Cerita Disney Rickie Lambert.

Tanggal 14 agustus menjadi hari yang bersejarah bagi Rickie Lambert. Pria berusia 31 tahun ini melakukan debut di timnas Inggris. Tidak sampai situ juga, Rickie turut mencetak gol lewat tandukan dalam debutnya ini sekaligus penentu kemenangan Inggris atas Skotlandia. Bagi Rickie kejadian-kejadian tersebut bak cerita Disney,saat mimpi menjadi kenyataan dan memiliki akhir yang indah. Rickie mungkin menjadi jawaban atas tumpulnya lini depan Inggris yang selama ini hanya bertumpu pada Wayne Rooney.

Terkait pemanggilanya yang terkesan terlambat,hal ini menjadi contoh bahwa banyak pemain bagus namun tidak mendapat kesempatan untuk membela timnas negaranya sendiri. Kita tahu banyak kritik mengenai sosok Roy Hodgson dalam pemanggilan pemain. Bahkan seorang Grant Holt pun bersuara bahwa mustahil dirinya dipanggil ke timnas Inggris kalau ia bermain di tim medioker macam Norwich. Padahal pada musim 2011/12 Holt menjadi pria inggris tersubur kedua dibawah Rooney dengan 15 gol. Sayangnya dirinya tetap tidak dibawa Hodgson ke Euro 2012.

Hal yang sama terjadi pada Rickie musim berikutnya. Bersama Frank Lampard, ia menjadi sosok lokal tersubur dengan 15 gol.  Bandingkan dengan Rooney yang hanya 12 kali menceploskan bola ke gawang. Meskipun begitu panggilan belum juga datang, hingga akhirnya pada 8 agustus dia menerima panggilan ke timnas senior dan 6 hari kemudian tampil perdana dan mencetak gol.

Kisah Rickie Lambert ini harusnya menjadi panutan bagi pelatih-pelatih timnas mancanegara untuk selalu memperhatikan talenta lokal yang bersinar, baik di tim medioker ataupun negara luar. Contoh paling mudah bisa dilihat dari Mikel Arteta. Sosok kunci lapangan tengah Arsenal yang merupakan jebolan akademi La Masia ini belum pernah sama sekali membela timnas Spanyol senior, meskipun cukup sukses era junior. Santi Cazorla yang notabene rekan setim di Arsenal, sampai merasa heran mengapa Arteta tidak dipanggil ke timnas senior meskipun menunjukan performa cemerlang di EPL.

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July 20, 2013

Anomali bursa transfer BPL

Masa jeda antar musim mungkin menjadi saat yang ditunggu penggemar sepak bola. Masa dimana persiapan tim menjelang musim berikutnya dilakukan. Terutama untuk masalah transfer antar pemain. Hal ini terjadi juga di inggris, negeri yang dianggap sebagai asal dari sepak bola ini selalu menarik untuk dilihat bursa transfernya. Pergerakan tim-tim papan atas seperti duo Manchester, Chelsea,Arsenal,dll selalu ditunggu oleh penikmat sepak bola.

Manchester City masih menjadi tim yang jor-joran dalam bursa transfer ini, tak kurang dari tiga nama dibeli oleh mereka, Jesus Navas, Stevan Jovetic,dan Alvaro Negredo. Tidak lupa pemain asal Brazil Fernandinho yang dihargai 30 juta pounds. Uniknya transfer tim besar lain terkesan adem ayem. Chelsea saat ini ‘baru’ membeli dua pemain, Andres Schurrle dan wonderkid Belanda Marko van Ginkel. Sementara Arsenal dan Man.Utd masing-masing mendapat wonderkid dari dua tim finalis Piala Dunia U-20, Yaya Sanogo (Prancis) dan Varela (Uruguay).

Banyak pemain yang dianggap punya ‘Nama’ namun cenderung bergabung dengan tim-tim diluar 6 besar musim lalu. Nama-nama seperti Fernando Amorabieta & Stekelenburg yang bergabung dengan Fulham, disusul oleh top skor Liga Belanda musim lalu,Wilfried Bony, yang menuju Swansea City.

Sunderland dan Norwich tak luput menjadi buah bibir di musim panas ini. Sunderland dengan pelatih anyar Paolo Di Canio berhasil memboyong penyerang asal Amerika Serikat, Jozy Altidore, dari klub Liga Belanda AZ dan sayap mungil nan lincah dari Juventus, Emanuele Giaccherini. Norwich City merekrut penyerang Belanda Ricky van Wolfwinkel dari Sporting Lisbon dan Leroy Fer dari Twente. Jangan lupakan juga nama-nama seperti wonderkid dari La Masia, Gerard Deulofeu yang dipinjamkan ke Everton, serta rekan setim-nya di Barca B, Marc Muniesa, yang menuju Stoke. Victor Wanyama dan Dejan Lovren menjadi yang berikutnya dengan memilih Southampton.

Banyak yang mempertanyakan alasan mereka memilih tim tersebut,kita tahu Victor Wanyama adalah incaran Man.Utd sejak lama namun malah bergabung dengan Southampton. Uang mungkin bukan,karena rata-rata tim tersebut berkondisikan keuangan menengah. Alasan paling rasional adalah waktu bermain. Mereka pergi ke Premier League tentu bukan sekedar ingin menjadi penghangat bangku cadangan. Bermain di kompetisi yang disebut terbaik di dunia serta kompetitif tentu akan menambah jam terbang mereka.

Menurut saya pribadi, alasan mereka memilih klub yang dianggap medioker adalah agar tidak terkena tekanan pers. Sudah sejak lama pers Inggris dikenal keras dengan sering menyorot kondisi pemain baik di lapangan maupun di luar lapangan. Kita tahu kalau Luiz Suarez berujar bahwa ia muak dengan pers Inggris yang selalu menyuarakan kritik tajam kepada dirinya. Contoh lain adalah bagaimana pers di sana mengkritik performa dari Samir Nasri yang hanya menjadi cadangan mahal di Man.City dan Andy Carroll semasa di Liverpool. Mungkin itu sebabnya mereka memilih klub medioker agar terbebas dari tekanan pers terhadap form permainan mereka sendiri saat kompetisi berlangsung.

Satu hal yang menjadi harapan saya, semoga dengan bergabungnya mereka ke tim di luar 6 besar dapat membuat Liga Inggris lebih kompetitif lagi,dengan merusak dominasi klub asal Manchester dan London di papan atas sehingga para penonton dapat terhibur.

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May 10, 2013

Perkembangan sepakbola Singapura.

Singapura adalah Raja Sepakbola  ASEAN. Ya, itu adalah perkataan dari beberapa pandit sepakbola setelah Singapura menjadi juara Piala AFF 2012. Gelar itu menjadi gelar mereka yang ke-4 atau yang terbanyak di jajaran negara ASEAN. Usut punya usut,ternyata semua kesuksesan Singapura itu berawal dari program pengembangan yang diprakarsai Chris Chan.

Pada tahun 1997, Chris yang kala itu menjabat sebagai CEO dari Liga Sepakbola Singapura mencetuskan program Goal 2010. Singkat kata program ini bertujuan untuk meloloskan Singapura ke Piala Dunia 2010.

Karena Singapura tidak memiliki sumber daya manusia yang mencukupi, mereka pun mengambil pemain dari luar. Tujuan utama dari Liga Sepakbola Singapura atau S-League adalah untuk menjaring pemain-pemain yang potensial dari luar negeri.

S-League pun mengutamakan pemain dari Afrika maupun Eropa belahan timur yang memiliki penghasilan tidak terlalu besar dan mau digaji maksimal sekitar 25 juta rupiah per bulan.

Semua pemain ini akan ditawarkan menjadi warga negara Singapura setelah lima tahun bermain di Singapura,tentu saja pemain yang ditawari menjadi warga negara Singapura adalah pemain yang dianggap meiliki potensi. Selain itu pada saat yang bersamaan S-League juga mengembangkan pelatih dan pemain muda lainya untuk membina dan dibina.

Hasilanya dapat kita ketahui sekarang ini. Singapura menjadi raja ASEAN dengan pemain naturalisasinya  sesuai dengan rencana mereka di awal. Itimi Dickson dan Agu Casmir adalah contoh pemain naturalisasi dari benua Afrika. Untuk benua Eropa Timur muncul nama Mustafic Fachrudin serta Alexander Duric. Tidak lupa adanya sosok Daniel Bennet dari Inggris dan Sho Jiayi dari China. Sebagai tambahan, Daniel Bennet berkata bahwa ia kini merasa wajib menjadi mentor untuk para pemain muda yang akan menjadi penerusnya di timnas.

Program Goal 2010 mungkin gagal membawa Singapura lolos ke Piala Dunia 2010, tetapi rencanan mereka tidak pernah dirombak sejak awal mula dicanangkan. Singapura dari tahun 1997 tetap menggunakan program yang sama, bukan tidak mungkin suatu saat mereka akan lolos ke Piala Dunia.

Kisah Singapura ini menunjukan satu hal, bahwa perencanaan matang dan konsistensi program pasti akan membuahkan hasil. Semoga saja hal ini menjadi pembelajaran bagi pihak-pihak pengurus sepakbola Indonesia.

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April 19, 2013

Duel Ikon El Classico Masa Depan

Dewasa ini dunia persepakbolaan seolah terfokus pada pertarungan antara Cristiano Ronaldo dengan Lionel Messi. Ikon dari Real Madrid dan Barcelona ini seolah bagaikan dua buah dewa yang saling bertarung demi menjadi yang terbaik. Dengan reputasi perseteruan antara klub mereka masing-masing, persaingan ini kian meruncing.

Tapi, apakah bila sosok Ronaldo dan Messi pensiun maka pertarungan dua ikon Madrid dan Barcelona berakhir? Menurut saya tidak, kita lihat di Real Madrid Castilla dan Barcelona B. Dua tim satelit yang bertarung di Liga Adelante atau divisi dibawah La Liga. Terdapat sosok youngster yang dianggap sebagai reinkarnasi dari Ronaldo dan Messi,yakni Jese Rodriguez di Castilla dan Gerard Deulofeu di Barca B.

Hingga tulisan ini dibuat mereka berdua adalah pencetak gol terbanyak di tim mereka untuk Segunda Division. Jese dengan 19 gol dan Deulofeu dengan 18 gol. Jese total berkontribusi 32% dari total gol Castilla,sedangkan Deulofeu dengan 27%.

Mereka berdua adalah pilar utama di lini depan Spanyol u-19 saat menjuarai Piala Eropa u-19 juli tahun lalu. Jese keluar sebagai pencetak gol terbanyak di turnamen dengan 5 gol, termasuk hattrick-nya ke gawa Israel di penyisihan grup. Sementara itu, meskipun hanya mencetak 2 gol, Deulofeu mencetak gol vital di semifinal melawan Prancis dan menjadi pemain terbaik turnamen tersebut.

Jese terkenal dengan kemiripan bermain dengan Ronaldo. Berposisi asli sebagai winger, namun dirinya menjadi sosok dengan gol terbanyak. Sama seperti Ronaldo di tim utama. Tendangan akurat dipadu dengan kecepatan dribble dan kemampuan individu yang yahud. Membuat pemuda yang tujuh tahun lebih muda dari Ronaldo ini sebagai calon bintang Real Madrid masa depan.

Pada sisi lain, Deulofeu dianggap sebagai mutiara La Masia yang siap untuk dipoles menjadi lebih baik. Deulofeu mengutamakan akurasi dribble dapadu dengan gaya bermain tiki-taka membuatnya disamakan dengan sosok Messi.

Menarik untuk menunggu kiprah mereka di saat yang akan datang. Semoga saja ekpektasi publik yang tinggi dengan membandingkan mereka dengan ikon di tim senior masing-masing tidak membebani pikiran mereka. Tapi untuk itu, mereka harus membuktikan kualitas mereka dulu dan menembus tim utama.

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February 8, 2013

Inggris dan talenta di sektor tengah.

Sektor tengah disebut-sebut sebagai sektor terpenting dalam sepakbola. Sektor ini menjadi panyambung antara sektor pertahanan dan penyerangan. Dengan kata lain sektor ini menginisiasi penyerangan dan juga bertindak sebagai lapisan pertama dalam bertahan. Inggris, negara yang dikatakan sebagai pencipta sepakbola ini banyak menelurkan talenta-talenta berbakat di lapangan tengah. Siapa yang tidak tahu Paul Gascoigne,Paul Ince,Darren Anderton,Paul Scholes pada era 90-an hingga era saat ini yang berisi Frank Lampard,Steven Gerrard,hingga Michael Carrick. Dari nama-nama yang sudah disebutkan di atas kita tahu bahwa inggris memiliki barisan gelandang tengah yang berkualitas.

Menurut game Football Manager, biasanya sektor gelandang tengah ini dibagi menjadi tiga gaya bermain. Pertama DMF / Diffensive Midfielder yang merupakan gelandang bertahan yang berfungsi sebagai pertahanan pertama sebelum di lini pertahanan. Contoh nyatanya bisa kita lihat pada sosok Gareth Barry yang memiliki statistik tekel dan intercept terbanyak di Manchester City atau bisa kita lihat juga pada diri Scott Parker. Namun seiring berjalanya waktu taktik pun berevolusi sehingga kadangkala pemain yang menempati posisi ini bisa berubah menjadi seorang deep lying playmaker. Pada saat ini di Inggris, peran ini mirip seperti yang diemban oleh Michael Carrick. Pemain yang disebut-sebut sedang dalam performa terbaik sepanjang karirnya ini menurut situs Whoscored.com memiliki rata-rata passing akurat sebesar 87,9% hanya berbeda tipis dengan metronome Italia Andrea Pirlo.

Berikutnya adalah CMF / Central Midfielder yang merupakan posisi natural di tengah. Namun di posisi ini dituntut pemain yang memiliki keseimbangan antara bertahan dan menyerang. Contoh nyata ada pada diri Steven Gerrard. Statistik Stevie G menyebutkan ia melakukan jumlah tekel terbanyak diantara pemain tengah Liverpool lainya dan mengancam gawang lawan sebanyak 62 kali.

Terakhir ada AMF / Attacking Midfielders. Gelandang bertipe agresif yang menjadi bantuan bila barisan penyerang mengalami kesulitan. Tidak jarang juga gol-gol lahir dari pemain di posisi ini. Frank Lampard bisa disebut sebagai contoh yang bisa dibilang sempurna di posisi ini. Tendangan keras kedua kaki yang memiliki akurasi tinggi,kemampuan menahan bola,serta visi dalam memberikan key-pass dikuasai dengan oleh kapten kedua Chelsea ini. Bahkan tak jarang Lampard membuat gol dengan sundulan kepala. Sepupu dari Jamie Redknapp ini tercatat sebagai gelandang tersubur kedua di timnas Inggris dengan 27 gol dibawah Sir Bobby Charlton. Untuk level klub catatan Lampard lebih fantastis. Ia tercatat sebagai top skor kedua sepanjang masa tim dengan total 197 gol dengan 136 diantaranya dibuat di liga,membuatnya hanya tertinggal 5 gol dari Bobby Tambling. Apabila digabung dengan catatan semasa di West Ham, Frank Lampard sudah mencetak 161 gol di liga. Membuatnya sebagai peringkat 5 gol terbanyak di EPL dan gelandang tersubur.

