2012: The Year of the Messi

The year is slowly drawing to a close and with it another chapter in the world's beloved game is written into the history books. Despite being the year of the Dragon, according to the Chinese calendar, this year will go down as the year of the Messi...shocker. Recently, a friend of mine made a joke along the lines of, "oh wait, Messi broke another record? That was a big surprise..." Although I can hardly blame my friend for rolling his eyes and sarcastically tossing aside yet another one of Messi's record breaking moments, but, it is incredible to think that the little argentine is entering the expected realm of 'record-setter.' In spite of all of his milestones, the year has provided numerous gems of entertainment, from the pissing contest of bicycle-kicks to the establishment of a Spanish dynasty.




It's really only fair to start with the 5' 7 man from Rosario, Argentina. To this day, I distinctly remember thinking to myself as this number 30 in the Barcelona shirt strolled onto the field, replacing my favorite, Samuel Eto'o,  who is this child wearing my team's colors? However, my words were quickly stifled when witnessing this young man's pace, determination and skill. In this game against Albacete, Ronaldinho made the incredibly symbolic pass to set up Messi's first goal, signaling the end of an era while beginning a journey that no one, including myself, could have expected. Ronaldinho, the king of samba and joga bonito, knew that this young man would soon surpass him as the dazzling force in Cataluna and the fans felt that they were witnessing something special the fifth day of 2005. Since that magical January day, Messi has proceeded to score over 287 more goals, with earning honors, gaining awards, and setting records along the way. With 9 seasons of professional football in his back pocket, the Argentine has a list of accomplishments that simply take too long to type out. For brevities sake, I'll just touch on the most recent of these moments with the record holding 91 goals scored in a single calendar year, this year 2012. Yet the most incredible thing about Messi is that, at the age of 24, he still has yet to even reach his prime, making me shake with anticipation for what The Little Magician will give us next.

Above is the goal that I had the pleasure of witnessing many years ago, a goal that came only minutes after entering the field. The record setting season began on January 4th where Messi sparked the year off the bench in classic style, scoring two against Copa Del Rey opponents, Osasuna. 89 goals later, Messi ended the year with lovely goal against Real Valladolid on December 22nd, culminating in the 91 goals scored by the world's most dominant professional sports player. Below, if you wish to devote the time, are all of these goals. However, unperturbed I shall continue by enforcing the rather bold statement given above, "world's most dominant professional sports player." Yes, it is true, no matter how badly Americans want to shake their heads in a Jabba-the-Hut like defiance, the simple fact is that Messi's influence and commanding presence on the field is greater than that of any another professional. A player who's acceleration is Top Gear noteworthy, balance that is comparable to Tokugawa era Japanese samurai, and a presence that magnetizes multiple defenders simply to counteract the electricity emitting from his boots; who can compare? Kobe Bryant? Tom Brady? Miguel Cabrera? Lebron James? Adrian Peterson? Buster Posey? Carmelo Anthony? Peyton Manning? I'm hard-pressed to think that any of these players have had the season or impact that Messi commanded on the field. I dont even see the need to get into the stats or numbers regarding the seasons that those mentioned above have had. There is no doubt that each of these players had phenomenal seasons, yet if you want to see the difference between Messi and the rest, watch a Barcelona game or even watch the highlights below. I should just stop talking and let Messi speak for himself, Happy New Years!