ACROSS the 2022 World Cup, Lionel Messi covered a distance comparable to doing one-and-a-half marathons (roughly 66 kms). Out of those, he spent nearly the length of a marathon just walking, per resources put out by FIFA. The world governing body had captured his movements to be below 7 kmph for over 60 per cent of the time (Zone 1).
Put it this way. The average adult human walks at a pace of around 4.5 kmph. An evening stroll. A morning amble before the harsh sun. Or a late-night dawdle to meet the day's step count. One footballer perennially exists in this zone while playing the game at the highest level. Messi. Even as other footballers try to influence the game by sprinting, running or pressing, the Argentine genius influences the game by walking.
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At Newell's (Messi spent a lot of his childhood here while growing up in Argentina), he hated running without the ball. "When I was at Newell’s," he had told Clank once, "there were two or three times a week we were sent to run around the grounds. I used to hide behind a tree. Running without a ball was never my thing (smiles). I have always been very self-critical. I am the first to know what I do right and what I do wrong. When I walk, I analyze the opponent's positioning, how we stand when we don't have the ball, get away from the marker and be able to initiate a counterattack.
"I don't pay much attention to GPS, statistics or data. I never cared how much I ran in a match."
There's often this theory that in the first five to 10 minutes of games, Messi prefers to just observe. Just pick a spot, stand and watch proceedings unfold. However, the reality is a bit more complex. He's already mapping out details; what are the defenders like, where are the potential opportunities for him, what would a counter-attack look like? Pep Guardiola, who coached Messi at Barcelona, once said this of Messi in a documentary, 'This is Football'.
"He's not out of the game," the Spaniard had said. "He's involved. Moving his head. Right, left, left, right. He smells who is the weak point of the back four. After five, ten minutes, he has the map. He knows if I move here, here, I will have more space to attack. Oh, that is quite incredible. We are contemporaries of that guy. So enjoy it. Lionel Messi, just simply one of a kind. He is so good."
In 2005, a few people commissioned a documentary to see what Zinedine Zidane alone had access to. So, during a football game between Real Madrid and Villarreal, 17 cameras were trained on Zidane in 'Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait'. The makers of the film wanted the world to see football through the eyes of the French playmaker. Likewise, it would be fascinating to see a whole football match unfold through Messi's eyes.
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Per publicly available documents issued by FIFA, Messi's physical metrics over the last two World Cups make for a very interesting reading. He doesn't cover a lot of ground. He's not their quickest and his top speed isn't the greatest. If anything, he's one of the slowest among the outfielders with respect to top speed.
So how is he able to have such an outsized influence on the Albiceleste? He's always looking for space, but not in the conventional sense. His game IQ is several levels above. While his top speed has suffered over the last few years, what he still has is that sudden burst of acceleration over five yards. And five yards is all he needs to make a difference.
There is a famous two-minute clip of Messi scoring the team's only goal at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. After moving up the pitch a few yards in Mexico's half, he gives the ball to Enzo Fernandes. Fernandes, who spots Angel di Maria on the right wing, passed the ball to him. At the moment, there's no inherent danger to Mexico's goal. There are eight Mexican bodies — nine if you want to include the goalkeeper — between the ball and the net.
But the game's pivotal moment has already occurred. Messi's man, who was shadowing him, has continued running on the assumption that the Argentine is also travelling in search of the ball. But Messi had checked his run after feeding Fernandes. By now, he has already slowly ambled to the centre of the pitch just outside the D. Di Maria, who spots Messi, plays the pass. Messi's first touch is good but his second — an arrowed finish into the bottom corner — is better. 1-0.
Another defender fooled, another team that has fallen victim to the Messi Gambit.