ANALYSIS: How Messi has been choking on the biggest stage

LIONEL Messi helped Barcelona to a 5th UCL triumph over Juventus of Italy after a hard fought 3-1 victory. While there was no denying Barca a long overdue UCL success after their very deserved 3-1 victory over Manchester United at Wembley Stadium in 2011 where Messi shone like a million stars, not much could be said of the impish Argentine’s performance at the Olympiastadion, Germany, Saturday evening.

Going by his supernatural high standards, Messi went almost AWOL on a night he was supposed to dominate proceedings to deliver a much coveted silverware to his beloved Catalans. Except for a couple of shots from outside the 18-yard box and an audacious slalom dribbling run in the first half, Messi’s greatest impact against Juventus was his deflected shot which was stabbed into the empty net by Luis Suarez.

While most of us rightly expected Messi to lead Barca’s assault on their very experienced Italian adversaries, it was Neymar, Suarez, Ivan Rakitic and man-of-the-match Andres Iniesta who seized the game by the scruff.

Please, don’t get me wrong; I believe Messi is arguably the best footballer in the world in this era without a question. And I admire his incredible skills and humility. I still remember very fondly that brief encounter I had with him shortly after helping Argentina beat Nigeria 1-0 in Jo’burg during South Africa 2010 World Cup. Yes, I like Messi very much. And I like Cristiano Ronaldo very much too, especially after a brief banter I had with him in London in 2007.

But we’re talking about Messi here, arguably world’s best player of all time. For any other player, his performance against Juve last Saturday might have been praised. But this is inimitable Lionel Messi; and such mundane performance certainly didn’t do justice to his larger-than-life reputation.

Perhaps I might not have been bothered had his low-key show against Juve been the first time. But no! And you only have to cast your mind back to last year’s World Cup final in Brazil where Messi and Argentina lost 1-0 to Germany in extra time.

 

Had it been Messi did not freeze at Maracana, Argentina might have won a third World Cup crown. But today, the most coveted trophy in world football rests in Berlin, Germany’s capital, thanks to substitute Mario Gotze’s back-breaking goal in extra time.

And God knows that Barca might have struggled badly had they totally depended on Messi for success in Berlin last Saturday.

I appeal to you, dear readers, to try and understand my point. This is certainly not a campaign of calumny aimed at slating Messi who I think is well on his way to clinch a record-extending fifth Ballon D’Or in December, ceteris paribus.

I remember very well Messi’s World Cup debut at Germany 2006 where he shone brilliantly. I remember how he dominated the UCL finals against Manchester United in 2009 and 2011. Contrast that to his AWOL against Germany (again?) in the quarter-finals at South Africa 2010 which the Nationalmannschaft won 4-0; or last Saturday’s display against Juve, or his no-show at the Maracana and you get my drift.

Oh yes, I’m aware you could play your heart out and still lose. But world football superstars, (and Messi is a very prominent member of this exclusive class), always come to the fore when the stakes are extremely high. That is what made the likes of Diego Amando Maradona, Pele, Marco van Basten, George Weah, Franz Beckenbauer, Johan Cruyff, Mitchel Platini et al thick.

And worryingly for me, Messi had shone in very big matches in the past. So why this disturbing latest trend? Why would this highly beloved alien score spectacular goals in the final of Copa dey Rey against teams like Athletic Bilbao but go AWOL in UCL or World Cup finals? This is my dilemma, guys.