Terlepas dari 3 pembagian peran gelandang tengah di atas. Inggris memiliki bakat lain yang serbabisa. James Milner contohnya, pemegang no.7 di Man.City ini dikenal sebagai gelandang pekerja keras dan mampu tampil di berbagai posisi. Selain sebagai DMF,CMF,dan AMF Milner juga fasih bermain di sektor sayap. Sosok Owen Hargreaves juga bisa dibilang gelandang serbabisa. Meskipun memiliki catatan cedera yang hampir menyamai torehan penampilanya, mantan gelandang Bayern Muenchen ini mampu bermain sebagai bek sayap baik kiri atau kanan.

Kita sendiri tahu bahwa Lampard,Gerrard,Barry,dan Carrick sudah berusia diatas 30 tahun. Bisa diyakini bahwa tahun mendatang permainan mereka sudah tak segermelap saat mudanya. Tetapi Roy Hodgson selaku manajer timnas Inggris tidak perlu risau. Sudah muncul beberapa nama yang siap mengorbit di jajaran tim utama Inggris seperti Jack Wilshere dan Tom Cleverley. Serta jangan lupakan peran para gelandang singa muda u-21 semacam duo Liverpool Jordan Henderson daan Jonjo Shelvey. Hingga jangkar muda kepunyaan Machester biru Jack Rodwell dan youngster Chelsea Josh McEahran.

Dengan melimpahnya barisan gelandang tengah tak bisa dipungkiri lagi bahwa regenerasi timnas Inggris untuk posisi ini sangat baik. Generasi demi generasi terus menghasilkan gelandang berkualitas. Mungkin hanya nasib buruk saja yang selalu menghampiri timnas Inggris hingga belum mampu berbicara banyak di kancah antarnegara. Semoga dengan sederet gelandang masa depan ini, tim Inggris mampu berbicara lebih banyak di ajang antarnegara yang akan datang atau bahkan meraih titel Juara.

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February 4, 2013

Generasi Emas Tanpa Gelar.

Apa yang ada di benak anda saat melihat skuad tim yang berisi bintang-bintang tampil di suatu kejuaraan? Mereka menjadi juara pastinya. Ekspektasi juara selalu diberikan publik kepada tim yang disebut unggulan terkuat. Namun pepatah lawas tapi tetap eksis di zaman modern ini bilang bahwa “bola itu bundar” semua hal bisa terjadi di atas lapangan. Contoh paling mudah adalah Yunani menjuarai EURO 2004. Tidak ada pihak yang yakin bahwa Yunani bisa berbicara banyak di turnamen ini,apalagi menjadi juara. Akan tetapi kenyataan berkata lain,permainan difensif mengandalkan serangan balik cepat ala Otto Rehaggel membungkam khalayak dan membawa Yunani ke tahta Juara. Contoh lain yang menyerupai adalah bagaimana Uruguay bisa mendobrak dominasi Argentina dan Brazil di Copa America.

Hal serupa juga terjadi di benua Afrika. Dilihat dari komposisi peserta dalam 2 penyelenggaraan Piala Afrika terakhir, Pantai Gading disebut sebagai tim terkuat dibandingkan tim lain dilihat dari aspek manapun. Tapi apa yang terjadi? Nigeria berhasil mengalahkan Pantai Gading 2-1 pada perempat final piala Afrika 2013. Banyak pihak yang terkejut akan hal ini terlebih saat melihat komposisi skuad masing-masing tim. Hal ini menambah luka di catatan sejarah Pantai Gading setelah mereka kalah tahun lalu dari Zambia di final melalui adu penalti.

Banyak spekulasi timbul di pihak pengamat. Mulai dari tim yang disebut arogan dan terlalu percaya diri,sampai ego masing-masing pemain yang mengurangi kekompakan tim. Didier Drogba,kapten sekaligus legenda hidup Pantai Gading berkata bahwa status unggulan justru membebani tim,hal ini membuat tim lain menjadi tampil ngotot saat menghadapi Pantai Gading. Hal ini diamini oleh Yaya Toure,menurutnya tekanan untuk Pantai Gading menjadi berlipat ganda dengan adanya ekspektasi publik ini sendiri.

Well, siapa yang menyangka tim bermaterikan Drogba,Toure bersaudara,Kalou,Zokora,Tiote,hingga sayap lincah Arsenal Gervinho bisa tersingkir begitu cepat. Ditambah manager bernama Sabri Lamouchi yang cukup sukses dalam karirnya sebagai pemain. Kegagalan Pantai Gading memang tidak diprediksikan,tetapi ada beberapa faktor yang membuat mereka gagal. Pertama,pemain bintang di Pantai Gading ini tergolong sudah memasuki masa senja dalam karirnya. Drogba berumur 35 tahun pada bulan maret mendatang. Kolo Toure,Didier Zokora,serta bek kiri PSG Tiene berusia 32 tahun. Bahkan metronom Pantai Gading dan Man.City akan berkepala 3 pada mei nanti. Bahkan Drogba pun berkata bahwa ini mungkin menjadi Piala Afrika terakhirnya.

Kedua, nama-nama besar di Pantai Gading berada di liga yang kurang kompetitif ataupun bukan pilihan utama di klub masing-masing. Didier Drogba terakhir hanya bermain di liga China, veteran lainya Didier Zokora berada di liga Turki,bahkan kiper utama mereka Baubacar Barry hanya bermain di Liga Belgia. Dari daftar skuad Pantai Gading sendiri, hanya liga Inggris yang bisa dianggap kompetitif. Itupun Bek Utama mereka Kolo Toure hanya menjadi cadangan di Man.City bersama pemain muda Abdul Razak.

Ketiga, faktor pelatih Sabri Lamouchi. Meskipun bisa dibilang cukup sukses di karirnya sebagai pemain,tetapi kebanyakan hanya berada di tim kualitas menengah. Selain itu kurangnya kepengalaman dalam bidang kepelatihan membuat banyak pihak meragukan kualitasnya dan itu terbukti dengan gagalnya Pantai Gading.

Keempat, faktor internal tim. Sepanjang membela Pantai Gading, Drogba telah mengikuti 5 piala Afrika dengan torehan 2 runners-up ,2 perempat final,dan sekali Juara ke-4. Namun dalam tiap keikutsertaan. Timnas Pantai Gading selalu dipimpin manager yang berbeda. Faktor perubahan taktik yang terlalu sering,kurang klop-nya manager dengan pemainya terjadi karena imbas dari seringnya Pantai Gading berganti manager.

Dengan usia para generasi emas Pantai Gading yang sudah berusia diatas kepala 3. Tak bisa dipungkiri bahwa ini mungkin saja menjadi turnamen terakhir mereka di kancah tim nasional. Miris melihat fakta yang terjadi,tapi itulah sepakbola. Status bintang hanya membuat tim yang mereka bela menjadi unggulan bukan menjadi Juara. Semoga generasi Pantai Gading berikutnya yang dipimpin Salomon Kalou dan Gervinho mampu mempersembahkan piala Afrika yang terakhir mereka raih pada tahun 1992.

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February 4, 2013

Ada Apa Dengan Real Madrid?

Ya, ada apa dengan Real Madrid mungkin menjadi pertanyaan yang muncul di benak para penikmat sepakbola,terutama sesudah Madrid ditaklukan “tim gurem” Granada 1-0 minggu pagi dinihari lewat gol bunuh diri superstar mereka Cristiano Ronaldo.  Bak Daud yang mengalahkan Goliath, hal ini mengejutkan banyak orang terutama setelah melihat performa impresif Madrid saat mencuku Valencia 0-5 di Mestalla dan imbang dalam laga El Classico tengah pekan.

Performa tandang Madrid menjadi sorotan menjadi sorotan. Dari 12 laga mereka mengalami 5 kali kekalahan,berbeda dari musim lalu yang hanya 1 kali. Banyak pengamat mengaitkan hal ini terhadap problem internal Madrid sendiri. Bertubi-tubi berita miring mengenai ruang ganti Madrid terekspos media. Mulai dari awal musim saat CR7 mengaku sedih, problem penjualan Kaka,hingga yang paling panas tentang beberapa pemain yang memohon kepada Presiden klub agar manager mereka Jose Mourinho dipecat.

Jose Mourinho memang menjadi fokus media mengenai merosotnya performa Madrid dibandingkan musim lalu. Terutama setelah keputusan kontroversialnya yang tidak memainkan Iker Casillas waktu melawan Malaga. Isu santer yang berhembus memprediksikan bahwa Mou akan kembali menangani Chelsea. Mou berdalih bahwa turnamen EURO 2012 tahun lalu memang menguras fisik para pemain-nya saat masa pre-season,selain itu tekanan untuk mempertahankan performa seperti musim lalu juga mempengaruhi mental tim. Terlebih semua tim melihat Madrid sebagai sosok unggulan sehingga mereka semua berlomba-lomba untuk menaklukan Juara terbanyak La Liga ini. Madrid sendiri pada awal paruh musim kedua ini masih terkena krisis absenya pemain karena cedera dan skorsing. Selain itu tuntutan untuk memberi gelar Liga Champions yang ke-10 bagi Madrid mungkin membebani pikiran Mou sendiri.

Hal di atas mungkin hanya beberapa kasus yang dianggap kaum jurnalis sebagai penyebab merosotnya performa Madrid musim ini. Runtuhnya mental tim,dan ketidakpercayaan akan manager tim juga imbas dari kasus tadi. Meskipun Presiden klub terus mengatakan posisi Mou tetap aman,tapi bukan tidak mungkin bahwa Mou akan meninggalkan Madrid suatu saat. Reputasi Mou yang dikenal sebagai motivator handal dan dekat dengan pemain mengalami ujian berat saat ini,terlebih saat ini Madrid akan melakoni jadwal yang kurang bersahabat periode februari ini.

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January 4, 2013

Prediksi Juara Liga Musim 2012/2013

Tahun 2013 sudah kita masuki, artinya tahun kehidupan yang baru pun akan kita jalani. Tapi tidak dengan sepakbola. 2013 bisa disebut sebagai fase penting bagi klub-klub eropa. Terlebih pada awal sampai pertengahan tahun nanti., karena memasuki paruh kedua musim yang merupakan fase kritis  untuk perebutan juara liga domestik masing-masing.  Dengan berakhirnya paruh pertama,maka telah lahir juga istilah juara paruh musim. Sebuah gelar tak resmi yang disematkan kepada tim yang berhasil memimpin klasemen pada saat akhir putaran pertama liga. Manchester United di Inggris, Barcelona di Spanyol, Juventus di Italia, Bayern Muenchen di Jerman,  PSV Eindhoven di Belanda, dan PSG di Perancis merupakan deretan juara paruh musim di enam liga terbaik eropa. Mereka digadang-gadang pada akhir musim akan menjadi juara liga,karena dilihat dari fakta sebagian besar juara paruh musim akan menjadi juara pada akhirnya.

Pertama kita mulai dari tanah Ratu Elizabeth. Seperti yang kita ketauhi saat ini Manchester United (MU) tengah memimpin klasemen berbeda 7 poin dari “tetangga gaduh” mereka Manchester City. Banyak pengamat sudah yakin bahwa MU akan mendapat gelar ke-20 mereka. Dilihat agresivitas mereka dalam mencetak gol, terlebih semangat pantang menyerah mereka sampai menit akhir yang membuat mereka sering disebut raja comeback. Sementara pesaing terdekat mereka City tengah dirundung problem internal akibat kasus Mario Balotelli dan juga problem mental juara yang belum terasah. Hal ini tercermin dari kegagalan mereka di penyisihan grup Liga Champion tanpa meraih kemenangan. Di bawah city ada 2 tim kota london yang mengejar Tottenham Hotspurs dan Chelsea,namun kita ketauhi problem inkonsistensi menjadi masalah kedua tim ini. Spurs memang akhir-akhir ini mampu meraih poin penuh tapi tetap diragukan pada fase melawan tim-tim top. Sementara Chelsea masih belum menemukan skema terbaik di tangan pelatih anyar mereka  Rafael Benitez,bahkan di partai terakhir mereka takluk dari juru kunci QPR 0-1 di kandang sendiri. Dengan banyaknya problem di pesaing mereka,apakah benar MU akan menjadi juara? Bisa dibilang iya,tapi ada sanggahan bahwa MU sendiri tidak lepas dari masalah. MU memang sering melakukan comeback,tapi bukankah lebih mudah menang langsung tanpa perlu mengeluarkan keringat lebih untuk mengejar selisih gol dan membuat sport jantung bagi para fans? Lini belakang MU memang sangat rentan kebobolan. Saat ini MU sudah kebobolan 28 kali. Catatan ini bahkan lebih buruk dari saat MU juara liga tahun 2008. Selain problema lini belakang, hal lain yang dapat mengganjal MU adalah periode bulan februari dimana mereka akan mentas di ajang Liga Champion melawan raksasa Spanyol Real Madrid dan dimulainya perjalanan di Piala FA. Bisa diperkirakan konsentrasi MU akan terpecah pada 3 kompetisi dan rotasi memegang peran inti dalam sisa perjalanan MU hingga Mei nanti. Pesaing utama di liga sepertinya hanya city. Mereka memiliki skuad gemuk yang berisi pemain ber-skill di atas rata-rata dan hanya fokus pada kompetisi domestik ( Liga dan Piala FA ).

 

Dari tanah matador semua pengamat sudah memastikan bahwa tampaknya Barcelona akan juara liga pada musim ini. Start terbaik selama 15 tahun terakhir mereka lakoni (16 menang dan 1 seri) serta keunggulan 9 dan 16 poin dari duo Madrid, Atletico dan Real. Dengan sudah pastinya Real Madrid mengalihkan fokus pada Liga Champion dan Malaga di bawahnya yang masih inkonsisten. Bisa kita yakini bahwa Atletico Madrid menjadi pesaing utama dalam tahta La Liga. Tapi dilihat dari performa tim dan semakin “alien”-nya Lionel Messi, Barcelona bisa dilihat tanpa cacat. Atletico sendiri bukanya tanpa perlawanan hanya saja ini kali pertama sejak 13 tahun terakhir mereka menggeluti pacuan menjadi juara liga. Mental yang belum terasah menjadi penghalang utama. Jadi apakah pasti Barcelona menjadi juara? Kuncinya hanya pada mereka sendiri. Dengan masih berpartisipasi di 3 kompetisi konsentrasi dan rotasi tetap memegang peran kunci. Selain itu lawan utama Barcelona tinggal diri mereka sendiri. Bagaimana mereka melawan ego mereka dan tetap rendah diri. Hanya nasib sial seperti musim lalu yang mampu mengagalkan mereka.

Hal ini berlaku juga di Italia, dimana Juventus berhasil menjadi juara paruh musim dengan keunggulan 8 poin dari Lazio di peringkat 2. Sama seperti Barcelona problem konsentrasi dan rotasi jadi problem utama. Kita ingat musim lalu Juventus juara saat mereka hanya fokus pada kompetisi domestik. Selain itu kurang tajamnya lini depan tetap menjadi masalah klasik si nyonya tua ini. Tapi, Juve memiliki skuad gemuk yang berisi pemain berkualitas sama serta barisan gelandang yang aktif mencetak gol. Dua hal ini yang dijadikan Juve untuk menghadapi rintangan yang akan dijumpai. Dibawah Juve bukanya tidak ada pesaing tapi para anti-Juve ini sendiri masih belum mampu tampil konsisten tiap pekanya dan juga jarak dari peringkat 2 hingga 6 yang hanya berjarak 4 poin diperkirakan mereka akan sibuk bersaing merebut tempat ke kompetisi eropa daripada menghalangi usaha Juve menjadi juara.

