5 Reasons Lionel Messi Will Be Back to His Best This Season for Barcelona

Nobody would say that Lionel Messi was bad last season but even Barcelona's brilliant forward would admit that he wasn't at his very best.

The Argentina star could not match his almost alien efforts from the previous season and ended up finishing second top scorer in La Liga, behind Cristiano Ronaldo.

His minor decline coincided with what turned out to be a poor season for Barcelona and people wondered if this was the start of the end.

But Messi struck twice against Elche in Barcelona's first La Liga game and set up Sandro for the winner against Villarreal.

While it's impossible to say if he's going to play at his highest level again this term, there are several good signs, from his summer preparations to the fresh air blowing through the club.

Here are five reasons why Barcelona supporters and, indeed, lovers of football, can hope that Messi will be at his finest once again.

A Nourishing Pre-Season and No Internationals

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Messi had a nice rest after the World Cup.

What a difference a year makes. Last season Lionel Messi was flying from place to place with Barcelona and also for his own individual sponsorship deals.

But as Ramiro Martin points out for SPORT, after the World Cup this summer, Messi has been resting. Martin writes:

"

He devoted himself to rest with his family, firstly in Rosario and then, later, on the Isle of Capri, only breaking his own rules to accompany his friend Deco in a tribute match in Porto. Last summer he covered 40,000 kilometers between June 15 and July 7, serving advertising and community schemes... not this summer, though.

"

His minor leg injury kept him from joining up with Argentina in the current international break, so he has avoided extra travel and matches.

A Stricter Coach in Luis Enrique

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Watch out, Lucho's about.

Tata Martino was fairly lax with his players, but Luis Enrique will not follow the same path.

Instead he has much more in common with taskmaster Pep Guardiola, who had several rules in place for his Barca squad to follow.

Enrique has imposed a similar set of rules, which should help restore discipline and order to the side, something which Lionel Messi profited from before.

With the guidance of Guardiola, he found his peak form in a Blaugrana shirt and Enrique will be trying to bring that back.

Enrique has reinvigorated the club, along with the new influx of summer signings and Barcelona feels an exciting place to be once more.

Luis Suarez and Neymar

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Messi's strike partners are fearsome.

Alexis Sanchez and Pedro are good players but there's a fear factor with Luis Suarez and Neymar that should help Lionel Messi.

Neymar spent large swathes of last season on the sidelines, but if he can find fitness this term, along with Messi and Suarez, they create a terrifying front three.

Often opposition defenders would focus on nullifying Messi, confident that Alexis and Pedro wouldn't be able to damage them too badly.

It played into Alexis' hands to some extent, with the Chilean enjoying his best season at Barcelona.

But with Suarez and Neymar buzzing around, defenders will feel less happy focusing all their attention on the Argentine.

No World Cup Burnout Fear

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Some said Messi was saving himself for the World Cup.

Even though Tata Martino never admitted it, it is hard to shake the idea that Lionel Messi was saving some part of himself for the World Cup.

Players manage their bodies well. They know how long the season is and how much effort they can put in without burning themselves out.

Even if he didn't want to do it on purpose, Messi subconsciously appreciated the World Cup was around the corner.

Instead of going hell-for-leather in the final weeks of the season, he played at a sensible pace.

In the first game of this La Liga campaign, he seemed to put more effort in than in any of the last few at the back end of last term.

The Copa America takes place next summer, but that is far less of a concern for players than the World Cup.

Messi was awarded the Golden Ball at the tournament this summer, showing he had plenty left in his tank.

Desire to Beat Cristiano Ronaldo

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The battle between Messi and Ronaldo rages on.

The battle between these two players is one of the finest football has ever seen.

Cristiano Ronaldo won the latest round, earning the Ballon d'Or in January and also notching an incredible 17 goals in the Champions League, breaking Lionel Messi's record by three.

While it might be impossible for Messi to match that, he can certainly wrestle the Ballon d'Or back, given his World Cup displays.

Of the pair, it's always Ronaldo who seems to mention their rivalry, with Messi preferring to do his talking on the pitch.

And this season, as we've seen, everything is aligned for him to do just that.