The Argentine did not score at the Olympiastadion but had a hand in all of the Blaugrana's goals in their 3-1 win over Juventus, thus underlining his incredible influence. Every expert was asked in the lead-up to the Champions League final: how does one stop Lionel Messi?
Typically, Marco Materazzi gave the most brutally honest answer.
"In my opinion, you should pray and then commit a foul on him,!" the former Italy and Inter defender told Betnumbers.
The truth is, though, that there is no way of nullifying the diminutive No.10. Whenever he is fouled, he simply picks himself back up without complaint and gets on with the game. His game. And that’s the other thing: there’s no point in asking for Divine intervention when it comes to Lionel Messi. As Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini admitted before the final, "Messi is now the God of football.”
Chiellini, of course, had claimed that Messi would never have scored the kind of sensational solo strike he produced in the Copa del Rey final if he were up against Italian defenders. And Juventus certainly did a decent job on curbing the Argentine’s attacking threat in Berlin. But they could not contain him.
True, Messi did not score, but his contributions were once again crucial. Indeed, he was involved in all of Barca’s goals in their 3-1 win. It was his pass which picked out Jordi Alba on the left-hand side in the lead-up to Ivan Rakitic’s wonderfully worked opener, a perfect example of the playmaking responsibilities which he has embraced so wholeheartedly for the good of both Barcelona and Argentina.
Messi is a fantastic individual but he’s also a great team player. As evidenced by the way in which he handed over a penalty to Neymar in the Liga rout at Cordoba. Messi was on a hat-trick and fighting for the Pichichi with Cristiano Ronaldo but Neymar had yet to net. Consequently, Messi selflessly stepped aside.
Yet it is the way in which he has so consistently stepped up that prompts one to herald Barcelona’s treble triumph as Messi’s treble triumph. He has been the difference this year. In every game that mattered.
It was he who side-stepped his way through the Atletico Madrid defence to dethrone the reigning Spanish champions in their own backyard. It was he who left four men trailing in his wake before opening the scoring with a sensational goal in the Copa del Rey final win over Athletic Bilbao. It was he who booked Barcelona’s ticket for Berlin with a stunning double in the semi-final first-leg win over Bayern Munich.
Make no mistake about it, he has been wonderfully aided by Neymar and Luis Suarez, who both scored against Juve. Messi now has a supporting cast befitting his remarkable talent.
But it is Messi who lifts Barcelona when they are down. Indeed, they were being bossed in Berlin for 10 minutes after Alvaro Morata’s equaliser but then Messi intervened, charging forward towards the Bianconeri defence before deftly side-stepping Andrea Barzagli and then unleashing a low drive that Gianluigi Buffon could only parry into the path of Suarez.
Messi even played his part in the third goal by releasing Neymar in midfield, merely underlining that he is the key component in what is a fantastic Barcelona team.
Messi told Times of India beforehand, “Last year I had an inconsistent season. I was out for a long time due to injuries and I missed a lot of matches. When I returned to the field I never felt right. Thankfully, now I feel very good.”
And what this 2014-15 campaign has emphasised is that when Lionel Messi feels good, he is simply too good for everyone else in the game.