Pada Bundesliga Jerman, Bayern Muenchen berpeluang menjadi deuschermeister setelah unggul  9 poin dari Bayer Leverkusen. Skuad merata,penampilan konsisten,dan bebas dari kasus cedera menjadi faktor penguat lain untuk menjadi juara. Terlebih Leverkusen masih dibayang-bayangi oleh juara bertahan Dortmund. Tapi seperti kebanyakan klub eropa lainya,ujian bagi Bayern akan tiba saat melakoni lanjutan Liga Champion melawan Arsenal dan perjalanan di Piala Jerman. Namun hal ini juga terjadi pada Leverkusen dan Dortmund. Sehingga bisa diprediksi tim yang nanti juara Bundesliga ialah tim yang mampu membagi konsentrasi pada 3 ajang (2 domestik dan 1 eropa) dan mempertahankan performa terbaik mereka.

Pada liga Belanda terjadi persaingan ketat antara 5 tim. PSV Eindhoven selaku pemimpin klasemen dengan 40 poin hanya unggul selisih gol dari FC Twente. Dibawah mereka juga ada 2 tim berpoin sama 37 yakni Ajax Amsterdam dan Feyenoord disusul Vitesse Arnhem dengan 35 poin. Situasi terberat menjadi milik Ajax dengan menjadi wakil tunggal liga Belanda di kompetisi eropa. Problem pembagian konsentrasi menjadi penghalang utama. Sementara kontestan lain tinggal memfokuskan perhatian mereka pada kompetisi domestik. Yang paling diuntungkan adalah Twente,dengan tersingkirnya mereka dari Piala Belanda dan kualifikasi Liga Europa perhatina mereka bisa difokuskan pada Liga saja. Vitesse sendiri tengah naik daun dengan bintang mereka asal Pantai Gading, Wilfried Bony. Tapi dengan absenya bony ke Piala Afrika dan hasil buruk di akhir paruh musim mereka sedikit diragukan untuk bersaing,tapi sebagai sekedar pengganggu masih berpotensi.

Situasi di Prancis lebih ketat lagi dimana 3 tim memimpin klasemen dengan poin yang sama hanya dibedakan selisih gol, yakni PSG,Lyon,dan Marseille. PSG dengan dukungan dana melimpah menjadi unggulan pertama dalam pacuan menuju gelar juara. Skuad gemuk dengan materi bintang menjadi senjata utama mereka. Problem hanya sindrom ketergantungan mereka akan Ibrahimovic dan konsentrasi di Liga Champion. Kehilangan Ibra berdampak besar pada PSG dimana mereka sempat 3 partai tidak menang dan hanya meraih 1 poin saat Ibra absen skorsing. Lyon menjadi pesaing kuat,selain tinggal memfokuskan diri pada kompetisi domestik mereka juga ingi bangkit dan berjaya seperti periode 2002-2008 saat mereka 7 kali beruntun menjadi juara. Marseille sendiri memang langganan papan atas liga perancis terlebih mereka sendiri ingin menebus prestasi buruk mereka musim lalu yang hanya finis di posisi 10.

Pada intinya problem utama dari semua tim unggulan di liga masing-masing adalah pada pembagian konsentrasi ke ajang eropa serta domestik lainya. Problem kelelahan dan cedera menghantui mereka semua. Tak dapat disangkal, tim yang mampu menanggulangi hal tersebut ialah yang mampu meraih gelar liga domestik masing-masing. Selain itu kunci lain yang membuat tim juara ialah konsistensi. Bagaimana tetap bermain di performa terbaik dan juga mampu bereaksi di saat tim sedang tidak bagus.

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January 2, 2013

Resolusi 2013 Real Madrid

     2012 ini bisa dibilang terasa campur aduk bagi Real Madrid. Berbagai kejadian terjadi, baik suka maupun duka. Kita tau pada awal tahun ini diawali Real Madrid tersingkir pada perdelapan final Piala Raja Spanyol. Terlebih lagi mereka disingkirkan oleh musuh bebuyutan mereka Barcelona dengan skor agregat 3-4 (1-2 , 2-2). Tapi sesudah itu momen kebangkitan mereka lalui dengan kemenangan demi kemenangan yang mereka raih baik di ajang La Liga maupun Liga Champions. Pada La Liga mereka memimpin klasemen hingga selisih 10 poin dari Barcelona,selain itu mereka juga terus melaju dengan mengalahkan CSKA Moskow dan APOEL Nicosia pada fase gugur.

     Problem sempat muncul lagi saat mereka meraih 3 hasil seri dari 4 pertandingan liga sehingga jarak dengan Barcelona menipis hingga 4 poin. Terlebih pada saat hampir bersamaan mereka disingkirkan raksasa Jerman Bayern Muenchen di semifinal Liga Champions dalam drama adu penalti. Untungnya mental juara di tim bisa benar-benar dikeluarkan sang manager Jose Mourinho. Beberapa hari sesudah tersingkir, Real Madrid menjami Barcelona di Camp Nou pada lanjutan La Liga. Banyak ramalan yang yakin Barca sendiri akan menang dan menipiskan jarak ke 1 poin. Namun apa disangka, Real Madrid berhasil menang dan menambah jarak hingga 7 angka dan terus meraih kemenangan sampai menjadi Juara Liga dengan rekor 100 poin dan mencetak 121 gol.

     Dengan prestasi gemilang pada kompetisi sebelumnya,banyak pihak menjagokan Real Madrid mampu untuk mempertahankan gelar mereka. Mengawali musim dengan baik dan meraih trofi Piala Super Spanyol, pada akhir musim 2012/2013 “si putih” hanya berada di tangga ke-3 klasemen di bawah rival abadi Barcelona serta rival satu kota Atletico Madrid. Tak heran banyak orang yang heran dengan keadaan Real Madrid tersebut. Berbagai masalah memang menghadang, mulai dari kelelahan pemain,inkonsistensi dan cedera pemain, hingga kasus bintang mereka CR7 yang merasa sedih dan kontroversi sang manajer Mourinho.Melihat kondisi pada paruh akhir 2012 ini, harian olahraga basis Spanyol as sampai membuat polling mengenai apa yang diharapkan para Madridista untuk tim kesayangan mereka di tahun 2013 ini.

     Bisa kita lihat dari gambar di atas,terdapat 12 tuntutan Madridista dan yang paling mereka inginkan tentu saja gelar ke-10 (La Decima) Liga Champions,para fans sudah cukup lama puasa melihat tim mereka mengangkat trofi termegah seantero Eropa. Selain La Decima voting juga menunjukan bahwa  mereka mendesak manajemen untuk memperbarui kontrak CR7. Meskipun pada tengah paruh pertama musim ini terjadi kontroversi tentang berita kesedihanya,tampaknya para fans masih mencintai CR dilihat dari torehan 169 gol dari 170 partai yang membuatnya menjadi pemain dengan rataan gol terbaik sepanjang sejarah tim dari data yang ada.

     Mengejutkan bila kita melihat hasil voting berikutnya, para fans mendesak untuk mencari manajer baru menggantikan Mourinho yang kurang disukai publik akibat tidak menurunkan Iker Casillas pada partai pamungkas. Anehnya terdapat juga vote lain yang ingin mempertahankan Mourinho. Kejadian ini juga terjadi pada kursi presiden klub,Florentino Perez dituntut untuk mundur tapi ada sebagian fans yang ingin mempertahankanya. Sisanya terlebih pada prestasi dan permainan aktual Real Madrid sendiri. Mulai dari tuntutan bermain lebih baik seperti musim lalu,sampai gengsi ibukota karena saat ini sedang berada dibawah Atletico.

     Para pemain pun juga turut menjadi sasaran demikian juga sesi transfer. Kebanyakan fans ingin Real Madrid membeli bomber tajam kolombia milik Atletico, Radamel Falcao. Perekrutan ini dinilai bisa memperbaiki sisi ofensif tim dan menggerogoti kekuatan Atletico sendiri. Selain itu fans juga mem-vote untuk lebih memprioritaskan pemain asal Spanyol untuk didatangkan seperti David Silva atau Fernando Llorente,tak lupa juga tuntutan untuk lebih memakai pemain hasil binaan mereka sendiri (Castilla). Mereka tampak tak mau lagi melihat “bekas” binaan mereka bersinar di klub lain seperti Juan Mata,Negredo,dan Borja Valero. Terakhir, melihat susahnya untuk mempertahankan trofi La Liga para fans ingin tim kesayangan mereka ini untuk merengkuh trofi Piala Raja Spanyol. Kita tak tahu bagaimana musim ini berakhir. Masih banyak jornada yang akan berlangsung dan banyak hal yang bisa terjadi. Tapi sebagai Madridista sudah tentu mereka tak ingin dikecewakan tim kesayangan mereka ini. HALA MADRID!

(referensi: tabloi bola no.2.448 serta as.com/real-madrid)

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December 17, 2012

Sepakbola Amerika Serikat.

   Amerika Serikat (AS) sudah dikenal sebagai negara yang digdaya dalam berbagai aspek kenegaraan, baik dari segi ekonomi maupun kesejahteraan rakya serta kemajuan industri. Karena itulah AS memiliki gensi tinggi,mereka tidak mau negara mereka kalah pamor dari negara lain. Termasuk pada bidang olahraga. Memang di AS sendiri bidang olahraga kurang terekspos tapi hal itu bukan berarti tidak adanya antusias dari masyarakat mengenai olahraga. Selama ini kita mengenal Basket sebagai olahraga paling populer di Amerika dilihat dari animo dunia kepada NBA. Olahraga lain yang dikenal dunia sebagai lambang Amerika adalah football dan aneka macam motorsports. Football disini bukanlah seperti olahraga “bola kaki” yang kita kenal, di Amerika football ialah sebutan untuk rugby. Olahraga yang mencampurkan kekuatan fisik dengan kemampuan olah bola.

   Bagaimana dengan sepakbola itu sendiri? Di Amerika olahraga yang disebut-sebut paling terkenal di seantero dunia ini kurang begitu terekspos, orang lebih memerhatikaN NBA dan football, meskipun USSF (PSSI-nya Amerika) sudah berdiri sejak taun 1913 dan bergabung dengan FIFA satu tahun kemudian. Sepakbola di Amerika sempat menarik minat publik saat Legenda dari Brazil Pele bergabung bersama New York Cosmos dan keluar dari masa semi-pensiun-nya.

  Untuk ukuran Timnas, fakta sudah berbicara bahwa Timnas wanita AS bergelimang prestasi berbeda dengan timnas pria-nya,dengan menjadi juara Piala Dunia wanita 2 kali dan Medali emas Olimpiade 4x.  Timnas Pria AS sempat mencicipi juara ke-3 pada piala dunia 1930,saat piala dunia pertama tersebut hanya diikuti oleh 13 tim. Mereka kemudian lolos pada piala dunia 1934 serta 1950 tapi nir-prestasi. Timnas AS baru mencicipi piala dunia lagi 40 tahun kemudian tepatnya pada Piala dunia 1990 di Italia dimana mereka tersingkir langsung pada penyisihan grup. Hal ini mendorong beberapa pihak untuk mendongkrak prestasi Timnas AS.

   Maka pada tahun 1992 ketua USSF pada saat itu Alan Rothenberg yang kebetulan juga ketua pelaksana Piala Dunia 1994 di AS memprakarsai rencana untuk mendongkrat prestasi Timnas AS. Rencana ini kemudian dikenal dengan Rothenberg’s Plan. Plan ini berujung pada 2 hal. Pertama mereka akan menghasilkan uang dari penyelenggaraan Piala Dunia 1994, lalu dari uang itu mereka akan membuat liga sepakbola profesional. Selain itu mereka juga melakukan proses naturalisasi untuk 3 pemain bintang yang memiliki keturunan Amerika. Roy wagerle (keturunan Afrika Selatan) yang saat itu bermain di klub inggris Coventry City, Thomas Doole (Jerman) bermain di Bayer Leverkusen,  serta yang terkenal Ernie Stewart si pencetak gol terbanyak liga belanda. Selain naturalisasi mereka juga mengontrak pelatih berkelas pada sosok Bora Milutinovich. Hasilnya? Amerika Serikat lolos dari penyisihan grup meskipun tersingkir di babak selanjutnya dari Brazil.

   Pada saat bersamaan, Rothenberg memiliki visi kedepan untuk Timnas AS. Ia merekrut seorang Carlos Quiroz untuk membuat rencana pengembangan pemain muda timnas AS dengan membuat ODP (Olympic Development Program) yang merupakan cara Amerika untuk menjaring pemain muda berbakat dari masing-masing negara bagian. Pada tahun 1993,sebagain bagian proyek untuk Piala Dunia, Rothenberg mendirikan MLS (Major League Soccer) sebuah badan liga sepakbola profesional tertinggi di Amerika.

  Sesudah MLS ter-realisasikan, USSF membuat lanjutan program untuk pengembangan pemain muda yang dinamakan Project 40 yang disponsori Adidas. 40 pemain muda berbakat boleh menangguhkan kuliah mereka,dan berkesempatan untuk magang di Tim MLS maupun Eropa. ke-40 pemain yang sudah masuk dalam program ini akan diklasifikasikan sebagai pemain profesional,sehingga mereka tidak bisa bermain di tingkat universitas. Sebagai ganti rugi dari program ini, USSF akan mendanai biaya kuliah untuk para pemain yang gagal menjadi pemain pro. Kesuksesan dari program ini dapat kita lihat dari kondisi timnas AS saat ini dimana ada beberapa lulusan Project 40 yang menjadi pilar timnas AS. Seperti Tim Howard,Edson Buddle,Omar Gonzalez sampai yang paling terkenal seperti Landon Donovan dan Clint Dempsey.

