Of Big Ears and the Ballon D’Or

Of Juve’s magnificent midfield quartet, Claudio Marchisio is the best suited for a man-marking job on Messi, but they must zone the little maestro. Photo by AFP

It was not that customary race for the Ballon D’Or this time out, but in a surprisingly close vote between Lionel Messi and Sepp Blatter, the little wizard just edged out the cunning old fox.
For two days a debate raged within the depths of my conscience on whether I should write about Fifa’s mortification or tonight’s intriguing Champions League final, and in the end I chose the latter.
My justification was two-fold.
The first was that, on these very lines last week when it seemed like a defiant Blatter would survive an umpteenth assault on his reign, I had still believed change at Fifa inevitable, and with it our own Fufa. The second was that while the Fifa saga was akin to a series ongoing with more episodes still to unfold, this Champions League final was a one-off blockbuster complete with expiry date.

Messi monster
Even if tonight’s game is about a lot more than just Messi, the Argentinean magician is always the starting point in any such discussion, especially in his current mood.
More than any one on the pitch tonight, Messi possesses the tools to settle this game on his own. While for the others it might be anything from power and will to an instant of precision or tactical execution, if it is going to be Messi then it most certainly will be one or more moments of unadulterated sorcery.
So, while Massimiliano Allegri and Juventus will deny before kickoff that they are to pay extra attention to Messi, it will be apparent from the onset that they intend to. The Italians have a very long tradition of singling out players of that caliber for special consideration; Diego Maradona and Zinedine Zidane, just for two, will bare me witness.

In some of those past classics, Italian outfits have assigned the chief conjurer a special man-marker, and for Juve tonight that would be a direct pick between Claudio Marchisio and Arturo Vidal. Andrea Pirlo and Paul Pogba are not cut out for such chores, and the central defenders will be torn between tracking the clever darting runs of Luis Suarez and helping right back Stephan Lichsteiner contain Neymar’s non-stop probing.

But even with an individual sentry, Juventus will still need to use zoning against Messi to cut off supply or deny him the space to deploy that lethal left boot to inevitably fatal conclusions.
I see them managing to keep him relatively quiet for long spells, but the physical exertion and mental concentration required is such that there is always bound to be that lapse, delayed pivoting, a late tackle etc which will see the little menace escape.
While Messi has been untamable in the past with the expert service of master passer Xavi and the slaloming Andres Iniesta, in full flight now it is close to mission impossible because of the amazing synchrony he has found with Suarez and Neymar, the trio virtually unstoppable in peak tandem.

Juventus cannot commit the mortal sin of dedicating an entire game to stopping Messi though, and against a defence that is decent but not impregnable they will without a doubt look to engage that magnificent midfield quartet, advancing full backs Lichsteiner and Patrice Evra, and the goal-scoring double act of Alvaro Morata and Carlos Tevez.

Legendary keeper Gigi Buffon and the timeless Pirlo have been on this Berlin pitch and picked up the World Cup trophy, and like that unfancied Italy in 2006 this Juventus that shocked Cristiano Ronaldo’s Real Madrid enroute could have a date with destiny.
Try as I might though, I can’t quite see beyond Messi picking up that trophy tonight, and with finality ending the pursuit of this year’s Ballon D’Or as a race.

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