The best of Lionel Messi

Guardiola: Messi has no time to think too much about the penalty kick

2011-10-24T13:23:00.000-07:00

Barcelona's Coach wants everybody to focus on their next rival - Granada. Especially Lionel Messi, who will be in the starting squad. Guardiola says that the argentinian footballer has "no time to think about the penalty he missed against Sevilla".

"He knows that missing that kind of chances is part of the game. He is physically recovering from the match against Sevilla, and will be fit to play against Granada" said Guardiola.

Lio missed a penalty against Sevilla

2011-10-24T12:48:00.000-07:00

Sevilla's goalkeeper Javi Varas had one of the best games of his career against Barcelona. He stopped Lionel Messi's penalty kick just a few second before the end of the match, and helped Sevilla get a 0-0 draw against Guardiola's team.

Barcelona dominated most of the actions at the Camp Nou but Varas was superb the whole match. In fact, he was named the man of the match after the 90 minutes.

Barcelona fell to the second place of the Spanish "Liga" after this result.

Lio scores a double against Racing Santander

2011-10-15T21:31:00.000-07:00

Lionel Messi returned from Venezuela and Guardiola ordered him to play for Barcelona as soon as he arrived. The result: a 3-0 win over Racing Santander, with two goals netted by the argentinian footballer.

Xavi Hernandez scored the third goal and Andres Iniesta proved to be the other great genius in the squad. He seems to be fully recovered from his last injury and was the perfect complement for Messi last saturday.

After the game, there was the same sensation among the rivals. Pedro Munitis said that "defeating Barcelona is mission impossible".

Venezuela beat Argentina for the first time in history

2011-10-14T16:43:00.000-07:00

The South American Qualifiers for the World Cup are no longer the same. Venezuela defeated Argentina 1-0 against all odds. Having Lio Messi, Higuain and Di Maria was not enough for Argentina to stop the surprising "Vinotinto" team.

The only goal of the match was netted by Fernando Amorebieta, who plays for the Spanish Club Athletic Bilbao. Amorebieta headed a corner kick executed by the Venezuelan star Juan Arango.

Coach Cesar Farias was wise enough to stop Messi with a strong defensive line, using fresh players that did not take part of the first game against Ecuador.

Wallpaper: Real Madrid 0 - Barcelona 2

2011-04-27T21:29:00.000-07:00

Lionel Messi scored a double in the Champions League semifinal against Real Madrid. Celebrate with Lio, save these wallpapers now! To get them, choose your resolution and click on the image to expand it. Then, right click on it and select "save image as".

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Real Madrid vs. Barcelona: Iniesta to miss Champions League duel against Mourinho's team

2011-04-26T20:10:00.000-07:00

Andrés Iniesta will miss the Champions League semifinal against Real Madrid due to a muscle sprain. The playmaker roles will be for Lionel Messi and Xavi Hernandez.

The positive news for Guardiola is that Puyol will be fit for the match. The captain has been out of the squad for more than three weeks.

Barcelona vs. Real Madrid: face to face in Copa del Rey final

2011-04-19T20:51:00.000-07:00

The traditional rivals are now in Valencia to fight for yet another title: the Copa del Rey. Lionel Messi, Iniesta, Villa and Xavi are the brightest stars that will try to defeat Mourinho's squad. Last saturday's duel proved that beating Madrid is not easy at all.

Guardiola claims that Madrid will wait for counterattacks and the game "won't be the match of the season". Mourinho also admits that "anyone could be the winner", and the moment of the truth will be when both teams meet on the pitch.

One of the most interesting duels to watch will be the famous Messi-Cristiano Ronaldo comparison. The two main stars are at their peak so it will be exciting to see them fighting for a title.

Another important duel: Casillas-Pinto. Barcelona's keeper is a usual substitute in the domestic league, but in every Copa del Rey match he was the first choice for Guardiola. This time, it won't be different.

Real Madrid vs. Barcelona: Messi's team got a 1-1 draw and are closer to the title

2011-04-17T00:58:00.000-07:00

After the exciting 1-1 draw between Real Madrid and Barcelona, Guardiola said that they are "Satisfied, but we are still not champions". In reality, is virtually impossible for any team to reach Barcelona now.

Still, this result feels like a victory for Madrid, who played with 10 men after Albiol's red card. Lio Messi netted the first goal for Barcelona, but Cristiano Ronaldo did the same for Madrid.

Now the next derby, in the Copa del Rey final, will show two confident teams ready to give everything to earn the first title of the season.

Messi is a little worried about not scoring goals

2011-04-08T23:24:00.000-07:00

Last season Lionel Messi was a scoring machine that amazed the whole world and helped Barcelona get La Liga as well as reach the Champions League semifinals. But in the last games, he has not been that lucky in front of the goal.