   Terlepas dari kegagalan mereka di Piala Dunia 98, timnas AS mampu melaju hingga perempat final piala dunia 2002 serta 4 kali menjuarai Piala Emas CONCACAF. Timnas AS saat ini dinilai cukup memiliki potensi untuk bertarung dengan tim-tim kuat lainya. Dilihat dari banyaknya kondisi Timnas dan pemain AS yang bermain di Liga Eropa,Rothenberg’s plan bisa dibilang sukses.

sejarah sepak bola

sejarah sepak bola

Sepak bola

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Sepak bola

Dua orang pemain sedang berebut bola.
Induk organisasi	FIFA
Nama lain	Football, soccer, footy/footie, "the beautiful game", "the world game"
Pertama dimainkan	Pertengahan abad ke-19 di Inggris
Data lengkap
Olahraga kontak fisik	Ya
Jumlah pemain	11 orang per tim
Pria/wanita	Ya, kompetisi terpisah
Kategori	Olahraga tim, Olahraga bola
Peralatan	Bola sepak
Tempat bertanding	Lapangan sepak bola
Dipertandingkan di Olimpiade	1900

Sepak bola adalah olahraga menggunakan bola yang dimainkan oleh dua tim yang masing-masing beranggotakan 11 (sebelas) orang. Memasuki abad ke-21, olahraga ini telah dimainkan oleh lebih dari 250 juta orang di 200 negara, yang menjadikannya olahraga paling populer di dunia.^[1][2][3][4] Sepak bola bertujuan untuk mencetak gol sebanyak-banyaknya dengan menggunakan bola kulit ke gawang lawan. Sepak bola dimainkan dalam lapangan yang berbentuk persegi panjang, di atas rumput atau rumput sintetis.
Secara umum hanya penjaga gawang saja yang berhak menyentuh bola dengan tangan atau lengan di dalam daerah gawangnya, sedangkan 10 (sepuluh) pemain lainnya hanya diijinkan menggunakan seluruh tubuhnya selain tangan, biasanya dengan kaki untuk menendang, dada untuk mengontrol, dan kepala untuk menyundul bola. Tim yang mencetak gol lebih banyak pada akhir pertandingan adalah pemenangnya. Jika hingga waktu berakhir masih berakhir imbang, maka dapat dilakukan undian, perpanjangan waktu maupun adu penalti, tergantung dari format penyelenggaraan kejuaraan.^[5]
Peraturan pertandingan secara umum diperbarui setiap tahunnya oleh induk organisasi sepak bola internasional (FIFA), yang juga menyelenggarakan Piala Dunia setiap empat tahun sekali.^[6]

Daftar isi 1 Sejarah 2 Posisi pemain 3 Aturan 3.1 Lapangan permainan 3.2 Lama permainan 3.3 Pelanggaran 3.4 Wasit dan petugas pertandingan 4 Kejuaraan Internasional 5 Sepak bola di Indonesia 6 Lihat pula 6.1 Organisasi 6.2 Jenis lainnya 7 Referensi 8 Pranala luar

Sejarah

Sejarah olahraga sepak bola dimulai sejak abad ke-2 dan -3 sebelum Masehi di Cina.^[7] Di masa Dinasti Han tersebut, masyarakat menggiring bola kulit dengan menendangnya ke jaring kecil.^[7] Permainan serupa juga dimainkan di Jepang dengan sebutan Kemari^[8]. Di Italia, permainan menendang dan membawa bola juga digemari terutama mulai abad ke-16.^[8]
Sepak bola modern mulai berkembang di Inggris dan menjadi sangat digemari.^[7] Di beberapa kompetisi, permainan ini menimbulkan banyak kekerasan selama pertandingan sehingga akhirnya Raja Edward III melarang olahraga ini dimainkan pada tahun 1365.^[7] Raja James I dari Skotlandia juga mendukung larangan untuk memainkan sepak bola.^[7] Pada tahun 1815, sebuah perkembangan besar menyebabkan sepak bola menjadi terkenal di lingkungan universitas dan sekolah.^[7] Kelahiran sepak bola modern terjadi di Freemasons Tavern pada tahun 1863 ketika 11 sekolah dan klub berkumpul dan merumuskan aturan baku untuk permainan tersebut.^[8] Bersamaan dengan itu, terjadi pemisahan yang jelas antara olahraga rugby dengan sepak bola (soccer).^[8] Pada tahun 1869, membawa bola dengan tangan mulai dilarang dalam sepak bola.^[7] Selama tahun 1800-an, olahraga tersebut dibawa oleh pelaut, pedagang, dan tentara Inggris ke berbagai belahan dunia.^[7] Pada tahun 1904, asosiasi tertinggi sepak bola dunia (FIFA) dibentuk dan pada awal tahun 1900-an, berbagai kompetisi dimainkan diberbagai negara.^[7]

Posisi pemain

Penjaga gawang dalam sepak bola.

Pada dasarnya, satu tim sepak bola terdiri dari 1 orang penjaga gawang, 2-4 orang pemain bertahan, (fullbacks), 2-4 orang pemain tengah, dan 1-3 orang penyerang.^[9] Penjaga gawang adalah satu-satunya pemain yang boleh menggunakan tangan untuk melindungi gawang dari serangan lawan.^[9] Umumnya, penjaga gawang mengenakan pakaian yang berbeda dengan pemain lainnya.^[9] Pemain bertahan memiliki tugas utama untuk menghentikan serangan lawan.^[9] Pemain tengah biasanya terdiri dari pemain tengah penyerang yang bermain dekat dengan penyerang dan pemain tengah bertahan yang bermain dekat dengan pemain bertahan.^[9] Penyerang memiliki tugas utama untuk mencetak gol ke gawang lawan.^[9]
Posisi dasar pemain dapat mengalami modifikasi menjadi berbagai pola atau taktik permainan.^[10] Beberapa pola pemain yang sering digunakan dalam berbagai kejuaraan adalah 4-4-2 (paling sering digunakan), 3-4-2-1 (kekuatan terletak di bagian tengah lapangan), serta 4-3-3 (formasi klasik dari tahun 1970-an yang sering digunakan oleh sistem total football Belanda dan Jerman Barat ).^[10]

Aturan

Lapangan sepak bola.

Lapangan permainan

Untuk pertandingan internasional dewasa, lapangan sepak bola internasional yang digunakan memiliki panjang yang berkisar antara 100-120 meter dan lebar 65-75 meter.^[11] Di bagian tengah kedua ujung lapangan, terdapat area gawang yang berupa persegi empat berukuran dengan lebar 7.32 meter dan tinggi 2.44 meter.^[11] Di bagian depan dari gawang terdapat area pinalti yang berjarak 16.5 meter dari gawang.^[11] Area ini merupakan batas kiper boleh menangkap bola dengan tangan dan menentukan kapan sebuah pelanggaran mendapatkan hadiah tendangan pinalti atau tidak.^[11]

Lama permainan

Lama permainan sepak bola normal adalah 2 × 45 menit, ditambah istirahat selama 15 menit di antara kedua babak.^[11] Jika kedudukan sama imbang, maka diadakan perpanjangan waktu selama 2×15 menit, hingga didapat pemenang, namun jika sama kuat maka diadakan adu penalti.^[11] Wasit dapat menentukan berapa waktu tambahan di setiap akhir babak sebagai pengganti dari waktu yang hilang akibat pergantian pemain, cedera yang membutuhkan pertolongan, ataupun penghentian lainnya. Waktu tambahan ini disebut sebagai injury time atau stoppage time.^[11]
Gol yang dicetak dalam perpanjangan waktu akan dihitung menjadi skor akhir pertandingan, sedangkan gol dari adu penalti hanya menentukan apabila suatu tim dapat melaju ke pertandingan selanjutnya ataupun tidak (tidak mempengaruhi skor akhir).^[11] Pada akhir tahun 1990-an, International Football Association Board (IFAB) memberlakukan sistem gol emas (golden gol) atau gol perak (silver gol) untuk menyelesaikan pertandingan.^[11] Dalam sistem gol emas, tim yang pertama kali mencetak gol saat perpanjangan waktu berlangsung akan menjadi pemenang, sedangkan dalam gol perak, tim yang memimpin pada akhir babak perpanjangan waktu pertama akan keluar sebagai pemenang.^[11] Kedua sistem tersebut tidak lagi digunakan oleh IFAB.^[11]

Pelanggaran

Wasit sedang memberikan kartu kuning.

Apabila pemain melakukan pelanggaran yang cukup keras maka wasit dapat memberikan peringatan dengan kartu kuning atau kartu merah.^[12] Pertandingan akan dihentikan dan wasit menunjukkan kartu ke depan pemain yang melanggar kemudian mencatat namanya di dalam buku.^[12] Kartu kuning merupakan peringatan atas pelanggaran seperti bersikap tidak sportif, secara terus-menerus melanggar peraturan, berselisih kata-kata atau tindakan, menunda memulai kembali pertandingan, keluar-masuk pertandingan tanpa persetujuan wasit, ataupun tidak menjaga jarak dari pemain lawan yang sedang melakukan tendangan bebas atau lemparan ke dalam.^[12] Pemain yang menerima dua kartu kuning akan mendapatkan kartu merah dan keluar dari pertandingan.^[12]
Pemain yang mendapatkan kartu merah harus keluar dari pertandingan tanpa bisa digantikan dengan pemain lainnya.^[12] Beberapa contoh tindakan yang dapat diganjar kartu merah adalah pelanggaran berat yang membahayakan atau menyebabkan cedera parah pada lawan, meludah, melakukan kekerasan, melanggar lawan yang sedang berusaha mencetak gol, menyentuh bola dengan tangan untuk mencegah gol bagi semua pemain kecuali penjaga gawang , dan menggunakan bahasa atau gerak tubuh yang cenderung menantang, pemain yang berposisi sebagai penjaga gawang melakukan hands ball di luar kotak penalti .^[12]

Wasit dan petugas pertandingan

Dalam pertandingan profesional, terdapat 4 petugas yang memimpin jalannya pertandingan, yaitu wasit, 2 hakim garis, dan seorang petugas di pinggir tengah lapangan.^[13] Wasit memiliki peluit yang menandakan apakah saat berhenti atau memulai memainkan bola.^[13] Dia juga bertugas memberikan hukuman dan peringatan atas pelanggaran yang terjadi di lapangan.^[13] Masing-masing penjaga garis bertanggung jawab mengawasi setengah bagian dari lapangan.^[13] Mereka membawa bendera dengan warna terang untuk menandakan adanya pelanggaran, bola keluar, ataupun offside.^[13] Biasanya mereka akan bergerak mengikuti posisi pemain belakang terakhir.^[13]
Petugas terakhir memiliki tugas untuk mencatat semua waktu yang sempat terhenti selama pertandingan berlangsung dan memberikan info mengenai tambahan waktu di akhir setiap babak.^[13] Petugas ini juga bertugas memeriksa pergantian pemain dan menjadi penghubung antara manajer tim dengan wasit.^[13] Dalam beberapa pertandingan, teknologi penggunaan video atau penggunaan orang kelima untuk menentukan ketepatan keputusan wasit mulai digunakan.^[13] Misalnya yang menentukan apakah suatu bola telah melewati garis atau apakah seorang pemain berada dalam keadaan offside ketika mencetak gol.^[13]

Kejuaraan Internasional

Permainan sepak bola wanita.

Kejuaraan sepak bola internasional terbesar ialah Piala Dunia yang diselenggarakan oleh Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA).^[14] Piala Dunia diadakan setiap empat tahun sekali dan dimulai di Uruguay pada tahun 1930.^[14] Pencetus ide tersebut adalah Jules Rimet, seorang pengacara dan pengusaha Perancis yang terinspirasi setelah menonton Olimpiade Paris tahun 1924.^[14]
Kompetisi international tertua di dunia adalah Copa America yang mempertandingkan tim-tim dalam wilayah Amerika Selatan setiap dua tahun sekali.^[15] Copa America pertama kali diadakan tahun 1916 dan diikuti oleh 10 negara yang akhirnya membentuk The South American Football Confederation (Conmebol).^[15] Untuk wilayah Amerika Utara, The Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) menyelenggarakan kompetisi internasional setiap empat tahun sekali yang disebut Piala Emas CONCACAF.^[16] Di kawasan Asia, termasuk Australia dan Timor Leste negara-negara yang tergabung dalam Asian Football Confederation (AFC), mengadakan kompetisi internasional pertama tingkat Asia pada tahun 1956 di Hongkong yang disebut Piala Asia.^[17] Pada tahun 1960, kompetisi tingkat regional Eropa diadakan untuk pertama kalinya dengan nama European Nations' Cup yang kemudian disebut sebagai UEFA European Championship (Piala Eropa atau EURO).^[14] Di wilayah Oseania (meliputi Selandia Baru, dan berbagai Kepulauan Pasifik), kompetisi international setiap dua tahun dimulai sejak tahun 1996 disebut Piala Oseania.^[18] Untuk wilayah Afrika, kompetisi Piala Afrika mulai diadakan sejak 1957 di Khartoum.^[19]

Sepak bola di Indonesia

Sejarah sepak bola di Indonesia diawali dengan berdirinya Persatuan Sepak Bola Seluruh Indonesia (PSSI) di Yogyakarta pada 19 April 1930 dengan pimpinan Soeratin Sosrosoegondo.^[20] Dalam kongres PSSI di Solo, organisasi tersebut mengalami perubahan nama menjadi Persatuan Sepak Bola Seluruh Indonesia.^[20] Sejak saat itu, kegiatan sepak bola semakin sering digerakkan oleh PSSI dan makin banyak rakyat bermain di jalan atau alun-alun tempat Kompetisi I Perserikatan diadakan.^[21] Sebagai bentuk dukungan terhadap kebangkitan "Sepakbola Kebangsaan", Paku Buwono X mendirikan stadion Sriwedari yang membuat persepakbolaan Indonesia semakin gencar.^[21]
Sepeninggalan Soeratin Sosrosoegondo, prestasi tim nasional sepak bola Indonesia tidak terlalu memuaskan karena pembinaan tim nasional tidak diimbangi dengan pengembangan organisasi dan kompetisi.^[21] Pada era sebelum tahun 1970-an, beberapa pemain Indonesia sempat bersaing dalam kompetisi internasional, di antaranya Ramang, Sucipto Suntoro, Ronny Pattinasarani, dan Tan Liong Houw.^[21] Dalam perkembangannya, PSSI telah memperluas kompetisi sepak bola dalam negeri, di antaranya dengan penyelenggaraan Liga Super Indonesia, Divisi Utama, Divisi Satu, dan Divisi Dua untuk pemain non amatir, serta Divisi Tiga untuk pemain amatir.^[21] Selain itu, PSSI juga aktif mengembangkan kompetisi sepak bola wanita dan kompetisi dalam kelompok umur tertentu (U-15, U-17, U-19,U21, dan U-23).^[21]

Lihat pula

Organisasi

• FIFA (Dunia)
• UEFA (Eropa)
• CONMEBOL (Amerika Latin)
• CONCACAF (Amerika Utara)
• AFC (Asia)
• CAF (Afrika)
• OFC (Oseania)
• PSSI (Indonesia)

Jenis lainnya

• Sepak bola wanita
• Sepak bola ruangan (indoor): five a side football, futsal dan indoor soccer
• Futsal
• Sepak takraw

