Football: Starting from the 05 World Youth Championship

It's only early October, and the Golden Globe Awards in December are still a long way off, so Lin Feng hasn't been paying much attention to this topic.

Compared to the distant Ballon d'Or, the league and World Cup qualifiers, which are closer than ever, are his main focus.

Messi has been in red-hot form recently. In the just-concluded Champions League group stage match, Barcelona, ​​playing away, narrowly defeated Ukrainian powerhouse Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 thanks to Messi's last-minute winner.

Messi scored twice in this match, accounting for all of the team's goals.

Since the 2008-2009 season, Messi has scored 13 goals in seven league and Champions League matches, and has also provided 6 assists.

He scored 9 goals and provided 5 assists in the league and 4 goals and 1 assist in the Champions League.

Messi's current average goals per game has reached an astonishing 1.85. If assists are also included, he is involved in an average of 2.8 goals per game on his own!
This number exceeds the total number of goals scored by 90% of teams in La Liga and even the top five European leagues!

Compared to Messi, Lin Feng's stats in six games (missing one league match) are 9 goals and 4 assists, including 6 goals and 4 assists in the league and 3 goals but no assists in the Champions League.

If we disregard Messi's outrageous statistics, Lin Feng's average of 1.5 goals scored and 2.2 goal contributions per game is already considered phenomenal.

But compared to Messi, he is still far inferior.

This shows just how incredible Messi's performance has been this season!

This guy seems to be venting all the frustration he felt at the Olympics on the league and Champions League stages.

Messi's phenomenal performance has attracted the attention of fans all over Europe and even the world.

While people are praising his amazing performance, they are also very curious about how long Messi can maintain this form.

I don't think it can last long. Ultimately, Messi's current explosive statistics are mainly due to Guardiola's tactical system tailored for Barcelona and him!

Yes, after Ronaldinho left, Messi wore the number 10 jersey for Barcelona and was designated by Guardiola as the team's attacking core. Guardiola even tailored a false nine tactical system specifically for him. It's fair to say that Messi is the biggest beneficiary of this Barcelona tactical system. Currently, other teams don't fully understand Barcelona's tactics, but as time goes on, people will definitely find ways to counter them, and Messi's performance will certainly decline then!

The entire football world is currently studying Guardiola's new tactics, and along with that, they are also studying Messi, the Barcelona player who is the most powerful in this tactical system.

Fans believe that no matter how strong a player is, once they are studied under a magnifying glass by their opponents, their weaknesses will eventually be found, and Messi's life will probably not be as comfortable as it is now.

However, some people disagree with this view because many people have watched Barcelona's games this season, and in their opinion, Barcelona's tactics are almost unsolvable, and it is not enough to limit Messi alone.

Because besides Messi, Eto'o, Henry, Xavi, Iniesta and others can all be Barcelona's explosive points. Barcelona's strength lies in the entire system, and Messi just amplifies the power of this tactic!

Therefore, it is almost impossible to completely limit Barcelona's attack. Moreover, under the constant pressure of Barcelona's possession-based tactics, almost no team can avoid making mistakes, but once a mistake is made, it will be punished by Barcelona.

Neither side could convince the other, and only time will tell what the outcome of this debate will be.

However, people on both sides were very curious:

If Messi continues this exaggerated individual performance, how many goals will he score this season?
The current La Liga single-season goal record is 43 goals, set by Lin Feng last season, 5 goals higher than the 38 goals held by former Real Madrid legend Hugo Sánchez in a single season.

If Messi can maintain his current goal-scoring efficiency, he is very likely to break Lin Feng's record.

People are very curious about how high Messi will go if he eventually breaks this record.
45 goals?
48 goals?
Or is he capable of creating a miracle by scoring over 50 goals in a single league season?
……

On October 5th, the sixth round of La Liga matches kicked off.

The highlight of this round of the league is Barcelona's home game against Atletico Madrid. Compared to Barcelona's previous five opponents, Atletico Madrid is significantly stronger.

Historically, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona have faced each other 142 times, with Barcelona holding a slight advantage with 59 wins, 35 draws, and 48 losses.

However, in the two encounters between the two teams last season, Barcelona did not gain the upper hand. Although they defeated their opponents at home, they lost to Atletico Madrid away.

