Looking back at Messi’s first goal with FC Barcelona.
Yes, he’s scored 234 goals with Barça. But just hold on a minute won’t you? We need to go back to 2005 for this. We need to go back to when Andres Iniesta had a full head of hair and Ronaldinho did whatever he pleased with a smile on his face. You’re on board for this? Alright then.
It was the 87th minute and Barça were up 1-nil against Albacete. Leo came on for Samuel Eto’o, the man who eventually left Barcelona with 130 goals to his name. Lionel Messi would go on to score in the dying seconds of the game, of course.
Yet few remember that on his debut he scored two remarkable goals. One was wrongly disallowed. It was a perfectly timed run to the far side, with an Albacete defender ruining the offside trap. Ronaldinho slipped him in with an exquisite flick, and Messi chipped the ball casually into the side-netting. Of course, the goal did not stand, but it only took another minute for Ronaldinho and Messi to create the exact same combination. The second time around, there was no denying the young Argentine’s class. The Camp Nou had witnessed the beginning of something they never could have imagined. A 17-year-old Leo Messi scoring two goals in two minutes.
No one had their hands in the history books at that point, but they do now. And they’re keeping those books wide open. Lionel Messi is FC Barcelona’s all-time leading scorer at the age of 24. I’m not here to discuss if he’s better than Pelé or Maradona because genius is unquantifiable. And if you’re here to mindlessly compare legends, then may an angry Pepe be unleashed on to you.
The truth is, we may not appreciate him every game. We may not even appreciate every goal that he scores. We may have become accustomed to the ridiculous. But there is no reason to say that Leo does not deserve to be in the position he is in. Goal number 234, enjoy your time in the spotlight. It won’t be long until 235 comes around…
Win Signed Superhero Dinosaur Prints!
One winner will receive 3 signed Superhero Dinosaurs prints (Hulkasaurus Rex, Iron Brontosaurus & Deadpachycepoolosaurus) created by artist David Resto.
Simply reblog this post to enter (one entry per blog). We will randomly select one winner on Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012.
1987 was the year when the first 350 tons ground effect “ship” from the series of Soviet battle missile carriers was produced. It was called Lun after the Russian name for a bird of prey – hen harrier. Another name for this vehicle was Project 903.
It carried 6 Moskit cruise missiles (SS-N-22 Sunburn in NATO classification). Hitting four of them causes inevitable sinking of a vessel of any know type and size.
The second Lun-class battle aircraft was supposed to be produced in several years but due to the end of cold war and partial disarmament the project was changed to a rescue aircraft and it was never finished.
This type of vehicle called in Russian ekranoplan uses so called ground effect – extra lift of large wings when in proximity to the surface.
For this reason they have been designed to travel at a maximum of three meters above the sea but at the same time could provide take off, stable “flight” and safe “landing” in conditions of up to 5-meter waves. These crafts were originally developed by the Soviet Union as high-speed military transports, and were based mostly on the shores of the Caspian Sea and Black Sea.
In 2005 crafts of this type have been classified by the International Marine Organization so they probably should be considered flying ships rather than swimming planes.
It is also interesting to note that this aircraft is one of the largest ever built, with a length of 73,8 meters (comparing with 73 of Airbus A380).
This is creepy.