Referensi

1. ^ "Overview of Soccer". Encyclopædia Britannica. Diakses pada 4 Juni 2008.
2. ^ Guttman, Allen (1993). "The Diffusion of Sports and the Problem of Cultural Imperialism". di dalam Eric Dunning, Joseph A. Maguire, Robert E. Pearton. The Sports Process: A Comparative and Developmental Approach. Champaign: Human Kinetics. hlm. 129. ISBN 0-88011-624-2. Diakses pada 26 Januari 2008. "the game is complex enough not to be invented independently by many preliterate cultures and yet simple enough to become the world's most popular team sport"
3. ^ Dunning, Eric (1999). "The development of soccer as a world game". Sport Matters: Sociological Studies of Sport, Violence and Civilisation. London: Routledge. hlm. 103. ISBN 0-415-06413-9. Diakses pada 26 Januari 2008. "During the twentieth century, soccer emerged as the world's most popular team sport"
4. ^ Mueller, Frederick; Cantu; Van Camp, Steven (1996). "Team Sports". Catastrophic Injuries in High School and College Sports. Champaign: Human Kinetics. hlm. 57. ISBN 0-87322-674-7. Diakses pada 26 Januari 2008. "Soccer is the most popular sport in the world and is an industry worth over US$400 billion world wide. 80% of this is generated in Europe, though its popularity is growing in the United States. It has been estimated that there were 22 million soccer players in the world in the early 1980s, and that number is increasing. In the United States soccer is now a major sport at both the high school and college levels"
5. ^ Sports-information.org Soccer. Diakses pada 9 Agustus 2011.
6. ^ "2002 FIFA World Cup TV Coverage". FIFA. 5 Desember 2006. Diarsipkan dari yang asli pada 30 Desember 2006. Diakses pada 6 Januari 2008.
7. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i} Historyofsoccer.info History Of Soccer! 2006. Geno Jezek. Diakses pada 8 Agustus 2011.
8. ^ ^{a b c d} Sportsknowhow.com, HISTORY OF SOCCER. Page 1-3. Diakses pada 9 Agustus 2011.
9. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Soccerpositions.net Soccer Positions. Diakses pada 9 Agustus 2011.
10. ^ ^{a b} Soccer-training-guide.com The Soccer Formations Guide. Diakses pada 10 Agustus 2011.
11. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k} Soccerwebsite.orgSoccer Rules, dan untuk lapangan sepak bola nasional ( Indonesia ) yang digunakan memiliki panjang antara 90-110 meter dan lebar 58-70 meter. Diakses pada 9 Agustus 2011.
12. ^ ^{a b c d e f} [hhttp://www.soccerhelp.com/Soccer_Tips_Dictionary_Terms_C.shtml Soccerhelp.com] Diakses pada 9 Agustus 2011.
13. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j} About.com The Officials: An Explanation of Every Official's Function on the Field. Joshua Robinson. Diakses pada 10 Agustus 2011.
14. ^ ^{a b c d} Oleole.com FIFA World Cup™ History. Diakses pada 10 Agustus 2011.
15. ^ ^{a b} Napit.co.uk The Copa America. Diakses pada 10 Agustus 2011.
16. ^ CONCACAF.com What is CONCACAF? Diakses pada 10 Agustus 2011.
17. ^ AFC.com About AFC. Last modified 6 September 2007. Diakses pada 10 Agustus 2011.
18. ^ Napit.co.uk The OFC Nations Cup. Diakses pada 10 Agustus 2011.
19. ^ Napit.co.ukAfrican Cup of Nations. Diakses pada 10 Agustus 2011.
20. ^ ^{a b} Apasih.com Sejarah Berdirinya Persatuan Sepak Bola Seluruh Indonesia (PSSI). Diakses pada 11 Agustus 2011.
21. ^ ^{a b c d e f} PSSI-football.com Sejarah PSSI. Diakses pada 11 Agustus 2011.

 

 

istiano Ronaldo

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Jump to: navigation, search

This article is about the Portuguese footballer. For the Brazilian footballer, see Ronaldo. For other people named Ronaldo, see Ronaldo (name).

"CR7" redirects here. For other uses, see CR7 (disambiguation).

This name uses Portuguese naming customs. The first or maternal family name is dos Santos and the second or paternal family name is Aveiro.

Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo in Opalenica training camp (Poland), Euro 2012.
Personal information
Full name	Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro
Date of birth	5 February 1985 (age 27)
Place of birth	Funchal, Madeira, Portugal
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Playing position	Forward
Club information
Current club	Real Madrid
Number	7
Youth career
1993–1995	Andorinha
1995–1997	Nacional
1997–2002	Sporting CP
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2002–2003	Sporting CP	25	(5)
2003–2009	Manchester United	196	(118)
2009–	Real Madrid	121	(133)
National team‡
2001–2002	Portugal U17	9	(6)
2002–2003	Portugal U20	5	(3)
2003	Portugal U21	6	(1)
2004	Portugal U23	3	(1)
2003–	Portugal	100	(37)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 12:30, 27 January 2013 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 20:20, 16 October 2012 (UTC)

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro,^[2] OIH, (born 5 February 1985),^[3] commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and is the captain of the Portuguese national team. Ronaldo became the most expensive footballer in history after moving from Manchester United to Real Madrid in a transfer worth £80 million (€93.9 million/$131.6 million). In addition, his contract with Real Madrid, in which he is paid €12 million per year, makes him one of the highest-paid footballers in the world,^[4] and his buyout clause is valued at €1 billion as per his contract.^[5]
Ronaldo began his career as a youth player for Andorinha, where he played for two years, before moving to C.D. Nacional. In 1997, he made a move to Portuguese giants Sporting Clube de Portugal. Ronaldo caught the attention of Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, who signed him for £12.24 million (€15 million) in 2003. The following season, Ronaldo won his first club honour, the FA Cup.
Ronaldo was the first player to win all four main PFA and FWA awards, doing so in 2007. In 2008, Ronaldo won the Ballon d'Or.^[6] He placed second in the Ballon d'Or in 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2012. He was awarded the European Golden Shoe in both 2008 and 2011. In 2008, he won three of the four main PFA and FWA trophies and was named the FIFPro Player of the Year, World Soccer Player of the Year, Onze d'Or, and the FIFA World Player of the Year.^[7][8][9] In 2007 and 2008, Ronaldo was named FWA Footballer of the Year. Ronaldo was the inaugural winner of the FIFA Puskás Award in 2009.
Ronaldo holds numerous former and current scoring records, including records for most goals scored in a season for Real Madrid, most goals scored per minute in La Liga, first top European league player to reach 40 goals in a single season in two consecutive years, fastest Real Madrid player to reach one hundred league goals, and the first player ever to score against every team in a single season in La Liga.^[10]
Ronaldo is a Portuguese international and made his debut against Kazakhstan in August 2003. He has since participated in five major tournaments; UEFA Euro 2004, the 2006 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2008, the 2010 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2012. He scored his first international goal in the opening game of the Euro 2004 against Greece, in addition to helping Portugal reach the final. He took over the captaincy of the side in July 2008 and went on to captain Portugal to the semi-finals at the Euro 2012 and finished the competition as the joint best scorer with three goals. On 16 October 2012, Ronaldo won his 100th cap against Northern Ireland, making him the third highest capped player for Portugal and became the third youngest European to reach a century of international appearances.^[11] In October 2012, he became the first sportsperson to reach 50 million followers on Facebook.^[12] Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick and passed the landmark of 300 club goals on January 27,2013.^[13][14]

Contents 1 Early life 2 Club career 2.1 Early career 2.2 Sporting Clube de Portugal 2.3 Manchester United 2.3.1 2003–2006 2.3.2 2006–2009 2.4 Real Madrid 2.4.1 2009–10 season 2.4.2 2010–11 season 2.4.3 2011–12 season 2.4.4 2012–13 season 3 International career 3.1 Euro 2004 3.2 2006 World Cup 3.2.1 Post-World Cup 3.3 Euro 2008 3.4 2010 World Cup 3.5 Euro 2012 4 Style of play 5 Outside football 5.1 Personal life 5.2 Philanthropy 5.3 Wealth 5.4 Media 6 Career statistics 6.1 Club 6.2 International 6.2.1 International goals 7 Honours 7.1 Club 7.2 International 7.3 Individual 7.3.1 Orders 7.4 Records 7.4.1 World 7.4.2 Europe 7.4.3 England 7.4.4 Spain 7.4.5 Portugal 7.4.6 Real Madrid 8 References 9 External links

 

 

Lionel Messi

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Jump to: navigation, search

"Messi" redirects here. For Cameroonian football midfielder, see Georges Parfait Mbida Messi.

Not to be confused with Massi (disambiguation), Messe (disambiguation), Messih, or Messy (disambiguation).

Lionel Messi

Messi playing for Barcelona
Personal information
Full name	Lionel Andrés Messi[1]
Date of birth	24 June 1987 (age 25)[1]
Place of birth	Rosario, Argentina[1]
Height	1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)[1]
Playing position	Forward
Club information
Current club	Barcelona
Number	10
Youth career
1995–2000	Newell's Old Boys
2000–2003	Barcelona
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2003–2004	Barcelona C	10	(5)
2004–2005	Barcelona B	22	(10)
2004–	Barcelona	235	(202)
National team‡
2004̣–2005	Argentina U20	16	(11)
2007–2008	Argentina U23	5	(2)
2005–	Argentina	76	(31)
Honours[show]
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20:28, 27 January 2013 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 23:30, 1 December 2012 (UTC)

Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (Spanish pronunciation: [ljoˈnel anˈdɾes ˈmesi], born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine footballer who plays as a forward for La Liga club FC Barcelona and the Argentina national team. He serves as the captain of his country's national football team. By the age of 21, Messi had received Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations. The following year, in 2009, he won his first Ballon d'Or^[2] and FIFA World Player of the Year awards. He followed this up by winning the inaugural FIFA Ballon d'Or in 2010,^[3] and again in 2011^[4] and 2012.^[5] He also won the 2010–11 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award. At the age of 24, Messi became Barcelona's all-time top scorer in all official club competitions.^[6] At age 25, Messi became the youngest player to score 200 La Liga goals.^[7][8]
Consistently rated by commentators, coaches and colleagues as the best footballer in the world and as one of the greatest players in the history of the game,^{[9][10][11][12][13]} Messi is the first football player in history to win four FIFA/Ballons d'Or, which he won consecutively. Messi has won five La Ligas, two Copas del Rey, five Supercopas de España, three Champions Leagues, two Super Cups and two Club World Cups. In March 2012, Messi made UEFA Champions League history by becoming the first player to score five goals in one match, achieving the feat in a 7–1 win over Bayer Leverkusen.^[14] He also matched José Altafini's record of 14 goals in a single Champions League season.^[15] Messi became the first player to top-score in four successive Champions League campaigns.^[16][17] He set the European record for most goals scored in a season during the 2011–12 season, with 73 goals.^[18] In the same season, he set the current goalscoring record in a single La Liga season, scoring 50 goals.^[19]
Messi was the top scorer of the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship with six goals. In 2006, he became the youngest Argentine to play in the FIFA World Cup and he won a runners-up medal at the Copa América tournament the following year, in which he was elected young player of the tournament.^[20] In 2008, he won his first international honour, an Olympic gold medal, with the Argentina Olympic football team. Sportspro has rated Lionel Messi as the third most marketable athlete in the world.^[21] His playing style and stature have drawn comparisons to compatriot Diego Maradona, who himself declared Messi his "successor".^[22]

Contents 1 Early life 2 Club career 2.1 Barcelona 2.1.1 2005–06 season 2.1.2 2006–07 season 2.1.3 2007–08 season 2.1.4 2008–09 season 2.1.5 2009–10 season 2.1.6 2010–11 season 2.1.7 2011–12 season 2.1.8 2012–13 season 3 International career 3.1 2006 World Cup 3.2 2007 Copa América 3.3 2008 Summer Olympics 3.4 2010 World Cup 3.5 2011 Copa América 4 Style of play 5 Outside football 5.1 Personal life 5.2 Charity 5.3 Wealth 5.4 Media 5.5 Sponsorships 6 Career statistics 6.1 Club 6.1.1 Reserve teams 6.1.2 Senior team 6.2 International 6.2.1 International appearances 6.2.2 International goals 7 Honours 7.1 Barcelona 7.2 Argentina 7.3 Individual 7.4 Records 7.4.1 World 7.4.2 Europe 7.4.3 Argentina 7.4.4 Spain 7.4.5 Barcelona 8 References 9 External links

Early life

Messi was born in Rosario, Santa Fe Province, to parents Jorge Horácio Messi, a factory steel worker, and Celia María Cuccittini, a part-time cleaner.^{[23][24][25][26]} His paternal family originates from the Italian city of Ancona, from which his ancestor, Angelo Messi, emigrated to Argentina in 1883.^[27][28] He has two older brothers, Rodrigo and Matías, and a sister, María Sol.^[29] At the age of five, Messi started playing football for Grandoli, a local club coached by his father Jorge.^[30] In 1995, Messi switched to Newell's Old Boys who were based in his home city Rosario.^[30] He became part of a local youth powerhouse that lost only one match in the next four years and became locally known as "The Machine of '87", from the year of their birth.^[31]
At the age of 11, Messi was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency.^[32] Local powerhouse River Plate showed interest in Messi's progress, but were not willing to pay for treatment for his condition, which cost $900 a month.^[26] Carles Rexach, the sporting director of FC Barcelona, had been made aware of his talent as Messi had relatives in Lleida, and Messi and his father were able to arrange a trial with the team.^[26] Rexach, with no other paper at hand, offered Messi a contract written on a paper napkin.^[33][34] Barcelona offered to pay for Messi's medical bills if he was willing to move to Spain. Messi and his father moved to Barcelona where Messi enrolled in the club's youth academy.^[30][34]

Club career

Barcelona

Messi played in Barcelona's junior Infantil B and Cadete B & A teams from 2000 to 2003 (scoring 37 goals in 30 matches in Cadete A). Season 2003–04 saw him on a record^[35] five different teams: He started one match in Juvenil B (one goal) and got promoted to Juvenil A (14 matches, 21 goals). Later he debuted for FC Barcelona C team (Tercera División) on 29 November 2003 and for FC Barcelona B (Segunda División B) on 6 March 2004. He played for both teams during the season (ten matches, five goals and five games, zero goals, respectively).^[36][37][38] Even before these two debuts, Messi made his official debut for the first-team on 16 November 2003 aged 16 years and 145 days, in a friendly match against Porto.^[39][40]
Less than a year after his start, Frank Rijkaard gave him his league debut against RCD Espanyol on 16 October 2004 (at 17 years and 114 days), becoming the third-youngest player ever to play for Barcelona and youngest club player who played in La Liga, which would be broken by Bojan Krkić in September 2007. When he scored his first senior goal for the club against Albacete Balompié on 1 May 2005, Messi was 17 years, ten months and seven days old, becoming the youngest to ever score in a La Liga game for Barcelona^[41] until it was again broken by Bojan Krkić in 2007, scoring from a Messi assist.^[42] Messi said about his ex-coach Rijkaard: "I'll never forget the fact that he launched my career, that he had confidence in me while I was only sixteen or seventeen."^[43] During the season, Messi played also in Barcelona B (Segunda División B) scoring 6 goals in 17 matches.

