DESPITE his absolute genius with it, Lionel Messi has no interest in the football during the first few minutes of a match.
Instead, that time is reserved for the Barcelona superstar to scout out the opposition.
Lionel Messi walks during the first few minutes of matches to suss out the oppositionCredit: Reuters
The Argentine has rocked the LaLiga giants by demanding a transfer away, and with Manchester City desperate to sign him, he has refused to attend the club’s Covid-19 testing ahead of pre-season to try and push through his exit.
But talking to the Financial Times, his former Nou Camp boss Ernesto Valverde has revealed why Messi “ignores” the ball early on.
He says the No10 “takes a reconnaissance walk” around the opposition defence.
There, he notes exactly each man’s position. Valverde said: “Then, as the game advances, he gets in little by little.
“But he knows perfectly where the rivals’ weaknesses are.”
There is no denying it works.
During one El CLasico in December 2017, Messi walked for 83 per cent of the game and “ran” for only 4.95 per cent of the time.
However, he managed to create nine chances, score a goal and register an assist.
Messi, now 33, still works hard to improve as he was spotted earlier this year training alone in a sand pit kicking balls through a small rectangular net hanging down from end of the goalposts.
The attention to detail was amazing.
It is not enough for Messi to hit the target but to put the ball through a small area of it.
Now it remains to be seen whereabouts he will be putting that practice into match action next season.
Lionel Messi trains alone as superstar fights back from injury in time for new season
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
