I realize it's a me problem too..it started with losing interest in the USMNT during the Jurgen disaster, the seeming increase in shopping for players and players shopping for countries, the continued corruption of FIFA, and the state of the world and country. I've only caught games for the sake of my dad so we can talk about matches, etc...
thanks for that information and it makes total sense (pun intended) that the Japanese would be attracted to the Total Football system that was vital to the success of Rinus Michels and Dutch football of the 70s, personally I would love to see the Total Football philosophy make a comeback in today's modern game
Paintsil was always more or less a fringe player for Ghana anyway, wasn’t he? But yeah, federations and coaches crapping on MLS is getting old.
what a howler of a game by the Algerian keeper Zidane, Zinedine is probably hanging his head in shame somewhere
Messi representing MLS well. I’m listening to poker players at my table talking about MLS having the best goal scorer.
That pic shows nothing because the angle precludes telling what is really going on. He either just kicked the ball or else he’s raking the guys leg, your bias is the only way to determine which. But maligning people you don’t like with ambiguous info that people can project their biases on is the way now. Just ask MAGA and Fox - they are the masters of suggestive character assassination.
https://streamff.com/v/1cce325c https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7367934/2026/06/16/lionel-messi-argentina-algeria-result/
Ok, now that is an exemplary example of showing your work! Thank you. Bad foul and he should have received at least a yellow for that. I will say that I’ve watched Messi from his Barca days and probably a quarter of his games in MLS and he has never struck me as a dirty player. He gets fouled repeatedly by opponents desperately trying to slow him down and 90% of the time he just gets up, dusts himself off and gets on with it. I’m sure anyone can find video examples of questionable behavior but the guy has a 23 year career. Amazingly (looking at club play) in those 23 seasons Messi has 0 red cards in his 52,602 minutes played over 644 matches. More remarkably he averages only 2.5 yellow cards per season. I guess his haters could argue favoritism (and I’m sure there is some) but that clean record has held across hundreds of referees and includes 100s of away games where refs are under pressure to favor the locals. Also zero 2nd yellows in his career. Twenty-three seasons without ever being sent off for dangerous on-field behavior is rather remarkable, is it not? That play was dangerous but whatever you want to say about Messi, he isn’t generally a dirty player.
PS - The fact that Messi usually doesn’t play a lot of defense certainly plays a big part in his lack of disciplinary infractions.
It's not that Messi is a dirty player, but he gets away with a lot as we Galaxy fans can attest to first-hand. Plus, even though everyone treats him like a cute little fella, he can be a raging, petulant tool, also. Not surprising, he's a super-competitive athlete who's arguably the best at his sport of all-time, so it shouldn't surprise any of us that he's a huge asshole -- but unlike, say, Ronaldo or Mbappe, good PR and the fact that he rarely speaks (English) makes people overlook that and he gets away with things they never would. Nothing has done more to damage Messi's rep in my eyes than seeing him "up close". Still an undeniable GOAT, but also a huge a-hole, like many GOATs. Gets mad Union defender dares to touch him, so fouls him repeatedly right in front of the linesman (including throwing his arm up toward the head / face), then MESSI gets the foul call. https://www.tiktok.com/@pubitysport/video/7487662533898276118 https://www.tiktok.com/@mattyfc__/video/7263280892351712558 Lionel Messi fined for grabbing the neck of an opposition coach
I think you could argue his stardom earns him fewer yellow cards. That one yesterday was a perfect example. It could have been evaluated for a red card by the video refs.
Messi reminds me of Michael Jordan. Ultra competitve and will talk trash and get a little dirty. Just Messi won't speak English and stays private so it's masked a bit from us. His refusal to promote MLS or be involved in the Apple TV documentary speaks volumes for me as to what sort of person he is. We always want to like our sports heroes, but the fact is that some are super good people and some can be jerks.
The first example doesn’t bother me at all. The defender initiates it by shoving him hard in the back and we don’t know how many times this has happened before Messi retaliates. So Messi stands up for himself by shoving back, I commend him for that. The defender hits him one last time in the back, Messi goes down and the foul is called. Standard play. What would you do if you were one of the smallest players in the pitch and lesser skilled opponents relentlessly smash into you to eliminate your skill advantage. You have to stand up for yourself or it will just get worse and worse. Example 2 is Messi getting worked up about something and he touched the back of the neck of an assistant coach. This is something players do regularly to other players after a dispute - put their arms around opponents neck pretending that just want to talk, when what they want is dominance. Shouldn’t have touched a coach though - I agree. But it isn’t like he bit someone or broke a leg. Messi is a fierce competitor who plays with passion. Look Messi may be an a-hole. I obviously don’t like the guy. But it has become fashionable online (and generates beaucoup clicks) to constantly rag on him. And when your entire life is being filmed it is easy to make someone look a lot worse than he is. Now Trickhog’s objection that he won’t promote MLS is a different animal. If that is true, and I assume it is, then that is a concrete reason to dislike the guy. But don’t make a meal out of every time the guy gets frustrated on the field and doesn’t act like an angel. People love to use their anonymity to tear down winners - they did it to Duke bball, JJ Redick and the like and they were relentless. They also scored peer points by doing so. So i’m familiar with the phenomenon. Just not a fan.
It's a different type of exposure and stardom to be someone like Messi or Jordan or Beckham. It has to distort everything about you.
My last defense of Messi (you believe me, right?) : Messi married a woman he’s known since they were kids. They have been together 18 years and have 3 children. He put his father (his agent since age 14) and brother in charge of the Messi Business and they run it until this day. Messi doesn’t have a lot of schooling so he likely just signs whatever’s put in front of him. AFAIK he’s never been accused of infidelity, womanizing when single, excessive drug use, gambling, criminal activities or anything else like that. None of us is perfect but he doesn’t come off that bad, especially compared to other superstars. So I just have trouble hating on the guy.
Lol, people worship Maradona and he literally had drugs delivered to him on the field. Or so I’ve been told - trainers would let him snort from a bag during goal celebrations. And if this is not true, it should be be.
Yes, unlike other soccer superstars, he has never had credible rape accusations thrown at him. He seems entitled and coddled, but he doesn't seem like any kind of horrible person. But again, my sports-hate and sports-love is not driven by logic. It's just always more fun to have a side to root for and a side to root against.