Here is a question… “How would it feel to be Lionel Messi?”

This is a question quite difficult to answer, as many fans will have different points of view. However, considering all his achievements in the previous season, most supporters are likely to reveal that they would feel like “Champions for the year 2009”.

Indeed, although Barcelona regained their devastating form under Pep Guardiola in the end of 2008, Messi first had the chance to leave his life’s most glorious moments in 2009, as he was able to lift more trophies any other La Liga player could ever hold.

Lionel Messi – never stops getting better…

Years back, a majority of soccer lovers thought that it was impossible for a player to surpass the achievements of stars such as Zinedine Zidane, David Beckham, Luis Ronaldo, or even Ronaldinho. Nevertheless, Cristiano Ronaldo’s introduction in football pushed many to change their minds, and they started to regard the Portuguese talisman as the “Unbeatable One”.

Surely, they did not guess that someone better could be stronger on the pitch than C. Ronaldo. Certainly, as the Barcelona and Argentina young playmaker Lionel Messi was struggling to reach the highest level in football during his previous seasons, some football fans suggested that the most Messi could do was to stay as the “Quick Dribbler” throughout his career.

Nonetheless, it is undeniable that a large amount of people did not predict that Leo’s quick development would take place that soon, as the rapid progress of “Diego Maradona’s Successor” came as an entertaining surprise to the public. Yes, Messi truly upgraded his image from the “The Precocious Dribbler” we used to know, to the “Ball Master”.

The number 10 Barcelona forward is currently very much admired for his great ability to place the ball at the back of the net, as well as for his audacity to cruise trough hard defenses, and square balls in the most crowded areas.

Lionel Messi netted 38 goals for the Spanish champions last season, and he highly increased the production of his video highlights on various video sharing sites, as he helped his side to conquer the vast world of football in a breathtaking way.

Eventually, Messi is the player who played the most important part in the Catalans’ road to success during the 2008-09 seasons; thus, he would have the full right to feel that he deserves most of the Fifa awards which will be given to the world’s best players at the end of the year.

Well, in spite of all what Messi did at the beginning of this year, there are still some C. Ronaldo fans who think that their player must retain his individual titles; yet, this is not very probable as the new Real Madrid forward wasn’t capable of extending his 2008 records to last season. In the end, with Messi doing the impossible, it is fair enough to think that C. Ronaldo might be forced to accept a clean defeat at this year’s Fifa Player of the Year ceremony.

Now, a new question comes to our mind… “Will the 2009 Barcelona Champion be crowned as the Fifa Player of the Year?”

Having twice been voted as the runner-up at the Fifa Player of the Year ceremonies on two consecutive occasions, one could expect a positive change in this year’s voting for Barcelona’s 22-year old player.

Isaac Asante, LMF

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