Is Messi the greatest ever after scoring 5 goals?

It's hard to write a summary about what happened this week in the European Championship leagues without overlooking the out of this world achievement of Lionel Messi's raw power display last night.

This... times five = WOW!

By this time you are probably aware that the 24 year old Barcelona forward became the only player in scoring 5 goals in a single UCL match since it's new format implemented in the early 90s, and even if we go back 100 years, there aren't many players who achieved the same fact. The real fuzz is the online debate of Messi being the greatest of all time, against the likes of Pele, Maradona, Di Stefano, Cruyff and others. So I'm going to give my position on the whole matter and throw my two cents in.

Some of the greatest of all time

When I was watching last night's game, the one thing that amazed me was Lionel's hunger for playing football. You have to keep in mind that he missed Barcelona's last match, and yesterday against Leverkusen, he appeared to play as if he hadn't played the game he loves so much in a month. Messi reminds me of that kid in the playground, the one who always asks for the ball "me-me-me-me-me-me!" .... "I'm open-open-open-open".... "me-me-me-me-me!"... and once he gets it, the goal keeper better start saying some prayers, because he knows what to do and he does it without any doubt or hesitation. He has an inner force that drives him to both keep playing the game (the entire 90 minutes) and to enjoy it to the maximum of its extent. That's where I think he excels, and it is in that department where I think he's the greatest better. I haven't seen a player who has had so much desire to play the game from minute 1 to minute 90, never giving up on a ball, always wanting to score, and just having so much fun as if it was a video game.

I have watched a lot of good players, live during their eras: I started watching football around 1984, so I watched Platini, Maradona, Socrates, Van Basten, Romario, Ronaldo, Zidane, Ronaldinho, all of them great players. But at one point or another during the matches they player, they kind of "slowed down" their pace in the field. It wasn't like they were doing anything wrong, they were just easing up and taking things a little more lightly. Messi doesn't. To Messi, scoring means everything... and it's not like he wants to humilliate the rival because I hardly think that is the case. To him, it's just a game; plain and simple... a game. It's the exact same way those hardcore video gamers feel, with the thrill of always, ALWAYS wanting more.

This kind of passion, is what Messi feels in the pitch

I have to be honest while writing this blog. My preferred player and the one player I think is the greatest of all time is Ronaldinho Gaucho. While not as hungry and desperate to score as if there was no tomorrow as Messi, Ronaldinho brought color and joy to the game of football. I just haven't seen anyone who would wreck defenders as easily as Ronaldinho did. It's a bit sad he lost interest in the game after winning the Champions, because had he kept the insane rhythm that got him to the level where he was, there wouldn't have been any stop to Barcelona's success ever since that tournament up till today.

The other two aspects about Messi being the best ever or not, is the difference he makes in a team. It is undeniable that Barcelona is a machine right now, who could even take national squads apart with ease. That's the luxury of having Iniesta, Xavi and Fabregas playing behind you, and Pedro and Tello by your side. That's why I think both Maradona and Ronaldinho have a bit more merit than Messi: it's not like they were the only stars in a poor team, but they were the driving force playing in teams that had pretty much decent players... maybe above than average, but that's it.

A new edition of this picture is coming this year

Finally the most objective factor about this discussion that everyone keeps ignoring: the position of the player. Messi is a forward who happens to be a striker. A player like Zidane, was a midfielder. It would have been very unlikely to witness Zidane score 5 goals in any matches, because that wasn't his primary role. In France he had Henry and Trezeguet in front of him, and in Madrid he had Raul, Morientes and Ronaldo to feed balls. Ronaldinho, was kind of an offensive midfielder, close to being a forward. But Ronaldinho's main task was to feed Samuel Eto'o of as many balls as he could in whichever way possible (and so he did), just like he had to feed Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Adriano in the Brazilian squad. The same applies to Maradona in Napoli and in Argentina. They were all different players, playing in different positions.

Of course, the main point is Messi's natural and incredible talent to score from any position at anytime, and the cold blood that he has to score without any question on where and how to shoot the ball. The other element, is Messi's ability to visualize himself in the field and get unmarked so that Barca's midfielders can send him such elegant and perfect passes. All of this combined with his love for the game, results in him scoring 5 goals in an UCL match.

When I saw this goal live, I thought I had also seen a spaceship land in my backyard.

It's very easy to speculate and to day dream, but players like the ones I mentioned, Zizuo, Michel, Diego, Ronaldinho and Ronaldo... I'm quite sure all of them had the same ability to define and score 5 goals the way Messi did yesterday. Don't get me wrong: I'm neither downgrading Messi or upgrading the named players. Maradona scored the best goal in the history of football. Zidane, scored the best goal of the Champions League; Ronaldinho received a standing ovation after scoring two amazing goals (practically by himself) at the stadium of the arch-rival team of Barcelona, Real Madrid. They also excelled playing for their national squads and they all won world cups and continental cups, none of which Messi has yet; but it's too early to judge, because he has at least eight more years of good play in the game. The big factor here, like I said in the beginning... is Messi's passion. That's where he stands alone.

Energizer should get rid of the bunny and use Messi instead

To summarize all the blog in a sentence, Messi is the energizer bunny: he keeps going, and going, and going... and going.... and going...and the only thing that stops him from goind is when the final whistle is blown, otherwise he would STILL keep going...