2005–06 season

On 16 September, for the second time in three months, Barcelona announced an update to Messi's contract; this time it was improved to pay him as a first team member and extended until June 2014.^[30] Messi obtained Spanish citizenship on 26 September 2005^[44] and was finally able to make his debut in the season's Spanish First Division. Messi's first home outing in the Champions League came on 27 September against Italian club Udinese.^[39] Fans at Barcelona's stadium, the Camp Nou, gave Messi a standing ovation upon his substitution, as his composure on the ball and passing combinations with Ronaldinho had paid dividends for Barcelona.^[45]
Messi netted six goals in 17 league appearances, and scored one Champions League goal in six. His season ended prematurely on 7 March 2006, however, when he suffered a muscle tear in his right thigh during the second leg of the second round Champions League tie against Chelsea.^[46] Rijkaard's Barcelona ended the season as champions of Spain and Europe.^[47][48]

2006–07 season

Messi in a match against Rangers in 2007

In the 2006–07 season, Messi established himself as a regular first team player, scoring 14 times in 26 matches.^[49] On 12 November, in the game against Real Zaragoza, Messi suffered a broken metatarsal, ruling him out for three months.^[50][51] On 10 March, El Clásico saw Messi in top form, scoring a hat-trick to earn 10-man Barcelona a 3–3 draw, equalising three times, with the final equaliser coming in injury time.^[52] In doing so he became the first player since Iván Zamorano (for Real Madrid in the 1994–95 season) to score a hat-trick in El Clásico.^[53] Messi is also the youngest player ever to have scored in this fixture. Towards the end of the season he began finding the net more often; 11 of his 14 league goals for the season came from the last 13 games.^[54]

Messi shortly before scoring a goal against Getafe

Messi also proved the "new Maradona" tag was not all hype, by nearly replicating Maradona's most famous goals in the space of the single season.^[55] On 18 April 2007, he scored two goals during a Copa del Rey semi-final against Getafe CF, one of which was very similar to Maradona's famous goal against England at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, known as the Goal of the Century.^[56] The world's sports press drew comparisons with Maradona, and the Spanish press labelled Messi as "Messidona".^[57] He ran about the same distance, 62 metres (203 ft), beat the same number of players (six, including the goalkeeper), scored from a very similar position, and ran towards the corner flag just as Maradona did in Mexico 21 years before.^[55] In a press conference after the game, Messi's team-mate Deco said: "It was the best goal I have ever seen in my life."^[58] Against RCD Espanyol Messi also scored a goal which was remarkably similar to Maradona's 'Hand of God' goal against England in the World Cup quarter-finals. Messi launched himself at the ball and connected with his hand to guide the ball past the goalkeeper Carlos Kameni.^[59] Despite protests by Espanyol players and replays showing it was clear handball, the goal stood.^[59] During his time at FC Barcelona, manager Frank Rijkaard decided to move Messi from the left flank onto the right wing, initially against the player's wishes, allowing him to cut into the centre of the pitch and shoot or cross with his left foot.^[60]

2007–08 season

Messi takes Barcelona to 2–0 against Sevilla at Camp Nou on 22 September 2007

On 27 February, Messi played in his 100th official match for Barcelona against Valencia CF.^[61]
Messi was nominated for a FIFPro World XI Player Award under the category of Forward.^[62] A poll conducted in the online edition of the Spanish newspaper Marca had him as the best player in the world with 77 percent of the vote.^[63] Columnists from Barcelona-based newspapers El Mundo Deportivo and Sport stated that the Ballon d'Or should be given to Messi, a view supported by Franz Beckenbauer.^[64] Football personalities such as Francesco Totti have declared that they consider Messi to be one of the current best footballers in the world.^[65] Messi finished third in the 2007 Ballon d'Or, behind Kaká and Cristiano Ronaldo, and finished second in the 2007 FIFA World Player of the Year award, once again behind Kaká. He also came in third in the IFFHS World's Best Playmaker Award, once again behind Kaká and Andrea Pirlo.^[66]
Messi was sidelined for six weeks following an injury on 4 March when he suffered a muscle tear in his left thigh during a Champions League match against Celtic FC. It was the fourth time in three seasons that Messi suffered this type of injury.^[67] Messi scored 6 goals and provided 1 assist during the Champions League that season, as Barcelona were knocked out in the semi-finals, to the eventual winners Manchester United. When the season was over Messi had managed to score 16 goals and assisted 13 times in all competitions.

2008–09 season

Upon Ronaldinho's departure from the club, Messi inherited his number 10 jersey.^[68] During this season he placed second in the 2008 FIFA World Player of the Year awards with 678 points and third in the 2008 IFFHS World's Best Playmaker Award for the second consecutive year.^[69]

Messi in action against Manchester United in the 2009 UEFA Champions League Final

Messi scored his first hat-trick of 2009 in a Copa del Rey tie against Atlético Madrid which Barcelona won 3–1.^[70] Messi scored another important double on 1 February 2009, coming on as a second half substitute to help Barcelona defeat Racing Santander 1–2 after being 1–0 down. The second of the two strikes was Barcelona's 5000th league goal.^[71] On 8 April 2009, he scored twice against Bayern Munich in the Champions League, setting a personal record of eight goals in the competition.^[72]
As Barcelona's season was drawing to a close, Messi scored twice (his 35th and 36th goals in all competitions) to cap a 6–2 win over Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu^[73] in what was Real's heaviest defeat since 1930.^[74] He won his first Copa del Rey on 13 May, scoring one goal and assisting another two, in a 4–1 victory over Athletic Bilbao.^[75] He helped his team win the double by winning La Liga. On 27 May he helped Barcelona win the Champions League by scoring a second goal in the 70th minute giving Barcelona a two goal lead; he also became the top scorer in the Champions League, the youngest in the tournament's history, with nine goals.^[76] Messi also won the UEFA Club Forward of the Year: and the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year rounding off a spectacular year in Europe.^[77] This victory meant Barcelona had won the Copa del Rey, La Liga and Champions League in the one season,^[78] and was the first time a Spanish club had ever won the treble.^[79] Messi finished the season with 38 goals and 18 assists in all competitions.

2009–10 season

"The Maradona and Pelé polemics will end."

 —Diego Maradona, on the consequences if Messi won the 2010 World Cup ^[80]

After winning the 2009 UEFA Super Cup, Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola asserted that Messi was probably the best player he had ever seen.^[81] This would also be the season in which Guardiola would first move Messi from the position of right winger into his now iconic "false-9" role in the centre of the front line at Barcelona.^[82] On 18 September, Messi signed a new contract with Barcelona, running until 2016 and with a buy-out clause of €250 million included, making Messi, then along with Zlatan Ibrahimović, the highest paid players in La Liga, with earnings of around €9.5 million yearly.^[83][84]
Messi was named winner of the 2009 Ballon d'Or on 1 December 2009, beating runner-up Cristiano Ronaldo by largest ever margin of 473 to 233.^[85][86][87] He also placed 2nd in the 2009 IFFHS World's Best Playmaker Award.^[88] behind team mate Xavi Hernández.

Messi at the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup

On 19 December, Messi scored the winner in the final of the 2009 Club World Cup against Estudiantes in Abu Dhabi, giving the club their sixth title of the year.^[89] Two days later, he was given the FIFA World Player of the Year award,^[90] beating Cristiano Ronaldo, Xavi, Kaká and Andrés Iniesta to the award. This was the first time he had won the award, and he became the first Argentinian to ever receive this honour.^[91] On 10 January 2010, Messi scored his first hat-trick in 2010 and his first hat-trick of the season against CD Tenerife in the 0–5 victory,^[92] and on 17 January he scored his 100th goal for the club in the 4–0 victory over Sevilla FC.^[93]
Messi scored a hat-trick against Valencia CF in a 3–0 home win,^[94] and finally he scored another hat-trick against Real Zaragoza in a 4–2 away win,^[95] becoming the first Barcelona player to score back-to-back hat-tricks in La Liga.^[96] He played his 200th official match for Barcelona against CA Osasuna on 24 March 2010.^[97]

"Once he's on the run, Messi is unstoppable. He's the only player who can change direction at such a pace.
He is the best player in the world by some distance. He's (like) a PlayStation. He can take advantage of every mistake we make."

Arsène Wenger after Barcelona won 4–1 against Arsenal^[98][99]

On 6 April 2010, for the first time in Messi's career he scored four goals in a single match, netting the lot in a 4–1 home win over Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-final second leg.^[100][101] This also saw him overtake Rivaldo as Barcelona's all time greatest scorer in the competition.^[102] In the final league match of the season against Valladolid, he scored two goals in the second half to tie Ronaldo's club record of 34 goals in a single league season, set in 1996–97,^[103][104] and to finish four goals behind the all-time record held by Telmo Zarra.^[105] He was named La Liga player of the year for the second year in a row on 3 June 2010.^[106] He finished the season with 47 goals in all competitions, tying Ronaldo's record from the 1996–97 season, and he provided 11 assists.^[107]

2010–11 season

On 21 August 2010, Messi scored a hat-trick in his first start of the season in a 4–0 victory over Sevilla FC in the Supercopa de España, helping Barcelona secure their first trophy of the season after a 1–3 first leg loss.^[108]
On 19 September 2010, Messi suffered an ankle injury due to an ill-advised tackle by Atlético Madrid defender Tomáš Ujfaluši in the 92nd minute of their Round 3 match at the Vicente Calderón Stadium. At first sight it was feared that Messi suffered a broken ankle that could have kept the star player away from the pitch for a minimum of six months, but MRI performed the next day in Barcelona showed he suffered a sprain in the internal and external ligaments of his right ankle.^[109] Team-mate David Villa stated "the tackle on Messi was brutal" after watching the video of the play and also added that he believed the Atlético defender "didn't go into the tackle to hurt".^[110] The incident caused widespread media attention and brought up the debate of equality in protecting all players in the game.
Against UD Almería Messi scored his second hat-trick of the season in an impressive 8–0 away win, the second of which was his 100th La Liga goal.^[111]

Messi playing against Real Madrid in a Champions League match

Messi won the 2010 FIFA Ballon d'Or, beating his Barcelona teammates Xavi and Iniesta.^[112] Messi had been nominated for the awards for the fourth consecutive year.^[113] On 5 February, Barcelona broke the record for most consecutive league wins with 16 victories after they defeated Atlético Madrid 3–0 at the Camp Nou.^[114] Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick to ensure the victory for his side and after the match he stated, "it's an honor to be able to pass a record set by a great like Di Stéfano" and "if the record has been around for so long is because it's very complicated to achieve and we have reached it by defeating a very difficult team who's going through a bad situation, which makes it even more difficult."^[115]
After failing to score for a month he scored a brace against UD Almería; the second goal was his 47th of the season, equalling his club record return of the previous season.^[116] He surpassed his record on 12 April 2011 by scoring the winner against Shakhtar Donetsk in a UEFA Champions League game, which put him in the record book as all time top scorer in a single season for Barcelona.^[117] He scored his eighth goal on El Clásico on a 1–1 tie at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. On 23 April, Messi scored his 50th goal of the season against CA Osasuna in a 2–0 home victory which he came on as a substitute in the 60th minute.^[118] He finished the season by winning La Liga and scoring 31 goals as he finished runner-up in the Pichichi trophy to Cristiano Ronaldo, who had managed to score 40. Messi finished the league season as the top assist provider with 18 assists.
On 20 April, Barcelona were defeated by arch-rivals Real Madrid in the 2011 Copa del Rey Final. Messi set up a goal for Pedro, which was however ruled offside. Cristiano Ronaldo scored the only goal of the match in extra time. Messi was however the joint top-scorer of the tournament along with Cristiano Ronaldo, with 7 goals.^{[119][120][120]}
In the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals, he gave a memorable performance, scoring twice against Real Madrid in a 2–0 win, the second goal (a dribble past several players) being acclaimed as one of the best ever at that stage of the competition.^[121][122] At the Champions League Final at Wembley, Messi scored the eventual game-clinching goal to give Barcelona their third title in six years and fourth overall.^[123] This was also Messi's 12th goal in the Champions League that season, which allowed him to tie Ruud Van Nistelrooy's record of 12 goals in a single European Cup season, after it was re-established as the UEFA Champions League, in 1992.^[120] The overall record of goals scored in a single European Cup Season, is José Altafini's record of 14 goals, which Messi did however equal in the following season.^[120] Messi finished the 2010–11 season with 53 goals and 24 assists in all competitions combined.

2011–12 season

Barcelona and Messi celebrate 2011 FIFA Club World Cup win.

Messi started the season by lifting the Spanish Supercup with Barcelona, scoring three goals and providing two assists in a 5–4 aggregate win against Real Madrid.^[124] His vital interventions continued in the next official match played against Porto when he scored again following a weak back pass from Fredy Guarín before setting up Cesc Fàbregas to give Barcelona a 2–0 victory and the UEFA Super Cup,^[125] then the only official competition that remained for him to score in.^[126]
After scoring his first goal of an eventual hat-trick in an 8–0 rout against CA Osasuna, Messi produced a special celebration for Soufian, a 10-year-old Moroccan boy with Laurin Sandrow syndrome, a rare medical condition that can eventually lead to the loss of the lower extremities. Whilst Messi usually points to the sky after scoring a goal, Messi slapped his thighs as a dedication to Soufian.^[127]
In August, Messi became the second highest goalscorer surpassing László Kubala on 194 goals, being behind only to César Rodríguez on 232 goals in all official competitions.^[128]
On 28 September, Messi scored his first two Champions League goals of the season against BATE Borisov,^[129] becoming Barcelona's second highest goalscorer in its history, tying László Kubala, at 194 goals in all official competitions.^[130] He surpassed that record when he scored two goals against Racing Santander.^[131] He became second in Barcelona's La Liga goalscorers list with 132 goals, one more than Kubala.^[132] He scored his 200th Barcelona goal and two more as part of a hat-trick in his next game against Viktoria Plzeň in the Champions League.^[133]

Messi with Neymar after the final of the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup.

Messi scored a brace in the Club World Cup Final against Santos FC and was recognized as the man of the match and also awarded the Golden Ball for his performance during the tournament.^[134]

Messi playing against Real Madrid during the 2011–12 Copa del Rey

Messi won the 2011 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award, beating his FC Barcelona team-mate Xavi Hernández and Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo. Messi won the 2011 FIFA Ballon d'Or, again beating his team-mate Xavi and Cristiano Ronaldo. By winning the FIFA Ballon d'Or again, Messi become the fourth player to win three Ballon d'Ors, after Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini and Marco Van Basten and the second player to win three consecutive Ballon d'Ors, after Michel Platini (although two of his Ballon d'Ors are FIFA Ballon d'Ors, which he won consecutively). Messi also won the IFFHS World's Top Goal Scorer award, with 19 goals in 2011.^[135]
On 19 February 2012, Messi, on his 200th La Liga appearance, scored four goals against Valencia CF in a 5–1 win.^[136] On 7 March, Messi became the first player to score five goals in an UEFA Champions League match since the tournament's re-establishment in 1992, helping the defending champions Barcelona win 7–1 against Bayer Leverkusen.^[137]
On 20 March, Messi scored three goals against Granada CF, making him FC Barcelona's leading goalscorer in official competitions, surpassing club legend César Rodríguez, who had previously held the record with 232.^[138]
On 3 April, Messi scored two goals from penalty kicks against Milan in the second leg of the Champions League Quarter-final, allowing him to surpass his personal record, joint with Ruud van Nistelrooy, of 12 goals in a single UEFA Champions League season. These goals allowed him to tie José Altafini's record of 14 goals in a single European Cup season in the 1962–63 season, before the tournament's re-establishment as the UEFA Champions League in 1992.^[120] Messi was unable to score in the semifinals, although he provided an assist in the second leg, as Barcelona were knocked out to eventual winners Chelsea. During the second leg match, Messi missed an important penalty, hitting the crossbar. The goal would have put Barcelona ahead on aggregate.^[139]
On 11 April, Messi scored his 61st goal of the season against Getafe CF, and made two assists.^[140] On 2 May, Messi scored a hat-trick against Málaga CF surpassing Gerd Müller's record (67 goals in 1972–73) with 68 goals, and thus becoming the best goalscorer in history in one season in Europe.^[141] It was the 21st multi-goal game of the season for Messi and his seventh La Liga hat-trick.^[142] He then scored four goals on 5 May against RCD Espanyol to take his tally to an unprecedented 72 goals, in the process becoming only the second player to pass 70 goals in a first division season since Archie Stark of Bethlehem Steel in the American Soccer League in 1924–25.^[18]
On 25 May, he scored again in the 2012 Copa del Rey Final, helping Barcelona win their 26th Spanish Cup title, and increasing his seasonal goalscoring record to an unmatched 73 goals in all competitions.^[143][144] This was also Guardiola's last match as Barcelona's manager, and the Cup win marked Messi's second Copa del Rey title, after losing the final the year before, as well as his 14th Barcelona trophy during Guardiola's four seasons at the club. Although Barcelona failed to win their 4th consecutive Liga title under Guardiola, finishing runners up to arch-rivals Real Madrid, Messi finished the 2011–12 season as the top goalscorer in La Liga for a second time, with a Liga record of 50 goals. He was the second best assist provider in La Liga that season with 16 assists, after Mesut Özil, who managed 17. He also ended the season as the UEFA Champions' League Top Scorer for a fourth consecutive time, with 14 goals.^[143] He was one of the top assist providers of the tournament with 5 assists and finished the season with 73 goals and 29 assists in all club competitions, with more goals and assists than any other player.

