[BostonCard]

1784235014[/url]']

1784226034[/url]']

And then of course there is Messi. The greatest of all time. Smallest guy on almost every pitch he's played on. After 2022, I suspected he would be back for this, though I envisioned a different role. Like Del Piero for Italy in 2006 (at the ripe old age of 31!), an experienced leader in the locker room, a sub to bring on with 30 minutes to look for a goal. 

wily indeed

LLionel Messi has spent 63% of this World Cup walking

...
And even these strolls were among his more energetic movements, with Messi spending a further 25 per cent of the match simply standing still. Occasionally, 8.6 per cent of the time to be precise, he breaks into a jog, lagging far behind the tournament average of 23 per cent, while he rarely accelerates into a sprint.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7434324...l-share-ta

More from the Athletic about Messi’s pace:

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/16/opini...&smtyp=cur

On the indoor, air-conditioned field in Atlanta, under a roof closed against the Georgia heat, Messi wasn’t hurrying. The semifinal began as a rock fight: churning legs, desperate tugs, lunging tackles, the ball repeatedly disappearing beneath the urgency of reaching it. England’s younger players pressed and collided and chased.

Inside all that motion, Messi walked.

At 39, Messi, one of the oldest players in the tournament, sprints less often than he once did and covers less ground. On Sunday, he will play what is almost certainly his final World Cup match. In past tournaments, Argentina has doubted his genius, blamed him for every failure. But he has, without doubt, transformed soccer; he changed not only what a player could do with the ball but also what a player could see before the ball arrived. He made patience an attacking act.

BC

[BostonCard]

1784235014[/url]']

1784226034[/url]']

And then of course there is Messi. The greatest of all time. Smallest guy on almost every pitch he's played on. After 2022, I suspected he would be back for this, though I envisioned a different role. Like Del Piero for Italy in 2006 (at the ripe old age of 31!), an experienced leader in the locker room, a sub to bring on with 30 minutes to look for a goal. 

wily indeed

LLionel Messi has spent 63% of this World Cup walking

...
And even these strolls were among his more energetic movements, with Messi spending a further 25 per cent of the match simply standing still. Occasionally, 8.6 per cent of the time to be precise, he breaks into a jog, lagging far behind the tournament average of 23 per cent, while he rarely accelerates into a sprint.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7434324...l-share-ta

More from the Athletic about Messi’s pace:

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/16/opini...&smtyp=cur

On the indoor, air-conditioned field in Atlanta, under a roof closed against the Georgia heat, Messi wasn’t hurrying. The semifinal began as a rock fight: churning legs, desperate tugs, lunging tackles, the ball repeatedly disappearing beneath the urgency of reaching it. England’s younger players pressed and collided and chased.

Inside all that motion, Messi walked.

At 39, Messi, one of the oldest players in the tournament, sprints less often than he once did and covers less ground. On Sunday, he will play what is almost certainly his final World Cup match. In past tournaments, Argentina has doubted his genius, blamed him for every failure. But he has, without doubt, transformed soccer; he changed not only what a player could do with the ball but also what a player could see before the ball arrived. He made patience an attacking act.

BC