Leo Messi's ‘tap penalty’ puts Barcelona in the spotlight
So Leo Messi’s hocus pocus act with Luis Suarez from the penalty spot on Sunday night has naturally provoked mixed reactions.
To recap briefly, for those who haven’t seen it, Barcelona were 3-1 up against Celta Vigo when Messi forced his way through along the goal-line and was brought down.
He shaped to take the kick for his 300th La Liga goal but instead sidefooted the ball for Luis Suarez to achieve his hat-trick.
In the remaining 10 minutes, Barcelona switched to the theme from Show Boat, scoring another two spectacular goals to complete the rout.
Their opponents from Galicia had pretty much matched them for an hour. They finished the game on their knees.
Players have been trying to fool goalkeepers from the spot for years – and keepers have been trying to put them off.
The most famous trick was Antonin Panenka’s little chip over Sepp Maier to win the European title for Czechoslovakia, and that was 40 years ago.
Ever since, the ‘Panenka’ has been part of the penalty takers’ armoury, a stylish trick, although embarrassing when it goes wrong.
The tap penalty is a lot rarer.
It looks easier than it is.
An alert keeper, already off his line, can make up the ground and smother the shot. Success requires timing and camouflage as well as nerve.
Johan Cruyff and Jesper Olsen did it for Ajax, and less famously Mike Trebilcock set up John Newman for the tap-in in a game between Plymouth Argyle and Manchester City.
Many years later, Robert Pires tried to reproduce the trick with Thierry Henry, also against Manchester City, but a miskick left Arsenal with red faces.
Messi clearly wishes he was Robert Pires...https://t.co/qDhswUce9d
— My Racing Tips (@myracingtips) February 15, 2016
The Messi-Suarez act was either a stroke of genius or an act of disrespect according to your point of view.
Some Barcelona fans saw it as a small homage to Cruyff, who has been ill with lung cancer since October.
Outside Catalonia there was some outrage on Twitter and on football talk shows. although not from Celta or their fans.
“Barcelona’s forwards are very respectful and they can score goals however they wish ,” said manager Eduardo Berizzo.
“The penalty was taken in a different manner, that’s all.”
Barca captain Andres Iniesta admitted: “I suppose it’s something that people will talk about because it was unusual.
“But it wasn’t lack of respect and I don’t think there’s any need for a debate.”
Debate raged on yesterday, however, with Santiago Segurola, main football columnist for the Madrid sports paper , coming out with “Nine reasons to defend Messi’s historic penalty”.
“It transformed a mundane Sunday into an unforgettable Sunday,” he said. “Football is essentially a game and trickery is always a fundamental part of the game.”
Showboating is often criticised in football, and sometimes justifiably, but players always indulge in tricks when a game is won.
Neymar was at it shortly before the penalty incident, and claimed after the game that Messi’s set-up was intended for him, which seems unlikely, given the circumstances.
It was perhaps as well Suarez scored the tap-in rather than the Neymar, as the Brazilian was the centre of a post-match confrontation with Atletico Madrid players last year when they accused him of a deliberate attempt at humiliation.
But it seems strange to take the moral high ground when the showboating is part of a scintillating display of skill and finishing.
Messi’s spooned pass for Suarez to volley Barcelona’s second was as beautiful a combination of timing and precision as you will ever see in football.
The floated pass from Suarez to Ivan Rakitic and his chip over the keeper for the fifth goal made another breathtaking combination.
At the end Messi and Neymar were running the opposition ragged and Suarez had showed himself to be more lethal than ever. Yet this was not some routine thrashing of cowed opponents.
Last September, Celta beat Barcelona 4-1 with a spectacular display of their own and for two thirds of this match, Barcelona were struggling to overcome them.
Revenge served cold and in style against quality opposition.
Messi and Suarez were entitled to celebrate in a memorable manner.
