Rooney's thoughts on Messi in England

[W4FC B3N]

Manchester United's Wayne Rooney: Barcelona's Lionel Messi would find it difficult against Stoke City - Goal.com

Manchester United's Wayne Rooney: Barcelona's Lionel Messi would find it difficult against Stoke City

United forward praises Argentine star as the best player in the world but believes he would struggle to play the same way in England against more physical opponents

http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?...ifficult against Stoke City - Goal.com&src=sp

Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney says that although Lionel Messi is the greatest player of all time, he would not look as good in the Premier League.

Rooney has now been on the receiving end of Messi's devastating talent twice in Champions League finals, with the Argentine playing a starring role in Barcelona's victories over United in Rome in 2009 and at Wembley on Saturday.

But while the 25-year-old had no hesitation in hailing Messi as the best player he has ever seen, he was not so sure the two-time Ballon d'Or winner would have the same level of impact in England without the service provided by Spanish duo Xavi and Andres Iniesta.

“Messi is the best player ever,” Rooney told talkSPORT. “What we’ve seen over the last two or three years is incredible. It will be difficult to see that again.

"Messi wins Barcelona the games, but Xavi and Iniesta destroy the opposition’s legs. You have to work so hard to get near to them and it’s harder than in any other game. Then Messi kills you off.

“If you brought Xavi and Iniesta with him [to England], he would [have the same sort of impact as Cristiano Ronaldo did], but the style of football that Barcelona play suits Messi to the ground and it’d be almost impossible to do that within this country."

Rooney believes that because of his smaller frame, Messi would not be as well suited to the more physical nature of the Premier League as former team-mate and Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo proved to be in his time at Old Trafford.

He added: “It’s more physical, the Premier League — the likes of going to Stoke or Birmingham away are incredibly difficult games to play. I think if you look at the two players, Ronaldo is suited more for English football than Messi would be.

“[Ronaldo’s] physique is good and he’s suited to the English game. The English game is more about counterattacking and the Spanish game is about possession.”

Personally, I sort of agree. Just look at it this way; Messi playing for Argentina. He doesn't have Xavi or Iniesta with him there and he doesn't stick out like a sore thumb like he does at Barcelona. I personally think he would struggle without the help of them two supplying him, no matter which club/league he was in. Don't get me wrong, he would still play brilliantly but he just wouldn't score as many goals as he currently does.

I know, it's GOAL, but it's not like it's a transfer story of some sort, just a talking point.

 

[Mads2506]

Fair play. However, I disagree that he wouldn't do very well. Sure, it may be a tougher game in England, but what Messi does so well is that he avoids those confrontations which he will lose. I'm not saying he would do as well in the Premiership, but he would still be the best player in the league.

 

[Ride The Walrus]

I seen this before, and I disagree. He's shown in his encounters with English teams he can handle himself. He's not the largest, but he stays on his feet most of the time, and he's surprisingly bulky.

 

[Donnelly1]

without xavi and iniesta he wouldn't score as many goals. But so would anyone without them 2 midfield maestros. If Messi came to england he would get a few more bruises but would still be the best player on the planet.

 

[W4FC B3N]

I could only dream that he came to England, as could every other English fan, but isn't International football as, if not more physical than club football? I know it's obviously not played as often and the players don't play on the same teams but why hasn't Messi shone through on the international stage? Hasn't he reached his peak yet in terms of playing for his country or is the fact of only ever playing with one group of players throughout his entire career holding back case that he could play elsewhere and still have the same impact?

 

[sunilvk7]

Why didn't they keep this as headline..

“Messi is the best player ever,” Rooney told talkSPORT. “What we’ve seen over the last two or three years is incredible. It will be difficult to see that again.

 

[Mads2506]

Why didn't they keep this as headline..

Because that doesn't make anyone post it up on FM-Base.

 

[Joss]

Why didn't they keep this as headline..

Because he also says:

“If you brought Xavi and Iniesta with him [to England], he would [have the same sort of impact as Cristiano Ronaldo did], but the style of football that Barcelona play suits Messi to the ground and it’d be almost impossible to do that within this country."

 

[Puddz]

I seen this before, and I disagree. He's shown in his encounters with English teams he can handle himself. He's not the largest, but he stays on his feet most of the time, and he's surprisingly bulky.

He's shown in his encounters against Man Utd and Arsenal, (I don't think Barcelona have actually faced Chelsea in the past 3 years) that he isn't as dangerous as he is against Spanish teams.
Sure against Arsenal, he did sort of destroy them, but Arsenal aren't known for being a strong physical, defensive side. But against United, who are a physically strong side, sure he did some nice runs and teased United defenders, but it was Xavi and Inesita that destroyed United.

Also, I think it was a manager last time that said Messi wouldn't be able to hack it in the Premier league.

 

[Mads2506]

He's shown in his encounters against Man Utd and Arsenal, (I don't think Barcelona have actually faced Chelsea in the past 3 years) that he isn't as dangerous as he is against Spanish teams.
Sure against Arsenal, he did sort of destroy them, but Arsenal aren't known for being a strong physical, defensive side. But against United, who are a physically strong side, sure he did some nice runs and teased United defenders, but it was Xavi and Inesita that destroyed United.

Also, I think it was a manager last time that said Messi wouldn't be able to hack it in the Premier league.

Let me guess... United supporter?

 

[Redrup]

I'm of the opinion that it's quite obvious he wouldn't do as well in the Premier League as he does in La Liga. He'd still be a great player, but not a chance would he get the kind of stats he gets in Spain.

 

[Scott]

And everyones been saying this for how long anyway, and if people use his encounters with english teams to back up there argument, it is clear the european game is less physical. the refs blow for ******* shoulder to shoulder challenges.