2012–13 season

During Barcelona's first game of the season against Real Sociedad, Messi continued his goalscoring run with a brace in a 5–1 win at the Camp Nou. Messi added another goal from a penalty in a 3–2 win against rivals Real Madrid in the first leg of the 2012 Supercopa de España in Barcelona on 23 August.^[145] He added another brace against CA Osasuna as Barcelona came from behind away from home to beat them 2–1.^[146] Messi added another goal from a free kick in the second leg of the Supercopa de España, as Barcelona, down to ten men, were defeated by Real Madrid on away goals.^[147] This marked his 15th goal in the Clasico Real Madrid-Barcelona derby, which made him Barcelona's top scorer in Clasico matches, putting him tied with Raúl, behind only Alfredo Di Stefano, with 18 goals.^[148][149] Messi placed second along with Cristiano Ronaldo in the 2012 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award, with 17 votes each. The award was won by Messi's Barcelona team mate Andrés Iniesta.^[150] In his third league appearance on 2 September against Valencia CF, Messi assisted the only goal of the match, by team mate Adriano, from a short corner.^[151] Messi scored two more goals in a win against Getafe on 15 September^[152] and added another brace in his first Champion's League match of the season against Spartak Moscow on 20 September, ending in a 3–2 win to Barcelona, also marking his tenth goal of the season.^[153]

"My record stood for 40 years - 85 goals in a year - and now the best player in the world has broken it, and I'm delighted for him. He is an incredible player, gigantic."

 —Gerd Müller after Messi broke his record.^[154]

On 11 November, Messi scored twice at RCD Mallorca, his 75th and 76th goals in 2012, surpassing Pelé's milestone of 75 goals (1958) in a calendar year, and moved within nine of German legend Gerd Müller's all-time Guinness World Records title.^[155][156] His 77th and 78th goals came against Real Zaragoza at Camp Nou which moved Messi seven goals away from the record.^[157] On 20 November, Messi scored twice at Spartak Moscow, his 79th and 80th goals of 2012 and moved to within five goals of the record.^[158] Messi continued his scoring run against Levante UD on 25 November with his 81st and 82nd goals of the year which moved him within three goals of Müller.^[159] On 1 December, Messi scored twice against Athletic Bilbao, his 83rd and 84th goals of the year, meaning he pulled to within one goal of Müller's record set in 1972. The two goals also meant Messi equaled Barcelona's all time leading goalscoring record in La Liga, which was held by César Rodríguez with 190 goals.^[160] On 9 December, Messi scored twice against Real Betis, his 85th and 86th goals in 2012, surpassing Müller's milestone of 85 goals scored in a calendar year in 1972 with Bayern Munich and the German national team, as well as surpassing Rodríguez's record for most league goals for Barcelona.^{[161][162][163]} On 12 December, Messi increased his record to 88, after scoring twice against Córdoba CF in the first leg of a Copa del Rey game.^[164] Messi then sent an autographed Barcelona shirt to Müller in acknowledgement of beating his record.^[165] On 16 December, Messi scored twice in a 4–1 Barcelona victory against Atlético Madrid, increasing his record to 90 goals.^[166] The tally found its end at 91 goals in a year after Messi scored once against Real Valladolid.
On 18 December 2012, it was announced that Barcelona renewed the contract of Messi, extending it until 30 June 2018.^[167]
On 7 January 2013 odds-on favourite^[168] Messi won the 2012 FIFA Ballon d'Or, again beating Cristiano Ronaldo in second place with team-mate Andrés Iniesta third. In doing this, Messi became the only player in history to win the Ballon d'Or four times.^[169] Messi described receiving the accolade as "really quite unbelievable" and "too great for words".^[170] The achievement fuelled media comparison on Messi with former greats of the sport such as Diego Maradona and Pelé.^[171][172]
On 27 January 2013, Messi scored 4 goals against in a 5-1 win against Osasuna, including his 200th goal in La Liga, becoming the 8th player and the youngest player to do so.^[173] This brought his La Liga tally for the season up to 33, and his goalscoring total to 44 goals in all competitions.

International career

Often referred to as an Argentinian-Spanish player, this crossover was brought into sharp focus when in 2004, Lionel was offered the chance to play for the Spanish national U-20 team. He declined the offer given his Argentinian heritage, and was given the opportunity to play for Argentina's U-20 team in a friendly match against Paraguay in June 2004.^[174] Messi scored once against Paraguay and twice in friendly against Uruguay in July 2004.^[175] In 2005 he was part of a team that finished third in 2005 South American Youth Championship in Colombia. He won the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship in the Netherlands with the team and won the Golden Ball and the Golden Shoe,^[176] scoring in the last four of Argentina's matches and netting a total of six for the tournament.
He made his full international debut on 17 August 2005 against Hungary at the age of 18. He was substituted on during the 63rd minute, but was sent off on the 65th minute because the referee, Markus Merk, claimed that Messi had allegedly elbowed defender Vilmos Vanczák, who was tugging Messi's shirt. The decision was contentious and Maradona even claimed the decision was pre-meditated. Messi was later reportedly found weeping in the changing rooms after the decision.^[177][178] Messi returned to the team on 3 September in Argentina's 1–0 World Cup qualifier away defeat to Paraguay. Ahead of the match he had said "This is a re-debut. The first one was a bit short."^[179] He then started his first game for Argentina against Peru, in which he was able to win a crucial penalty for Argentina; after the match Pekerman described Messi as "a jewel".^[180] He scored his first goal for Argentina in a friendly match against Croatia on 1 March 2006.^[181]
On 28 March 2009, in a World Cup Qualifier against Venezuela, Messi wore the number 10 jersey for the first time with Argentina. This match was the first official match for Diego Maradona as the Argentina manager. Argentina won the match 4–0 with Messi opening the scoring.^[182]
On 17 November 2010, Messi scored a last-minute goal against South American rivals Brazil after an individual effort to help his team to a 1–0 win in the friendly match, which was held in Doha. This was the first time that he had scored against Brazil at senior level.^[183] Messi scored another last-minute goal on 9 February 2011 against Portugal in a penalty kick which gave his side a 2–1 victory in the friendly match, which was held in Geneva, Switzerland. He had also previously assisted the first goal.^[184] His first hat-trick for Albiceleste came against Switzerland, on 29 February 2012 which the game ended 3–1 for Argentina.^[185] On 9 June 2012, Messi scored his second international hat-trick in a friendly match against rivals Brazil, including the match winner. The match ended 4–3 to Argentina and Messi was voted man of the match.^[186] This brought his international goalscoring tally up to 26 goals in 70 matches, and brought his 2012 tally up to 7 goals in 3 matches. This was also his record-breaking 82nd goal of the season, including all club and international matches.^[187] These goals also made him the current fourth highest scorer for the Argentinian National Team.^[188] On 7 September, Messi scored his 28th goal for Argentina in a 3–1 victory against Paraguay in a World Cup Qualifying Match, sending them to the top of the CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifying table. This was his 4th goal in the current World Cup Qualifying campaign and his 8th overall in World Cup Qualifying matches, making him the third highest scorer for Argentina in World Cup Qualifying matches.^[189] This was also his 10th consecutive goal for Argentina in the last 6 matches and his 9th in 5 matches played in 2012.^[190]

2006 World Cup

The injury that kept Messi from playing for two months at the end of the 2005–06 season jeopardised his presence in the 2006 World Cup. Nevertheless, Messi was selected in the Argentina squad for the tournament on 15 May 2006. He also played in the final match before the World Cup against the Argentine U-20 team for 15 minutes and a friendly match against Angola from the 64th minute.^[191][192] He witnessed Argentina's opening match victory against Ivory Coast from the substitute's bench.^[193] In the next match against Serbia and Montenegro, Messi became the youngest player to represent Argentina at a World Cup when he came on as a substitute for Maxi Rodríguez in the 74th minute. He assisted Hernán Crespo's goal within minutes of entering the game and also scored the final goal in the 6–0 victory, making him the youngest scorer in the tournament and the sixth youngest goalscorer in the history of the World Cup.^[194] Messi started in Argentina's following 0–0 draw against the Netherlands.^[195] In the following game against Mexico, Messi came on as a substitute in the 84th minute, with the score tied at 1–1. He appeared to score a goal, but it was ruled offside with Argentina needing a late goal in extra time to proceed.^[196][197] Coach José Pekerman left Messi on the bench during the quarter-final match against Germany, which they lost 4–2 on a penalty shootout.^[198]

2007 Copa América

Messi at the 2007 Copa América

Messi played his first game in the 2007 Copa América on 29 June 2007, when Argentina defeated United States 4–1 in the first game. In this game, he showed his capabilities as a playmaker. He set up a goal for fellow striker Hernán Crespo and had numerous shots on target. Tevez came on as a substitute for Messi in the 79th minute and scored minutes later.^[199]
His second game was against Colombia, in which he won a penalty that Crespo converted to tie the game at 1–1. He also played a part in Argentina's second goal as he was fouled outside the box, which allowed Juan Roman Riquelme to score from a freekick, and increase Argentina's lead to 3–1. The final score of the game was 4–2 in Argentina's favor and guaranteed them a spot in the tournament's quarterfinals.^[200]
In the third game, against Paraguay the coach rested Messi having already qualified for the quarter-finals. He came off the bench in place of Esteban Cambiasso in the 64th minute, with the score at 0–0. In the 79th minute, he assisted a goal for Javier Mascherano.^[201] In the quarter-finals, as Argentina faced Peru, Messi scored the second goal of the game, from a Riquelme pass in a 4–0 win.^[202] During the semi-final match against Mexico, Messi scored a lob over Oswaldo Sánchez to see Argentina through to the final with a 3–0 win.^[203] Argentina went on to lose 3–0 to Brazil in the final.^[204] Messi was elected young player of the tournament.^[20]

2008 Summer Olympics

Messi in the semi-final against Brazil at the 2008 Olympics

Having barred Messi from playing for Argentina in the 2008 Olympics,^[205] Barcelona agreed to release him after he held talks with newly appointed coach Pep Guardiola.^[206] He joined the Argentina squad and scored the first goal in a 2–1 victory over Ivory Coast.^[206] He then scored the opening goal and assisted Ángel di María in the second to help his side to a 2–1 extra-time win against the Netherlands.^[207] He also featured in Argentina's match against rivals Brazil, in which Argentina took a 3–0 victory, thus advancing to the final. In the gold medal match, Messi again assisted Di María for the only goal in a 1–0 victory over Nigeria.^[208]

2010 World Cup

Messi and Argentina lost 0–4 against Germany in the quarter-finals of the 2010 FIFA World Cup

For the 2010 World Cup, Messi wore the number 10 shirt for the first time in a major tournament.^[209] Messi played the entire game on Argentina's opening match in the 2010 World Cup, the 1–0 victory against Nigeria. He had several opportunities to score but was repeatedly denied by Vincent Enyeama.^[210] Messi started in Argentina's following 4–1 win against Korea Republic; he played in more of an attacking midfielder and playmaking role under Maradona,^{[209][211][212]} and participated in all of the goals of his team, helping Gonzalo Higuaín score a hat-trick.^[213] On the third and last group stage match Messi captained during Argentina's 2–0 win over Greece, again being the centrepoint of Argentina's play and was voted man of the match.^[214]
At the Round of 16 he assisted Carlos Tévez for the first goal in a 3–1 win against Mexico. The World Cup ended for Argentina with a 4–0 loss against Germany in the quarter-finals.^[215]
Messi was nominated in ten player shortlist for Golden Ball award by FIFA Technical Study Group. The group identified Messi with words: "Outstanding in his pace and creativity for his team, dribbling, shooting, passing – spectacular and efficient".^[216]

2011 Copa América

Messi took part in the Copa América in Argentina, where he failed to score a goal but notched three assists. He was selected man-of-the-match in matches against Bolivia (1–1) and Costa Rica (3–0). Argentina were eliminated in the quarter-finals in a penalty shoot-out against Uruguay (1–1 a.e.t.), with Messi scoring as the first penalty taker.

Style of play

Messi, playing for Argentina in 2011, has been compared to compatriot Diego Maradona

Messi has been compared to compatriot Diego Maradona, due to their similar playing style and stature,^[217] which gives him a lower centre of gravity than most players, allowing him to be more agile and change direction more quickly, helping him to evade tackles.^[218] His short, strong legs allow him to excel in short bursts of acceleration and his quick feet allow him to keep control of the ball when dribbling at speed.^[219] His former FC Barcelona manager, Pep Guardiola, once stated: “Messi is the only player that runs faster with the ball than he does without it.”^[220] Like Maradona before him, Messi is dominantly a left footed player.^[221] With the outside of his left foot, he usually begins dribbling runs, whilst he uses the inside of his foot to finish and provide passes and assists to team mates.^[218]
Messi often undertakes individual dribbling runs towards goal, in particular during counterattacks, usually starting from the halfway line, or the right side of the pitch, although he has also been described as a versatile team player, with good vision, known for his passing and his creative combinations, in particular with Barcelona team mates Xavi and Iniesta.^{[222][223][224]} He is also an accurate set piece and penalty kick taker.^[225] With regards to his dribbling ability, Maradona has said of Messi: "The ball stays glued to his foot; I’ve seen great players in my career, but I’ve never seen anyone with Messi's ball control."^[226] Maradona has stated that he believes Messi to currently be the greatest player in the world.^[227][228]

"Messi has his personality and I have mine. He has his game and I have mine. I also play in a big club like him. We are different in every aspect. But right now, he is the best."