Lio said that he is not extremely worried, because the priority is to get the victory in each game for Barcelona. As long as he remains calm and focused, the goals will eventually come.

But Barcelona's supporters are a little concerned because Villa is not scoring either. The next games against Real Madrid - we may have four of those in the next month - would be a perfect scenario for Messi and Villa to score again.

Messi wants to score in England for the first time in his career as Barcelona visit Arsenal

2011-02-15T07:31:00.000-08:00

Barcelona will face Arsenal in London for the Champions League's Round of 16 and Lion Messi will arrive at England with a curious pending task: he never scored a goal on English soil. His excellent performance in the last months makes us believe that he can accomplish the job this time.

The Argentinian striker has played 6 Champions League games in England, with two victories, two losses and two ties. He also played one friendly game with Argentina and a summer tournament with Barcelona at Wembley. He never scored a goal.

Therefore, this game will have a special ingredient. Let's enjoy it.

Messi leads Barcelona's campaign on Facebook

2011-02-11T14:00:00.000-08:00

Barcelona Football Club has around 9 million fans in Facebok, which makes them the most popular club in that social network. But their goal is to reach 10 million as soon as possible, and Lionel Messi is leading the campaign.

One of the reasons is to stay above the second most popular club online, Manchester United, who has a little more than 8 million fans. And their strategy intends to use Messi's popularity to reach their goal.

If Barcelona's plan succeed, they will be the first football club to reach that ammount of fans online.

Messi vs. Ronaldo in numbers

2011-02-09T12:56:00.000-08:00

If we take a look at the statistics of all encounters between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the Argentinian player has the advantage. Four out of six matches were victories for Lio, and only one for Ronaldo.

We must notice that all this encounters were club tournaments. First in three Manchester United - Barcelona matches, and later in the Spanish Derby. The last 5-0 over Madrid is an open wound for Cristiano.

Today's Argentina vs. Portugal game will be the first time they encounter with their national teams.

Lio Messi to face Cristiano Ronaldo next week

2011-02-04T14:18:00.000-08:00

Geneva will be the scenario for one of the most interesting duels nowadays: Lionel Messi vs. Cristiano Ronaldo. Indeed, Portugal will face Argentina in a friendly game and the most important stars of Barcelona and Real Madrid will be on the field.

Lio has recently been awarded as the best player in the world, and this is the opportunity to remind that to Cristiano. The last time they met, Barcelona crushed their tradicional rival by 5-0.

Argentina and Portugal will play on February 9th, at the Geneva Stadium, a game that was initially set to take place at the Emirates Stadium of London.

Messi displays flawless performance in Barcelona's 4-0 win over Depor

2011-01-08T22:49:00.000-08:00

The popular Messi never gets tired of surprising the world with his talent. Just when you think he can't play any better, he has games like the one against Deportivo La Coruña. Lio scored one and assisted another two, as Barcelona got another three points in La Liga.

Riazor has never been an easy pitch for Guardiola, but in the last months, it seems like there is no team in the world good enough to beat this blaugrana squad. Even with the absence of Alves, Xavi and Busquets, Barcelona was too tough for Deportivo.

The other goals were netted by David Villa, Iniesta and the young and talented Pedro. Abidal scored a goal that didn't count due to offside.

With this result, Messi's team remains at the first position of the table. If Real Madrid cannot beat Villarreal, the Catalan club will be winter champions.

Messi is now the top scorer in international competitions for Barcelona

2010-11-03T23:35:00.001-07:00

Until yesterday, Rivaldo was the top scorer of Barcelona in international competitions with 31 goals in tournaments such as the Champions League and the UEFA Cup. With his last goal against Copenhagen, Lio Messi has broken that record.

The Argentinian footballer has 32 goals scored in the Champions League and the Club World Cup. And there are many more to come, since Messi is still very young.

Another interesting number to note: Lionel has scored 100 goals since Guardiola assumed as coach of the team. His total confidence in the player helps Messi to display all his talent on the field.

Tough game for Barcelona in Copenhagen

2010-11-02T21:59:00.000-07:00

Liones Messi scored the opener for Barcelona against FC København for the Champions League. But the local team netted the equalizer one minute later.

Guardiola's side were aware that this game was not going to be easy. Indeed, they faced a really talented team with a solid defense lead by Claudemir and Kvist. And the Brazilian defender also scored the goal for his team, so it was a perfect night for him.

Barcelona is still the leader of the Group, but nothing has been decided yet.

