Barcelona? Better without Messi? ‘Lunacy!’ We hear you cry, but according to our friends at Castrol’s Stats department, very true!
Castrol Performance data shows that in Lionel Messi˘ seven seasons in the UEFA Champions League, Barcelona have won 73% of their matches without him, compared to 51% when he˘ been on the pitch.
The adidas F50 adiZero wearer is uncertain for the clash against Rubin Kazan after suffering an injury during Barcelona˘ 2-1 victory against Atletico Madrid on 19th September.
The Argentine forward who has scored 27 goals in the UEFA Champions League – more than any other Barcelona player in history – has played a central role in Barcelona˘ recent national and international success.
However, the Catalan team have proved that they can achieve results without the 2009 Ballon d˘€žËOr, winning important European clashes in his absence.
The 2-0 victory over Internazionale in November 2009 is the most recent example. His absence has not had an adverse effect on BarÄ‚§a˘ record in front of goal either, scoring an average of 1.9 goals per game whether Messi’s golden football boots are on or off the pitch.
To add a bit of Footy-Boots.com’s own anecdotal analysis to the mix, we reckon that this is because Messi is such a key player for Barcelona, he might get rested during less high-stakes ties and is more likely to play in the knock-out stages – which Barcelona are, of course, more likely to lose in.
Although Messi is a great player, i dont think just one man makes any team, also it would be nice to see some of barca’s other attackers, that have been on the bench, get a game or two 🙂
I Agree with BiyiAdetunji [ have i spelt that right lol ] Messi is a good player but you don’t just rely on one person you need to have confidence on every player on the team – even the goal keeper.
It’s a strange phenomenon, but I’ve seen it on the levels as low as U-10’s rec leagues. One standout who seems clearly better than the rest isn’t there for a game or part of a game, and the team somehow seems to do better. I think it may be due to the fact that people will more often pass to that player because of how skilled he is, despite if there is a better play that can be made.
i like that last paragraph. we definitely have to look at who barca have played in those 22 matches without Messi, given that they probably have not been high quality teams, especially during that 08-09 run when they were playing a lot of games while winning those 6 titles.
erics right Guardiola had no problem resting messi against opponents they had the upper hand on, or in matches that didnt matter. and wouldnt league matches be a more fair way to measure a players impact overall than a 20 match tournament?
Bloody obvious. The only time Messi is rested is when the match is not important.
leo eres el mejor jugador del mundo pero lo gue te iso ujfalusi ce merece una buena palisa.Dicen muchos gue ujfalusi no te gueria lesionar pero eso no es verdad asigue para mi ujfalusi debe de tomarcelo como una tarjeta roja.Suerte messi i sigue luchando para el balĂłn de oro.2011
yo creo gue tú,iniestayxavi parami os mereseis los tres el numero 1 del balon deoro tu messi porgue no paras de marcar goles i se necesitan 3 jugadores para gitarte el balón.XAVI por gue es el corazón del F.C.Barcelona i siempre cuando tiene el balón encuentra el mejor modo de pasarla en profundidad i hacer el juego mas facil en el barça i en la selección española.Y iniesta ce lo merece por gue marcó el gol en el mundial 2010 y españa cogio la copa gracias a iniesta y rambien por gue en el F.C.Barcelona tiene mucha ambre de goles. Os saludo a los tres por vuestra inteligisima competicion.pavel petrov 2011