Charting Lionel Messi's Journey from World Cup Woe to World-Beater Again
By popular decree, Lionel Messi is back to somewhere approaching his best at this point of the season.
The Argentinian is enjoying a stunning run of club form, quite the turnaround from the back end of the last campaign and subsequent World Cup disappointment.
If we cast our minds back, Messi went to Brazil with all sorts of criticism ringing in his ears.
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"Less than 6 months ago pundits and media declared Messi "finished" and past his best. These people are calling him best ever now
— BASTION (@fcbFutbolista) March 8, 2015"
Questions were being asked as to whether we had actually seen the best of the player, who would inevitably be on a downward spiral from that point onward.
Pete Jenson of the Daily Mail even alluded to local headlines that screamed how Messi had only covered one mile further than goalkeeper Jose Manuel Pinto in a match against Atletico Madrid.
It was being used as a stick to beat him with, yet in the space of a few months Messi has more than rammed any accusations back down the throats of his detractors.
Let's take a look below at where things have gone right for Messi. From World Cup woe to world-beater...
August
Although only two games were played in August, La Liga watchers should really have noted Messi's performances in both.
Producing Man of the Match displays against Elche and Villarreal, with two goals against the former, was a fine way to kick off the campaign.
The hunger that was missing pre-World Cup was already returning.
September
As we moved into the first full month of the season, Messi moved through the gears.
With Cristiano Ronaldo already scoring at a rate of knots in Madrid, most of the media focus fell on the Portuguese and Real Madrid.
Looking back, when you consider Messi had an almost perfect month, that's hard to believe.
Of the six games played, including the first two Champions League group games, Messi was Man of the Match in five of them.
Four goals had been supplemented with seven assists. Messi-dependence was still very much in evidence, it would seem.
October
We would see the much-anticipated introduction of Luis Suarez at the end of October in a Clasico where Messi was unusually ineffective.
A first yellow card of the season was met with howls of derision from the Bernabeu faithful, no doubt revelling in the struggles of Barcelona's finest.
The three wins that came during this month all had Messi's stamp upon them. He managed a goal in each, an assist in two, more star-man awards and a vigorous assault on his best-ever passing stats.
Simply put, he was everywhere, and already the green shoots of recovery were beginning to bloom for Messi.
November
Messi will go down in history for his exploits during this month.
Successive hat-tricks against Sevilla and APOEL saw him become the all-time La Liga and Champions League top scorer, the latter a surprise given that nemesis Ronaldo was a whisker away from taking the crown from Raul before his goalscoring exploits dried up.
Both individually and collectively, the performance against what was expected to be a tough Sevilla side was of the highest quality. As was the visit to Valencia that closed out the month.
Messi would come close on occasion in that one, but it was left to Sergio Busquets to achieve the most unlikely three points deep into injury time.
December
As we closed out December, most of the talk surrounded another poor showing in the early Saturday kick-off.
An insipid 0-0 draw at Getafe, despite Messi's own sterling efforts to secure the three points, would see the pendulum swing very definitely in Real Madrid's favour in the league.
Yet another hat-trick, this time against cross-town rivals Espanyol, was quickly followed by the match that finally announced the Messi, Neymar, Suarez triumvirate to the world.
All three were on the scoresheet in Barca's most important match of the season. Messi was the fulcrum of anything good the Catalans did in the game against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, which secured their passage as group winners.
January
A bizarre decision to leave Messi and Neymar on the bench for the opening match of the new year against Real Sociedad backfired on Luis Enrique.
The 1-0 loss led to talks of sackings and dressing-room mutiny, led by Messi. Four Four Two detailed some of the various goings-on in what was arguably the worst moment of the season for Barca.
Things could only get better, and they did. And how!
Winning every game during the rest of January, including a hat-trick of wins over old foes Atletico Madrid, restored some pride. Messi helped himself to two goals against Diego Simeone's men, something he hadn't been able to achieve in six attempts last season.
Elche were comfortably dispatched twice as the Argentinian continued to trouble the scoreboard and assist count.
February
Messi's whole season will likely be remembered for his 90th-minute missed penalty at Manchester City if the Citizens can surprise everyone with a result at Camp Nou.
The interplay, particularly in the first half, between Messi, Neymar and Suarez was a delight. The Uruguayan's brace was just reward for his industry throughout the season.
Another hat-trick, this time against Levante, brought Messi level with Ronaldo for most hat-tricks in La Liga and level with Telmo Zarra for most hat-tricks in all competitions by a La Liga-based player.
One of his best performances of the season came at the New San Mames as Barca outplayed Athletic Bilbao.
Unplayable at times, Messi dictated the pace and flow of the game, peppering proceedings with eye-of-the-needle passing accuracy.
March
As we begin to wind down to the business end of the season, it appears Messi is only just getting going.
Another two records tumbled after yet another hat-trick against an obliging Rayo Vallecano. Strangely, Messi was on the periphery for the entire first half yet sprang to life with the quickest three goals of his entire football career, coming as they did in just 11 minutes.
Two more in a potential banana skin at Eibar won the game for the Blaugrana, leaving Barca top of the table as they head into El Clasico.
The stage is set...
In closing, it's worth noting that Messi's Champions League passing stats, per WhoScored, are better than every season in the past six years bar 2010-11, a year when Barcelona went on to lift the trophy.
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