Although this Atlético Madrid team cannot be considered a powerhouse, they are definitely a strong force in La Liga.

Atletico Madrid is known for producing outstanding strikers, and they currently have two such strikers on their team – Forlán and Aguero.

These two were already a nightmare for many La Liga teams' defenses last season, and this season their cooperation has become even more seamless, making their attacking prowess even more unstoppable.

Therefore, before the match, everyone thought it would be a very intense offensive battle.

However, the situation in the game turned out to be one-sided!
In the second minute of the match, Barcelona scored directly from a corner kick taken by Xavi, taking an early lead.

This scoreline didn't last long. Four minutes later, an Atletico Madrid defender fouled Messi in the penalty area, gifting Barcelona a penalty.

Eto'o was eager to take the penalty, but Guardiola on the sidelines designated Messi to take it.

Although the cheetah was very dissatisfied, he didn't dare to say anything and obediently handed over the penalty kick to Messi.

Messi took matters into his own hands, his low shot deceiving Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Coupet and making the score 2-0.
However, Messi's solo performance was not over yet. In the 8th minute, Assunção knocked Messi down in front of the penalty area.

While the Atletico Madrid players were still forming a wall, Messi suddenly took a free kick and lobbed the ball into the far corner of the goal with his left foot.

Coupet, who was still directing the formation of the defensive wall in front of the goal, was dumbfounded and could only watch the ball go into the net.

The score is now 3-0!

Just eight minutes into the game, Messi had already scored twice, including his first free kick of his career!
Although the free kick was scored in a slightly unsportsmanlike manner, it drew strong dissatisfaction and protests from Atletico Madrid players.

The Rojiblancos players, especially the goalkeeper, chased after the referee to protest and appeal for a long time, but unfortunately failed to persuade the referee to change the decision.

Heitinga also received a yellow card for making disrespectful remarks while surrounding the referee, suffering a double loss.

The game was effectively over by the eighth minute, with Barcelona scoring one goal after another, leaving fans watching the match in shock.

Although many people do not believe that Atletico Madrid can stop Barcelona away from home and end their winning streak.

But they never expected Atletico Madrid to lose so badly and so decisively.

They conceded three goals in less than ten minutes. If Barcelona doesn't hold back and continues to play at this pace, the score will be extremely high, and Atletico Madrid could very well suffer a humiliating defeat away from home.

However, Atletico Madrid, despite being behind, showed great fighting spirit and were not broken by Barcelona's attack. Instead, they were angered by the referee's unfair decisions. In the 13th minute, Barcelona's young midfielder Busquets lost the ball in his own half, and Maxi received the ball and fired a shot into the far corner with the inside of his right foot from just outside the penalty area.

Valdes, poorly positioned, couldn't make the save and could only watch helplessly as the ball flew into his own net.

The score became 3-1, with Atletico Madrid pulling one back.

But before they could celebrate for long, in the 18th minute, Xavi chipped the ball from midfield, Eto'o chested it down and surged into the penalty area, cut past the recovering Ujfalusi and slotted the ball into the net.

Just five minutes later, Barcelona scored again, extending their lead to three goals.

As everyone expected, this was an offensive battle, but the outcome of the match was completely unexpected.

Atletico Madrid had a terrible day, falling behind by a large margin. Before the first half was even over, their captain Maxi and star striker Forlán were both substituted due to injury, making the team's situation even worse.

Despite their opponent's bad luck, Barcelona, ​​playing at home, showed no mercy.

In the 28th minute, Xavi once again delivered a lobbed pass to complete the Xavi-Iniesta connection. Iniesta received the ball, broke through to the penalty spot, dribbled past Ujfalusi, and fired a low shot with his left foot that hit the post and bounced back. Gudjohnsen followed up and scored into the empty net.

The score is now 5-1!

But this is not over yet!
In the 30th minute, Eto'o's left-footed shot from the center of the penalty area was blocked. Iniesta then curled a right-footed shot from the top left corner of the penalty area towards the far corner, but the ball hit the far post and bounced out. Messi's right-footed volley into the empty net went wide, and Eto'o also missed a chance to head the ball into the empty net.

Barcelona relentlessly tested Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Coupet's basic skills with their shots, making him the busiest man on the field.

