BOF Posted June 27, 2016 Moderator Share Posted June 27, 2016 Messi retires from international football, finally cementing his place forever under Maradona's shadow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulC Posted June 27, 2016 Share Posted June 27, 2016 38 minutes ago, BOF said: Messi retires from international football, finally cementing his place forever under Maradona's shadow. Yes at the age of 29 you might have thought he would wait until after the next world cup. Seems like a bit of a spoilt brat attitude. I keep losing so I retire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post BOF Posted June 27, 2016 Moderator Popular Post Share Posted June 27, 2016 Just now, PaulC said: Yes at the age of 29 you might have thought he would wait until after the next world cup. Seems like a bit of a spoilt brat attitude. I keep losing so I retire. Can you imagine the reaction if Ronaldo had missed a crucial penalty and then decided in a strop to retire? The amount of blind eyes that are turned to Messi's behaviour in general is just astonishing. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulC Posted June 27, 2016 Share Posted June 27, 2016 I like Messi but I think he doesn't like being outside his comfort zone of Barcelona. I think because of this he doesn't go down as the greatest of all time. I would have Pele and Maradona ahead of him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted June 27, 2016 Moderator Share Posted June 27, 2016 Messi is a genius, no mistake. An absolute genius and one of probably the 4 greatest players ever to play the game (along with Maradona, Pelé & C.Ronaldo). But the man is an asshole. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genie Posted June 27, 2016 Share Posted June 27, 2016 I wonder if this is the end of it tbh, I can see him rejoining the WC qualification campaign. Must be difficult all these private jet flights around the world for only £20-£30m a year. Goes to show doesn't it, some players would play into their 40's to represent their country at any level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted June 27, 2016 Author Share Posted June 27, 2016 Messi penalty record is really poor, not 1st big one he missed nice tantrum after announcing his retirement 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genie Posted June 27, 2016 Share Posted June 27, 2016 I wonder how the Argentinian FA feel about it, technically you can't actually retire. If they pick him he has to turn up or face the sanctions. By "retiring" he's just asking them to stop selecting him... I wonder if they will. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted June 27, 2016 Moderator Share Posted June 27, 2016 Very true @Genie and I was making this point in the office today, using Makelele as the example. It just means they'd have to go against his wishes, which they could do, but which I'd be very surprised if they had the balls to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genie Posted June 27, 2016 Share Posted June 27, 2016 Just now, BOF said: Very true @Genie and I was making this point in the office today, using Makelele as the example. It just means they'd have to go against his wishes, which they could do, but which I'd be very surprised if they had the balls to do. Even football aside, I imagine he generates a lot of money for them, are they will to give that up to? Will be interesting to see what happens if he has a change of heart when the dust settles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted June 27, 2016 Moderator Share Posted June 27, 2016 I wonder does he though? His image rights I imagine are sewn up tightly by Barcelona. Argentina probably sell out wherever they go regardless. I honestly wonder how much the Argentinian FA are able to monetise an asset like Messi without stepping on other financial toes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genie Posted June 27, 2016 Share Posted June 27, 2016 4 minutes ago, BOF said: I wonder does he though? His image rights I imagine are sewn up tightly by Barcelona. Argentina probably sell out wherever they go regardless. I honestly wonder how much the Argentinian FA are able to monetise an asset like Messi without stepping on other financial toes. Brazil have been pimping out their national side for years purely for generating money in meaningless friendlies. Its very difficult to know I guess without seeing contracts, I'm sure Argentina make a lot of money 1 way or another from shirt sales with his name on the back and ticket sales on the chance he might play. I don't think Barcelona will have too much claim over what he does in an Argentina shirt regardless of how much they pay him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodders0223 Posted June 27, 2016 Share Posted June 27, 2016 Very poor form to retire on his country. He hasn't had any major injuries such as Shearer did when he retired early. What a douchebag. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillaChris Posted June 27, 2016 Share Posted June 27, 2016 (edited) Argentina need to freshen things up regardless...you've got quality like Dybala and Corrrea we barely see because of the usual status quo upfront. Them still calling up Lavezzi is madness imo. Edited June 27, 2016 by VillaChris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurtsimonw Posted June 27, 2016 Share Posted June 27, 2016 2 hours ago, BOF said: Messi is a genius, no mistake. An absolute genius and one of probably the 4 greatest players ever to play the game (along with Maradona, Pelé & C.Ronaldo). But the man is an asshole. Spoilt brat springs to mind. Barca bought him everything he needed to be successful at club level, but can't be done at International level so he throws a tantrum. As for the Argentina team, I don't know about changes. This group hasn't taken the final step but they've reached 3 finals in the last 3 years. Maybe you can add guys like Dybala, Icardi, Correa in to the squad. But these guys are not better than Higuain, Aguero, Di Maria so I don't see first XI changes even if the squad makeup does. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villakram Posted June 27, 2016 Share Posted June 27, 2016 12 hours ago, maqroll said: Heading to extra time...it's been a very scrappy game, some awful refereeing, Messi getting kicked to death, Alexis is a joy to watch, Funes Mori is impressive, great atmosphere in New Jersey, a full stadium. Love it. I hope the US is invited to this every time. Ya, if the US ever wants to be a power it really needs to make this happen, and I think they may be able to convince the Mexicans to get on board too. The issue will be how many seats at the table does concacaf get in the uber corrupt comebol. Regarding the US hosting. I think it went ok. Not being able to sell out the home games because they've given the match hosting rights to promoters interested in extorting the soccer public is a huge negative, and don't get me started on the terrible state of the pitches (both in size and the "turf"). But, I believe that it's been very successful in a financial sense and so this should be a huge help in putting the US in good position for the '26/'30 WC hosting "competition". 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted June 27, 2016 Share Posted June 27, 2016 7 hours ago, Davkaus said: His reaction is pathetic, to be honest. He spent the shootout pacing around, then on the floor in the fetal position and holding his head in his hands...while the shootout was still in progress. That's not what you need from your captain. Yep, he can be a diva, no doubt. Not Ronaldo level, but still petulant. He'll be back to play for them if they struggle in qualifying. And he'll be back for the WC if they don't. I think he'll regret this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr_Pangloss Posted June 27, 2016 Share Posted June 27, 2016 Messi is an idiot and not fit to lace Maradona's boots, vastly inferior player and a vastly inferior leader. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulC Posted June 28, 2016 Share Posted June 28, 2016 If only Rooney would do the same as Messi. At least Messi takes Argentina to finals, Rooney cant even get us through a knock-out game. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Zen Posted June 28, 2016 Share Posted June 28, 2016 (edited) 23 hours ago, Dr_Pangloss said: Messi is an idiot and not fit to lace Maradona's boots, vastly inferior player and a vastly inferior leader. Vastly inferior player is a preposterous exaggeration at best. Messi is no leader, though, I'll give you that. While I think his decision to retire from international football seems rash and immature, and I highly doubt he won't be back, it is possible to understand why Messi might find playing for Argentina a trifle burdensome. It isn't humanly possible to singlehandedly win a World Cup anymore, so he'll never achieve what Diego did. Meaning he'll never be good enough for many Argentina fans, some of which have never accepted him as a true Argentinian anyway because he essentially grew up in Spain. Wearing number 10 for Argentina is like wearing number 99 in the NHL. You'll never quite live up to the legend that surrounds it, no matter how freakishly good you are. Edited June 28, 2016 by Michelsen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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