 —Cristiano Ronaldo, in September 2011^[229]

Tactically, Messi plays a free attacking and occasionally a playmaking role,^[60] known for his finishing, pace, dribbling, balance, positioning, vision and passing ability.^[223][230] He is comfortable attacking on either wing or through the centre of the pitch.^[231] He began his career as a left-winger and forward, but was later moved onto the right wing by former manager Frank Rijkaard, who noticed that from this position, Messi could cut through the defence into the middle of the pitch more easily, allowing him to curl shots on goal with his left foot, rather than predominantly crossing balls for team mates.^[232] He has more recently played in a false 9 role under Guardiola.^[233] This role is characterized by Messi's tendency to seemingly be playing as a centre forward, or as a lone striker, although he will often run back into deep positions drawing defenders with him, creating space for wingers, other forwards, and attacking midfielders to make runs, allowing him to provide them with assists or giving him space to begin dribbling runs, score goals or create attacking plays.^[233] With the Argentinian National team, Messi usually plays anywhere along the front line. He began as a forward or winger but has also played in a deeper role, in particular under Maradona, in more of an attacking midfield and playmaking role.^{[209][211][212]} Messi revealed that he is a fan of the former Argentina playmaker Pablo Aimar.^[234]

Outside football

Personal life

Messi was at one stage romantically linked to Macarena Lemos, also from his hometown of Rosario. He is said to have been introduced to her by the girl's father when he returned to Rosario to recover from his injury a few days before the start of the 2006 World Cup.^[235][236] He has in the past also been linked to the Argentine glamour model Luciana Salazar.^[237][238] In January 2009 he told "Hat Trick Barça", a programme on Canal 33: "I have a girlfriend and she is living in Argentina. I am relaxed and happy".^[238] He was seen with the girl, Antonella Roccuzzo,^[239] at a carnival in Sitges after the Barcelona-Espanyol derby. Roccuzzo is a fellow native of Rosario.^[240] On 2 June 2012, Messi assisted and scored a goal in Argentina's 4–0 win against Ecuador in a World Cup 2014 Qualifying match. He celebrated scoring his 23rd goal for Argentina, by placing the ball under his jersey, as his girlfriend is reportedly 12 weeks pregnant. She posted on Twitter that she is expected to give birth in September.^[241] Messi confirmed that the child, a son, would be born in October, and that he and his girlfriend plan to name him Thiago. However, the birth would occur later than expected. On 2 November 2012, Messi became a father for the first time following the birth of his son Thiago. The FC Barcelona's official website briefly stated "Leo Messi is a father". Besides, the Argentine striker added on his Facebook page: "Today I am the happiest man in the world, my son was born and thanks to God for this gift!" ^[31][242] Messi has two cousins also involved in football: Maxi, a winger for Club Olimpia of Paraguay, and Emanuel Biancucchi, who plays as a midfielder for Paraguay's Independiente F.B.C..^[243][244]
According to American writer Wright Thompson, Messi has maintained close ties to Rosario and his family since leaving for Spain, and has gone to great lengths to maintain them. These ties begin with his speech—to this day, Messi speaks Spanish with the distinctive accent of Rosario, even though he has now lived in Spain as long as he has in Rosario. He also keeps in daily contact via phone and text with a small group of confidants from Rosario, most of them fellow members of "The Machine of '87". One time when he was in training with the Argentina national team in Buenos Aires, he made a three-hour trip by car to Rosario immediately after practice to have dinner with his family, spent the night with them, and then returned to Buenos Aires the next day in time for practice. Messi has also kept ownership of his old house in Rosario, although his family no longer lives in it; he maintains a penthouse apartment in an exclusive residential building in which his mother lives, as well as a family compound just outside the city.^[31]

Charity

In 2007, Messi established the Leo Messi Foundation, a charity supporting access to education and health care for vulnerable children.^[245][246] In response to Messi's own childhood medical difficulties, the Leo Messi Foundation has offered Argentine children diagnosed with illnesses treatment in Spain and funds covering the transport, hospital and recuperation costs.^[247] Messi's foundation is supported by his own fundraising activity with additional assistance from Herbalife.
On 11 March 2010 Messi was announced as a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF.^[248] Messi's UNICEF ambassador activities are aimed at supporting children’s rights. Messi is supported in this by Barcelona, who also have a strong association with UNICEF.^[249]
He and Newell's have also ended a long public feud. Messi funded the construction of a dormitory inside Newell's stadium for the club's youth academy, as well as a new gymnasium for the club. For its part, Newell's has begun to embrace its ties with Messi, and plans to issue a special club membership card to Messi's son.^[31]

Wealth

In March 2010, France Football ranked him at the top of its list of the world's richest footballers, ahead of David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo, with £29.6 million (€33 million) in combined income from salaries, bonuses and off-field earnings.^[250][251] His net wealth is estimated at $110 millon.^[252]

Media

An example of Messi's popularity and influence. Photographed in India.

Messi was featured on the front covers of the video games Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 and Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 and is also involved in promotional campaigns for the games.^[253][254] Messi, along with Fernando Torres,^[255] is the face of Pro Evolution Soccer 2010, and was also involved in the motion capturing and the trailer.^{[256][257][258]} However, in November 2011 Messi was confirmed as the new face of PES's rival football series FIFA with his debut as a cover star of the series coming in 2012's FIFA Street. Messi was also chosen to be on the cover of FIFA 13.^[259] Messi is sponsored by the German sportswear company Adidas and features in their television advertisements.^[260] In June 2010, Messi also signed a three–year contract with Herbalife^[261] which further supports the Leo Messi Foundation.
Messi was named twice in the Time 100, the magazine's annual list of the most influential people in the world, respectively in 2011^[262] and in 2012.^[263]
Also in April 2011, Messi launched a Facebook page and within a few hours, his page had attracted more than six million followers. His Facebook page had over 33 million followers in March 2012.^[264]

Sponsorships

In September 2012, Messi became the global brand ambassador of Turkish Airlines.^[265] Messi shot a commercial for the airline with NBA star Kobe Bryant. In the airline's latest commercial, the duo competes to win the attention of a young boy.^[266]
In 16 December 2012, Messi took the field against Atlético Madrid in a La Liga match wearing a pair of adidas adizero boots designed by a fan. Earlier in 2012, fans of the Messi were given the unique opportunity to create a pair of adidas adizero f50s by visiting the new miadidas configurator and submitting their designs. Javier Pascual Mullor from Spain was identified as the lucky winner from over 14,200 submitted entries.^[267] While on 13 January 2013, in a league match against Málaga, Messi wore a special pair of adidas adizero F50 boots in order to commemorate his record 4th Ballon d'Or win.^[268]
In January 2013, Messi appeared in a short advert for Japanese face wash Scalp-D. The advert showed the Argentine speaking a few Japanese words.^[269]

Career statistics

Club

As of 30 January 2013^{[36][270][271][272]}

Reserve teams

Club	League	Season	League
			Apps	Goals
Barcelona C	Tercera	2003–04	10	5
Barcelona B	Segunda B	2003–04	5	0
		2004–05	17	6
Total			32	11

Senior team

Club	Season	League		Cup		UCL		Supercup		USC		CWC		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Barcelona	2004–05	7	1	1	0	1	0	—		—		—		9	1
	2005–06	17	6	2	1	6	1	—		—		—		25	8
	2006–07	26	14	2	2	5	1	2	0	1	0	—		36	17
	2007–08	28	10	3	0	9	6	—		—		—		40	16
	2008–09	31	23	8	6	12	9	—		—		—		51	38
	2009–10	35	34	3	1	11	8	1	2	1	0	2	2	53	47
	2010–11	33	31	7	7	13	12	2	3	—		—		55	53
	2011–12	37	50	7	3	11	14	2	3	1	1	2	2	60	73
	2012–13	21	33	4	4	6	5	2	2	—		—		33	44
Total		235	202	37	24	74	56	9	10	3	1	4	4	362	297

International

As of 14 November 2012^{[49][175][273][274][275]}

International appearances

Team	Year	Apps	Goals
Argentina	2005	5	0
	2006	7	2
	2007	14	6
	2008	8	2
	2009	10	3
	2010	10	2
	2011	13	4
	2012	9	12
	2013	0	0
Total		76	31

International goals

Scores and results list Argentina's goal tally first.

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	1 March 2006	St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland	Croatia	2–1	2–3	Friendly
2.	16 June 2006	WM-Stadion Gelsenkirchen, Gelsenkirchen, Germany	Serbia and Montenegro	6–0	6–0	2006 World Cup
3.	5 June 2007	Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain	Algeria	2–2	4–3	Friendly
4.	5 June 2007	Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain	Algeria	4–2	4–3	Friendly
5.	8 July 2007	Metropolitano de Fútbol de Lara, Barquisimeto, Venezuela	Peru	2–0	4–0	2007 Copa América
6.	11 July 2007	Polideportivo Cachamay, Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela	Mexico	2–0	3–0	2007 Copa América
7.	16 October 2007	José Pachencho Romero, Maracaibo, Venezuela	Venezuela	2–0	2–0	2010 World Cup qualification
8.	20 November 2007	Estadio El Campín, Bogotá, Colombia	Colombia	1–0	1–2	2010 World Cup qualification
9.	4 June 2008	Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, United States	Mexico	2–0	4–1	Friendly
10.	11 October 2008	Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina	Uruguay	1–0	2–1	2010 World Cup qualification
11.	11 February 2009	Stade Vélodrome, Marseille, France	France	2–0	2–0	Friendly
12.	28 March 2009	Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina	Venezuela	1–0	4–0	2010 World Cup qualification
13.	14 November 2009	Vicente Calderón Stadium, Madrid, Spain	Spain	1–1	1–2	Friendly
14.	7 September 2010	Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina	Spain	1–0	4–1	Friendly
15.	17 November 2010	Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar	Brazil	1–0	1–0	Friendly
16.	9 February 2011	Stade de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland	Portugal	2–1	2–1	Friendly
17.	20 June 2011	Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina	Albania	2–0	4–0	Friendly
18.	7 October 2011	Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina	Chile	2–0	4–1	2014 World Cup qualification
19.	15 November 2011	Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Barranquilla, Colombia	Colombia	1–1	2–1	2014 World Cup qualification
20.	29 February 2012	Stade de Suisse Wankdorf, Bern, Switzerland	Switzerland	1–0	3–1	Friendly
21.	29 February 2012	Stade de Suisse Wankdorf, Bern, Switzerland	Switzerland	2–1	3–1	Friendly
22.	29 February 2012	Stade de Suisse Wankdorf, Bern, Switzerland	Switzerland	3–1	3–1	Friendly
23.	2 June 2012	Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina	Ecuador	3–0	4–0	2014 World Cup qualification
24.	9 June 2012	MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, United States	Brazil	1–1	4–3	Friendly
25.	9 June 2012	MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, United States	Brazil	2–1	4–3	Friendly
26.	9 June 2012	MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, United States	Brazil	4–3	4–3	Friendly
27.	15 August 2012	Commerzbank-Arena, Frankfurt, Germany	Germany	2–0	3–1	Friendly
28.	7 September 2012	Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes, Córdoba, Argentina	Paraguay	3–1	3–1	2014 World Cup qualification
29.	12 October 2012	Estadio Malvinas Argentinas, Mendoza, Argentina	Uruguay	1–0	3–0	2014 World Cup qualification
30.	12 October 2012	Estadio Malvinas Argentinas, Mendoza, Argentina	Uruguay	3–0	3–0	2014 World Cup qualification
31.	16 October 2012	Estadio Nacional, Santiago, Chile	Chile	2–0	2–1	2014 World Cup qualification

Honours

Barcelona

• La Liga: 2004–05, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11
• Copa del Rey: 2008–09, 2011–12; Runner-up 2010–11
• Supercopa de España: 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011; Runner-up 2012
• UEFA Champions League: 2005–06, 2008–09, 2010–11
• UEFA Super Cup: 2009, 2011; Runner-up 2006
• FIFA Club World Cup: 2009, 2011

Argentina

• Olympic Gold Medal: 2008
• FIFA U-20 World Cup: 2005

Runner-up:

• Copa America: 2007

Third place:

• U20 South American Youth Championship: 2005

Individual

• FIFA Ballon d'Or (3): 2010, 2011, 2012. Created in 2010.
• Ballon d'Or (1): 2009. Ceased to exist in 2009.
• FIFA World Player of the Year (1): 2009. Ceased to exist in 2009.
• World Soccer Young Player of the Year (3): 2006, 2007, 2008.
• World Soccer Player of the Year (3): 2009, 2011, 2012.
• Onze d'Or (3): 2009, 2011, 2012. No winner in 2010.
• IFFHS World's Top Goal Scorer (2): 2011, 2012.^[276]
• IFFHS World's best Top Division Goal Scorer (1): 2012.^[277]
• Goal.com Player of the Year (2): 2009, 2011.
• El País King of European Soccer (4): 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012.^[278]
• ESPY Best International Athlete (1): 2012.
• European Golden Shoe (2): 2010, 2012.
• UEFA Best Player in Europe Award (1): 2011. Created in 2011.
• UEFA Club Footballer of the Year (1): 2009. Ceased to exist in 2010.
• UEFA Team of the Year (5): 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012.
• UEFA Champions League Top Goalscorer (4): 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012.
• UEFA Champions League Forward of the Year (1): 2009. Ceased to exist in 2010.
• UEFA Champions League Final Man of the Match (1): 2011.
• FIFA U-20 World Cup Player of the Tournament (1): 2005.
• FIFA U-20 World Cup Top Goalscorer (1): 2005.
• FIFA Club World Cup Golden Ball (2): 2009, 2011.
• FIFA FIFPro World XI (6): 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012.
• FIFPro World Young Player of the Year (3): 2006, 2007, 2008.
• ESM Team of the Year (6): 2005–06, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12.
• Pichichi Trophy (2): 2010, 2012.
• Copa del Rey Top Goalscorer (1): 2010–2011.
• La Liga Player of the Year (3): 2009, 2010, 2011.
• La Liga Foreign Player of the Year (3): 2007, 2009, 2010. Ceased to exist in 2010.
• La Liga Ibero-American Player of the Year (5): 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012.
• LFP Best Player (3): 2009, 2011, 2012. No winner in 2010.
• LFP Best Forward (3): 2009, 2011, 2012. No winner in 2010.
• Marca Leyenda (1): 2009.
• Bravo Award (1): 2007.
• Copa América Young Player of the Tournament (1): 2007.
• European Golden Boy (1): 2005.
• Olimpia de Oro (1): 2011.
• Olimpia de Plata (7): 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012.^[279]

Records

As of 29 January 2013^{[5][280][281][282][283][284][285][286]}

World

• Most FIFA Ballon d'Or awards: 4
• Guinness World Records title for the most goals in a year: 91 goals
• Most international goals in a year (club and national team): 25 goals (shared with Vivian Woodward)
• Most goals scored in FIFA Club World Cup: 4 goals (held jointly with Denilson and Mohamed Aboutrika)

Europe

• Most goals scored in a season (club): 73 goals
• Most goals scored in a year (club): 79 goals
• Most goals scored in a European Cup season: 14 goals (held jointly with José Altafini)
• Most European Cup top scorer awards: 4 (shared with Gerd Müller)
• Highest scorer in a European Cup game: 5 goals (held jointly with ten other players)

Argentina

• Most goals scored in a year (national team): 12 goals (shared with Batistuta)

Spain

• Most goals scored in La Liga in a season: 50 goals
• Most La Liga hat-tricks in a season: 8 hat-tricks
• Most goals scored in the Supercopa de España: 10 goals
• Most consecutive La Liga matches scored in: 11 matches

Barcelona

• Top scorer in official competitions: 297 goals
• Top scorer in La Liga: 202 goals
• Top scorer in UEFA Champions League: 56 goals
• Top scorer in European competitions: 57 goals
• Top scorer in international competitions: 61 goals
• Most all competitions hat-tricks overall: 22 hat-tricks
• Most La Liga hat-tricks overall: 16 hat-tricks

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