Argentina's Lionel Messi Wallpaper 2010

2010-10-27T22:17:00.000-07:00

Get Messi right on your desktop with this great wallpaper. To save it, follow these steps:

1. Pick your wallpaper and your screen resolution.
2. Click on it to expand the image.
3. Right click on the image to open the menu, then click on "Save image as"
4. Save it!

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Lionel Messi: Bio and Career

2010-10-25T17:27:00.000-07:00

1987: Liones Messi was born on June 24 in Rosario, Argentina. His parents were Jorge Horacio Messi and Celia María Cuccittini.

1992: He begins to play football at Grandoli, a small club from his town.

1995: The professional club Newell's Old Boys was his first pro club. Messi began playing at the children category of the club from Rosario.

1997: He travels to Peru with Newell's squad to play the "Friendship Cup" of Lima. They eventually win the tournament.

1998: Messi is diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency, which was a big threat for his career as a footballer. FC Barcelona offers to pay for his treatment.

2003: Lio made his debut at Barcelona against a Portuguese club.

2004: Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard includes him in an official game for the first time, against Espanyol.

2005: Argentina win the U-20 World cup in Netherlands. Lionel Messi was the best player of the tournament and the top scorer with 6 goals. This would be the beginning of his international success.

2006: Messi was part of the Argentinian team that took part of FIFA World Cup Germany 2006. They lost to Germany in quarterfinals.

2008: Argentina win the golden medal at the Beijing Olympic Games. Messi became the leader of the national team.

2009: He is considered the best player in the world already. Messi lead Barcelona to win the UEFA Champions League, beating Manchester United in the Final game in Rome.

He also won the Golden Ball Prize for the best player in the World, over the other favorite Cristiano Ronaldo.

2010: He scored 11 goals in five games with Barcelona. He also scored four goals in the same match, against English Club Arsenal, for the Champions League.

Messi took part of the Argentinian team in the World Cup South Africa 2010, this time as the most important player of the tournament. They would eventually lost to Germany just like four years before.

Lio Messi is the new face of Dolce & Gabbana

2010-10-12T11:27:00.000-07:00

The most talented player in the world is also a fashion icon. That's why Dolce & Gabbana decided to sign up Lio Messi to be the new face of their advertising campaigns.

The Italian Luxury Fashion House released two teaser photos featuring the popular footballer through their Twitter account. The lenght of the contract has not being announced yet, but it clearly is a strong move for the firm.

Messi works in Barcelona again

2010-10-11T13:18:00.000-07:00

After a free weekend, Barcelona's players are back to work. Coach Josep Guardiola started the training session with a small group that included Lionel Messi, Gabriel Milito and Javier Mascherano.

But Guardiola will have his whole squad only on wednesday, because some of them are still playing for their national teams, specially those ones taking part of the Euro 2011 qualifiers.

We must remember that Argentina played a friendly match in Russia, while Spain prepares to face Scotland. This matches left Guardiola without more than 13 players.

Palermo fires against Messi: "He is no leader"

2010-08-26T17:06:00.000-07:00

Boca Juniors star Martin Palermo had the chance to play alongside Lionel Messi at the World Cup in South Africa, and made public one conclusion he arrived at: Messi is not a leader at all, therefore he could not lead Argentina to victory in the same way that Maradona did in 1986.

We must remember that Palermo scored his first world cup goal against Greece in South Africa, but the Barcelona star never found the net. As we know, Argentina was eliminated with a resounding 4-0 loss to Germany.

After the fail, Diego Maradona left his job as the Argentinian National Team coach and many newspapers were very critic at Messi. Now the South American team will have to wait until 2014 to give him a second chance.

Maradona's side ready to face Germany

2010-07-01T22:14:00.000-07:00

Argentina outplayed Mexico and beat them 3-1 to advance to the quarterfinals. Germany proved to be just as powerful by crushing England 4-1. Now this two teams will meet in the next stage. Which is your favorite to reach the semifinals?

If Argentina have a talented playmaker like Lio Messi, Germany has Ozil. Argentina have a powerful and effective striker like Gonzalo Higuain, but the Germans have Miroslav Klose. If Maradona has winger like Tevez and Aguero, Low has talented footballers such as Podolski or Schweinsteiger. Both teams are really strong and there are no favorites for this game.

However, we know that the best of Messi has not come yet. If he finally explotes and plays a perfect game, we will see Argentina reaching the Final Game and even winning the Cup.

World Cup 2010: Argentina win everything in South Africa

2010-06-23T12:24:00.000-07:00

Martin Palermo scored his first World Cup goal at the age of 36, and it was Lionel Messi the one that created that chance for him. Argentina won yet another game in this World Cup (2-0 over Greece) and those are good news.