Having already scored twice, Messi has been very active on the field recently, constantly weaving through the opponent's defense with his unstoppable dribbling and breakthroughs, leaving the opposing players with no way to stop him.

In the 31st minute, Antonio Lopez, enraged after being beaten, tackled Messi.

Although he received a yellow card for it, judging from his clenched teeth, he didn't seem to regret it at all.

The opponent's fouls failed to stop Messi's performance. In the 40th minute, Messi made a sprint in midfield, dribbling past Antonio Lopez and Ujfalusi before entering the penalty area. Although his left-footed outside-of-the-boot shot went just wide, his shot once again gave Atletico Madrid players a scare.

Because he already had a yellow card, Lopez was afraid of getting a red card after two yellows, so he didn't dare to make any excessive moves in this defensive play. As a result, his foul and card just now seemed like a self-inflicted wound.

In the 41st minute, Xavi once again delivered a through pass, and Messi broke through to win another one-on-one opportunity. Unfortunately, he was unlucky, as the goal that seemed within his grasp was cleared off the line by Heitinga's timely recovery.

Messi shook his head in disappointment; he had once again missed the chance to complete a hat-trick.

However, the Barcelona fans who came to Camp Nou still gave him a warm round of applause.

The team's incredible performance this season, especially Messi's, has delighted them.

After completing the major overhaul of the team, many people thought that Barcelona might experience a slump for one to two years during the rebuilding period.

But unexpectedly, Guardiola, this newcomer, has been so effective. Not only has he prevented the team from falling into a slump, but he has also led the team to continuously reach new heights.

Including this match, Barcelona has achieved a perfect record of winning all eight matches in the new season.

With such outstanding results, what could they possibly be dissatisfied with?

Tickets for this season's Camp Nou stadium are in high demand, and the stadium, which can hold 90,000 spectators, is often packed to capacity.

The team's performance stimulated the ticket market, and the fans' support inspired the players' performance, helping the team achieve even better results.

Barcelona's fortunes are finally looking up!
Inside the VIP box at Camp Nou, Barcelona president Laporta couldn't stop smiling as he watched the team's performance.

It seems that his decision to defy public opinion and take the risk of promoting Guardiola to the first team as head coach was the right gamble.

Laporta was particularly pleased to see the team's performance improving and a large number of young players, especially those from the La Masia youth academy, making their way in the Barcelona first team.

Although Barcelona spent a lot of money on players during the summer transfer window.

However, considering that they just traded away the team's core players and carried out a major overhaul of the veterans.

Guardiola rebuilt the team with such a small amount of money, not only quickly restoring its fighting strength, but even further improving it.

All he could say was that he had struck gold!
With Guardiola in charge, Barcelona's youth academy players will be better utilized, and in the future, there will be more and more La Masia academy players in the Barcelona squad.

At that time, the team will not only not need to buy players from outside, but can also support the team by developing its own youth training system, and even make money by selling young players to outsiders!

The thought of such a bright future filled Laporta with excitement and anticipation.

The reason Real Madrid has been so dominant for the past few decades is simply because they have money, right?

In terms of financial resources, Barcelona is indeed no match for Real Madrid, because Real Madrid is backed by the Spanish royal family and government.

With their continuous financial support, Barcelona clearly cannot compete with the support provided by the Catalan region alone.

But once Barcelona's youth training program succeeds, they won't need to buy players from outside at high prices to build the team in the future. In terms of financial resources, Barcelona will be able to compete with Real Madrid, which needs to rely on a lot of money to buy players.

More importantly, compared to Real Madrid's current squad, Barcelona's squad is still very young.

The head coach is under 40 years old, and the first team squad has an average age of only 24.

Provided that other teams don't poach their key players with high prices, this Barcelona team has at least seven or eight years of golden opportunity ahead if they maintain a stable squad.

That's a long enough time for them to create a new Barcelona dynasty!

Because of the opponent's continued fouls and seeing that the game was already decided, Guardiola substituted Messi with Henry in the second half.

Henry, who came on as a substitute, received a pass from Xavi in ​​the 71st minute of the second half and helped the team score again, making the final score 6-1.

This match shocked everyone. After witnessing Messi's incredible performance and Barcelona's utter thrashing of Atletico Madrid, most of the doubts from the outside world disappeared.

Even betting companies lowered Barcelona's odds of winning the title overnight. (End of Chapter)