'World Class' header beyond Edwin Van Der Sar, much to the delight of the majority of Great Britain. Granted he plays in arguably the world's best team and isn't required to do any of the defensive work a lesser outfit would demand of him but based on sheer technical ability and the skill of putting the ball in the net has anybody ever come close to a player that is probably still five years from his prime?

Its easy to overreact to such brilliance, especially when the closest rival for the accolade is a lady-boy Portuguese cheat who spends the majority of his time tricking referees and rolling about on the floor. Its quite possible that Messi could have an average World Cup in South Africa and that next season could well be an anti-climax. The fact that Messi is yet to light up the World stage in a major international tournament will always be the defining factor for many but he will get that opportunity in June, in a very average Argentina team.

Arsene Wenger likened Messi's performance against Arsenal on Tuesday night to "watching a Playstation game" the sheer ease that he won the game and the ability to find the net four times was made all the more impressive by the apparent humble attitude of someone blessed with talents never before seen. In some ways the fact that Manchester United suffered such an hilarious reverse on Wednesday was only tempered by the thought of Gary Neville trying to restrain Lionel Messi in the final at The Santiago Bernabeu... Oh Well...

Lionel Messi: A New Breed of Footballer...