Diego Maradona said that Lionel Messi will be greater than him, and this World Cup would show that. So far so good, because Argentina won the Group over Nigeria, Greece and Korea with three wins in three matches.

Even though Lio did not score yet, his performance has been superb. He lead the team to always look forward to score against every rival, and chase the three points in each game. Now Argentina will have to face Mexico in the round of 16, but they already proved to be serious candidates to win the Cup.

The whole world admired by his talent after the Messi 4 - Arsenal 1 match

2010-04-08T09:37:00.000-07:00

Newspapers and websites all around the world praised the fantastic performance of Leo Messi in the last game against Arsenal for the Champions League. The super talented striker scored four goals to take Barcelona stright to the semifinals of the competition.

"Messias", "The show of Messi", "A player from the PlayStation", "God" are just some of the adjectives used to describe the phenomenal footballer. Even Arsenal coach, Arsene Wenger, had words to admit that Messi is the best player in the World and that his team simply could do nothing about it.

Barcelona will face Real Madrid this weekend in the Spanish League, and Lyon in the semifinals of the Champions. The question now is not "will Barcelona achieve what they did last season?" but "Who is going to stop Messi?".

Sergio Ramos: "Messi is a different player"

2010-04-06T09:37:00.001-07:00

Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos said that Lionel Messi is the most dangerous player in the Catalan team. Barcelona and Madrid will battle in the Spanish Derby next weekend, a match that Ramos labeled a "key game".

"It's obvious that Barcelona had created their own style. And they always keep that style, even if some players come in and some others go out. That's why Real Madrid must have a clear style too".

Ramos is aware that Messi, with a single moment of inspiration and magic, could win the game for his team, "not only today. He has been proving to be the best for many years so far."

Lio recovered from migraine problem and trained with his team again

2010-04-02T08:33:00.000-07:00

Lionel Messi rested on Thursday following doctors recomendations. A migraine problem was the reson for this decision. But on Friday, the Argentinian star was on the field again.

Barcelona get ready for their clash with Athletic Bilbao, and now all players but Iniesta took part of the training session. But not only this match is in the agenda. There are really tough games ahead, against Arsenal and Real Madrid.

Guardiola prepair his best strategy to face Athletic, just a few days after achieving a 2-2 tie with Arsenal for the Champions League.

Messi to lead Barcelona against Arsenal in UEFA Champions League

2010-03-31T08:49:00.000-07:00

The spanish team will visit the Gunners at the Emirates Stadium, and Lionel Messi will be the main atraction on the field. The match is also the first time for Thierry Henry agains his former club.

The argentinian footballer arrives with along with the rest of the team and their president Joan Laporta , who recently hailed him as the best player in history, a claim so premature that even club coach Pep Guardiola admitted last night to being annoyed by his starstruck boss.

Barcelona coach Josep Guardiola will not be able to use Andres Iniesta, one of the best midfielders in the world, since the player suffered an injury during a Spanish League match.

Cesc Fabregas, the most important player at Arsenal, has not been comfirmed by the Gunners boss Arsene Wenger.

Messi loves football: "I would play for free"

2010-03-29T13:40:00.000-07:00

According to a British, Lionel Messi "lives to play football. Money help you live better, but that's not the reason why I play everyday. If I had to play for free, I would".

"I also like that football is a team sports. Individual achievements are nice, but the most important thing is to succeed as a team.

As we know, the Argentinian footballer is at the best moment of his career and will lead Barcelona against Arsenal in the quarterfinals of the Champions League.

Messi: "I'm not better than Maradona"

2010-03-26T09:23:00.000-07:00

Barcelona's super star Lionel Messi claims he is too far away from being the next Diego Maradona. At the same time, he says that the Argentinian National Team needs more time together to improve their level and make history at the FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010.

"Diego is Diego, there will be no other footballer like him in a million years" said Messi in an interview. Even when Lio has shown a superb performance - 8 goals in three games - he still remains humble.

However, Maradona said that he would be the "happiest man on earth" if Messi gets to be greater than him, because the kid has the talent to achieve such a hard task, and because they are both argentinians.

Messi, the best footballer in history

2010-03-26T09:18:00.000-07:00

Lionel is a different player. He may seem to be too short to be so strong, or fast. But he IS strong, fast, skilled, precise, creative. When he plays football, he creates beautiful art and a powerful strategy in order to destroy the defensive line of the rival.

Indeed, Messi has shown - with only 22 years old - that he can be better than Pelé, Maradona, Cruyff, Di Estefano or Zidane, to name a few.

Always come back to Messi's site, because the king of football has always something new to show to the World.