Lionel Messi Is Driving Force Behind Barcelona's La Liga Title Success
VICENTE CALDERON, MADRID—Lionel Messi is not the only reason, but he is the greatest one. It would take all night to list every factor in Barcelona's La Liga title success.
You could speak about the minute details, from the sensible pre-season the team had, where they didn't leave Europe, to Enrique's strict training-ground rules.
You could highlight the big, showbiz points, the fact that Neymar has had a better season in front of goal than Raul, Thierry Henry, or Samuel Eto'o ever did for Real Madrid or Barcelona.
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But if you had to elevate one reason higher than the others, it would be their No, 10, who by now, has convinced much of the world that he is the greatest player that ever lived.
Football comes down to goals, and Messi scored one here, the only one of the game, the one that gave Barcelona the three points they craved to take the title out of Atletico's hands and back to the Camp Nou—where the Rojiblancos won it last season.
Of course, it's not just about goals, as evidenced by Cristiano Ronaldo. The Real Madrid striker rattled home a hat-trick against Espanyol as Real Madrid won 4-1, but it was in vain. It will secure him the Pichichi, surely, with 45 goals to Messi's 41, but it is the only title he will be lifting at the end of the season.
Messi will get his hands on the La Liga trophy next weekend, for the seventh time. Barcelona have a clash at home with Deportivo de la Coruna, which will be seen as a party for the players, with the chance to rest a couple before the games to come.
Barcelona are in with a great chance of a historic treble, which would be the second in their club's history, more than any other side has managed to achieve. And it is Messi who has been the key man in the process, as he almost always is.
He has scored 54 goals in 54 games in all competitions, and added 30 assists on top of that. Quite phenomenal statistics, but that is nothing new for the forward. What's new is his positioning, his playing style and his work ethic.
Not since the days where he was a teenager, breaking into the side and holding down a place alongside the likes of Ronaldinho, Eto'o and Henry, has he given so much to the team.
The individual brilliance is still there, as he showed against Bayern Munich, here against Atletico Madrid, and on numerous other occasions this season. But Messi has been fighting for Barcelona since January. Really pushing himself.
Whether he gets on with the coach or not is a matter for debate, but Enrique has certainly found a way to get the best from Messi. He is now deployed on the right flank, with Luis Suarez as the central striker, and loving life, on the pitch.
Messi has more freedom to roam and the opportunity to exchange positions with the Uruguayan, and occasionally Neymar on the left flank, as all three players are wonderfully versatile.
When Messi is playing like this, it gives Barcelona a lot of mental strength and fortitude that was lacking at time last year, under Tata Martino. If the other players can see Messi at his best, it gives them belief.
Goalkeeper Jan Oblak said before the game, per Sport, that he doesn’t understand why Barcelona view his side as aggressive. “I don’t know why they said we are violent,” he complained. “We are intense, but I don’t see us as a violent team.”
Oblak was ignoring the clear, indisputable evidence in front of him. The teams met three times this season before this clash, and a string of unsavoury incidents stand out from those fixtures, the first of which took place after Messi's tantrum in January.
He was left out of the team for Barcelona's 1-0 defeat by Real Sociedad on January 4, which started a week of crisis in Catalonia. Messi skipped an open training session and caused havoc, sparking a presidential election within the club. The group pulled together via WhatsApp, per Sport, and Messi was back in the fold for the game against Atletico on January 11.
In that game Jose Gimenez’s ugly challenge on Neymar left the Brazilian’s ankle awash with blood, as Barcelona beat Atletico 3-1. It was a cathartic win that put their season back on track. Messi played a key role, creating the second goal for Luis Suarez and scoring the third himself.
He was dazzling, and so were Barcelona. And suddenly, over the weeks that followed, things became clearer. Real Madrid were stalling, Barcelona were moving through the gears. And at the wheel? Lionel Messi.
Luis Enrique should be praised, while Gerard Pique, Javier Mascherano and everyone else deserve their accolades. But Lionel Messi is Lionel Messi.
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