2022-12-25 Sun 22:20 PM ![[Pasted image 20221225223856.png]] Fun article: https://www.newyorker.com/sports/world-cup-2022/the-genius-of-lionel-messi-just-walking-around > Messi is soccer’s great ambler. To keep your eyes fixed on him throughout a match is both spellbinding and deadly dull. It is also a lesson in the art and science of watching a soccer match. If you ask any astute observer—an experienced coach or player or tactically tuned-in analyst—how to understand the game, they will advise you to take your eyes off the ball. ![[Pasted image 20221225222106.png]] > Messi, of course, is one of the most prolific scorers of all time, with a career total of nearly eight hundred goals in club and international competition. His penchant for walking is not a symptom of indolence or entitlement; it’s a practice that reveals supreme footballing intelligence and a commitment to the efficient expenditure of energy. Also, it’s a ruse—the greatest con job in the history of the game. > A famous aphorism, usually attributed to the Spanish manager Vicente del Bosque, sums up the subtly visionary play of the midfielder Sergio Busquets this way: when you watch the game, you don’t see Busquets—but when you watch Busquets, you see the whole game. Something related might be said about the great Argentinean: when you watch Messi, you watch him watching the game. > In other words, for Messi, walking is tantamount to seeing and thinking. But it is also crucial to the ways he turns analysis into action. His moseying about the pitch reconfigures and unlocks defenses: he trudges around, dragging opposing players with him, creating space for his teammates. As often as not, his ramblings also lull defenders into a state of torpor that leaves them vulnerable to Messi magic—those flashes of sorcery that erupt and wreak havoc with bewildering speed. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4ypPTsiZ9uo" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe> > A fine example was Messi’s sixty-fourth-minute goal in Argentina’s group-stage clash with Mexico, a stunning strike from twenty-five yards out that salvaged the team’s then teetering World Cup campaign. Watching the replays of the goal—both the [regular televised version](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqyIbvPpyb4&t=200s) and the [bird’s-eye “tactical view”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ypPTsiZ9uo)—you can see the fruits of Messi’s slow and sneaky maneuvering. While his teammates work the ball into the final third along the right wing, Messi arrives in the center of the pitch, slowing his jog to a leisurely stroll in an expanse of green grass so empty and unpeopled that he could have spread out a picnic blanket and uncorked his favorite Mendoza Malbec. Somehow, the most dangerous player in history has managed to slip, completely unmarked, into yards of open space with a clear sight of goal. It is surely no accident that the position Messi takes up prior to receiving a pass from Ángel Di María is parallel with the referee, who helps to camouflage Messi’s presence. By the time the Mexicans get wise to the situation, the shot has already fizzed into the net. > An [analysis by the Athletic](https://cdn.theathletic.com/app/uploads/2022/12/16092610/messi_wc_distance_walked-1-1843x2048.png) determined that Messi has walked more than any player at this year’s World Cup, an average of more than three miles per game.