 

[ICYUNVME]

The Liga BBVA/Adelante has teams that are just as physical and dirty as Stoke. It's a silly myth probably started by a couple of bitter Ronaldo fanboys.

 

[Mike.]

The Liga BBVA/Adelante has teams that are just as physical and dirty as Stoke. It's a silly myth probably started by a couple of bitter Ronaldo fanboys.

it has a few, but the refs are much stricter. hardly a silly myth

 

[ICYUNVME]

Strictness is irrelevant. They're still just as physical as Stoke. Messi will still recieve the same tackles he would vs. Stoke. Not as frequent. But the tackles are of the same physicallity.

 

[Mike.]

Strictness is irrelevant. They're still just as physical as Stoke. Messi will still recieve the same tackles he would vs. Stoke. Not as frequent. But the tackles are of the same physicallity.

and that is the point, he wuld be getting more protection in spain again those kind of tackles which are far common here, and they impact on his game. shulder charges that put him off balance are far more common here

would he still be fantastic? yes

would he hit the highlights of la liga? very unlikely

would he find it harder against stoke than against bilbao? yes

strictness is irrelevant, if yu are not getting booked or pinged for those tackles you can make more of them...

 

[ICYUNVME]

and that is the point, he wuld be getting more protection in spain again those kind of tackles which are far common here, and they impact on his game. shulder charges that put him off balance are far more common here

would he still be fantastic? yes

would he hit the highlights of la liga? very unlikely

would he find it harder against stoke than against bilbao? yes

strictness is irrelevant, if yu are not getting booked or pinged for those tackles you can make more of them...

I think the reason he wouldn't hit the hights of La Liga is because he wouldn't have the Barca squad with him. If you put Barca into the Prem, he'd do, essentially, the same as he would in Spain.

 

[CJACKO11]

First of all i dont believe this story because of the source but im pretending its true. I look at it this way, the only way i can say whether he would struggle is look at the other physical sides he has played against in recent times. Now before Pepe got sent off in the CL Messi was very quiet agreed? Now i look at Chelsea they are a side that dont only cope with Stokes physical threat but most times out muscle them, although its been a few years since Chelsea played Barca and i respect both Messi and his teamates have got better he has never done anything at all against Chelsea. But even still you have to compare Chelsea ability to Stokes im sure Messi would still cause both teams havoc but obviously Stoke would find it harder. In a nutshell we wont know unless he comes to the PL which will never happen so never mind lol.



Off topic but my English Football quiz is back up and running so if you want to take part round 1 can be found here: http://www.fm-base.co.uk/forum/forum-games/60178-jackos-just-fun-english-football-quiz.html

 

[curtis290]

Yawn. I'm SO sick of hearing the Messi couldn't do it against Stoke argument. Why are we even having this discussion? Is he coming to the Premiership? No. So why do we care so much about whether or not he could do it against Stoke? There are plenty of Premiership players that couldn't hack it in La Liga because they're not skilled enough, but does anyone talk about this? I really think this whole discussion is fueled by nationalism and insecurity about the fact that the best players and teams in the world right now are in Spain, along with their national team being the best...I personally don't even think La Liga is better but I find it very amusing that PL fanboys have to constantly trash it and talk about how poorly La Liga teams and players would do if they played in the Prem...you don't see the fans in any other countries talk like this incessantly.

Would Messi do well without Xavi and Iniesta? Maybe not as well, but he would still tear it up, as he does when they aren't there.

Would ANY forward in the game struggle if they lost their service? Yes.

Is Stoke away soooo much harder than Bilbao away like Rooney/Andy Gray/pundits suggest? No.

Would Messi/Barcelona destroy Stoke? Yes.

Would he have a harder time in the Premier league? Perhaps because of the refs being less strict (and injuries from god-awful tackles) and the style of play not favoring them quite as much, but he/Barcelona would still tear up the Prem.

Would he have a hard time scoring if he played for Stoke? Yeah probably, because his style doesn't fit theirs.

Would a lot of PL players and teams have a hard time in Spain? Yes.

Could you say this about pretty much any team or player, that they would struggle if they played in a different style of play and a different league or for a different team? Yes.

Will we ever know the answers to many of these questions? No.

Does Messi suck for Argentina? No, these claims are made mostly by people that don't watch the Argentine national team play. He usually is their strongest player.

Has Argentina had a good coach since Messi has been a key player for them? No.

Does he fit well into Argentina's system? No, although they just started trying to make a serious effort into playing a 4-3-3 that would incorporate him well.

Do any of Argentina's players play as well for Argentina as they do for their club teams? No.

Is Messi only 23? Yes.

Has Rooney played well for the English national team? Not really.

Do people ever try to and say he's a worse player because of it? I've rarely, if never, heard it.

Did Rooney just get soundly beaten by Messi and Barcelona once again? Yes.

Why is he making these comments right now? I wonder.



Rather than praising yourselves for how "hard-hitting" the likes of Stoke are and how much Barcelona would hypothetically struggle if they played in the Prem, maybe you should ask yourselves how many of Barca's players could have gotten through the English youth system. Would Messi, Xavi, or Iniesta been groomed to be superstars at a young age? I bet not, and the coaches would say they're too small, short, and slow. I wonder why the Spanish NT is so much better than the rest of the world at the moment...

 

[Joel`]

Not sure how Rooney was soundly beaten by Messi and Barcelona. He is just one man, playing up front, where his team only had 32% possession. And he was still one of the few players to come out of that game with any glory.

Agree with your last part though. We're only just starting to appreciate technical players in the team. Look at Scholes, was never used to his full potential because we'd rather have someone who will run around with his heart on his sleeve than a technically elegant player. So ironic how, now we want a playmaker, the best one of his generation has retired and we've wasted 3 tournaments trying to incorporate Lampard and Gerrard into one system.