Lionel Messi: The 7 Biggest Faults with the Argentine Maestro's Game

Lionel Messi is one of, if not the greatest soccer player in all the world, but every player has their faults.

I was originally shooting for ten aspects of the Argentine's game that he could improve upon. However I was only able to think of seven that I could realistically defend. That's just how good Messi is. 

That being said, there are still some things that he needs to improve on by hitting the training ground a little more. Here are the seven biggest issues with Messi's otherwise stellar game.

Size

Messi's small size is due to medical reasons—specifically his growth hormone deficiency—and he's done everything to overcome it; but against teams with larger players, it can prove to be a disadvantage.

The FC Barcelona man can weave through defenders with ease, but at 5'6", he often finds himself one of the smallest players on the pitch, and has to compensate appropriately.

Messi certainly has come a long way despite his size, but imagine how unstoppable he'd be even if he was 5'8" or taller.

Free Kick Power

Messi has proven over his many seasons of professional soccer that he has deadly accuracy; but when taking free kicks, one can notice that he does struggle to put much power behind his shots.

The deadly forward tends to have the best chance at driving the ball into the back of the net when within 25 yards of the goal. Beyond that distance, fans will often see his shots end with a miss.

Luckily for Messi, he plays on one of the most talented teams on the planet, so he's only one of several options the team has to take a free kick.

Failure with Argentina's National Team

After scoring six goals for his country back in 2007, Messi has failed to score more for Argentina since then.

The Argentines also failed to reach the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals, which many believed they had the talent to do so, repeating the disappointment the country felt after a similar exit back in 2006.

Messi himself usually puts together a solid game when donning the blue and white jersey, but the issue with this team has always been the ability to play defense and play off one another.

The team captain will be 28 years old when the next World Cup comes around, and hopefully for Messi and company, Argentina will be able to finally reach their expectations.

Injuries

For whatever reason, as talented and successful as Messi has been, he's also had a tendency to rack up injuries.

The Argentine has missed over 200 days of soccer when totaling the days missed due to his miscellaneous injuries. 

From his right bicep injury in 2006 to his muscle tear injury the following season, he's had quite a number of bumps and bruises over his career, and, unfortunately, it's not something he really stops from happening.

Tendency to Avoid Right Foot

The 2009 World Player of the Year winner is one of the finest dribblers on the pitch, but as any player does, he tends to favor one foot over the other.

It takes a talented individual to fully utilize both feet while maneuvering through defenders and eventually taking the shot, and Messi can on occasion. That being said, he certainly tries to find other ways to get up the field without the help of his right foot.

Penalty Kicks

If you peel back all the hype, fame and talent, the statistics suggest that Lionel Messi isn't the best guy when it comes to penalty kicks.

Messi has missed six PKs for Barcelona over his career, with just a 72 percent conversion rate. He's a master at getting into the penalty box and scoring during the flow of the game, but, for whatever reason, he tends to struggle when it's just him and the goalkeeper to beat.

Leadership

On Barcelona, Messi doesn't exactly need to be a "rah rah" kind of leader; instead, he can do what he does best and lead by example.

When it comes to the Argentina national team, the team is in need of their captain to speak up and take the reigns when needed, but Messi has failed to answer this call.

He doesn't need to go off and steal the headlines and make World Cup championship predictions, but he does need to help this team find a way go from being a group of talented individuals to a real team.

The captain will need to get this team Euro and World Cup ready over the upcoming matches so they can finally reach the goals many thought Argentina would have already reached with some of the top talents in the world on their rosters.