When Messi is about to take a free kick, everyone watches in awe as his magic unfolds on the field. Former Barcelona player Ivan Rakitic stated that When Messi goes to take a free-kick, we are already thinking about the celebration. Interestingly, most goalkeepers are aware of which side the ball will go, but they remain helpless to stop it. So welcome to the football shift. Today we are going to explore why Messi is so good at free kicks.

In October 2008, Messi scored his first free-kick goal for Barca against Atletico Madrid, marking the beginning of his reputation as one of the world's best free kick takers in football. Over the years, Messi's proficiency in scoring free-kicks from various positions on the field has become legendary. With unwavering dedication, he honed his technique, perfecting it day in and day out. Barcelona teammate Sergio Busquets attests to Messi's consistency in both training and games, saying, “Even in training, he keeps on scoring that high percentage of free-kicks. You can't compare him to any player. He's just the best.”Interestingly, during his early seasons with Barcelona, Messi did not take free kicks. Do you know There is an interesting story behind that?
Former Barcelona manager Juan Carlos Unzue revealed the story. “When Messi came into the first team, there were players like Ronaldinho, Deco and Rafa Márquez, who were excellent free-kick takers and stayed after training to practice. But Messi would sit on a ball, just watching them practice," Unzue explained, as quoted by Barca Universal on Twitter."So I asked Messi 'Why don't you practice? I've seen you score free-kick goals at La Masia'. Messi replied, 'This is not my moment, this is Ronaldinho's, Deco's, and Marquez's moment'... At 16, Messi respected the hierarchies," he added. Since around 2008, Messi has been consistently taking free kicks, and his conversion rate has shown significant improvement over the years. In four separate seasons, his free kick efficiency surpassed the 10% mark. Recently, his match-winning free kick against Dallas increased his total goal tally from set pieces to 64. This translates to Messi scoring a goal from a free kick every 16.1 matches played.

Sources:

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