Messi: I have never practiced free kicks before, I tried it and found that I can do better

June 20th, in the second round of the Club World Cup group stage, Miami International defeated the Portuguese giant Porto 2-1, and Messi completed the winning score with a shocking free kick. FIFA official media talked about Messi's free kick story.

Compared with Messi's magical and innate characteristics, his free kick is not instinct. The 18-year-old Messi showed calm movements and extremely fast speeds, and he could easily leave the defenders behind. At this time, Messi was able to give his teammates a sense of handing the ball to him.

But at other times, the boy would stand behind several excellent seniors. For example, when Barcelona gets a free kick opportunity, Deco, Ronaldo and Xavi will discuss how to deal with it, while Messi will observe and learn from the side. But over time, Messi began to play the role of set-piece penalty kicker for Barcelona and Argentina. Soon, like Messi's other skills in football, he mastered the free kick and turned it into an art.

"Look at how Roman did it! Keep up with him, kid, keep up!" Basilé is 81 years old and has served as the head coach of the Argentina national team twice. During the 2007 Copa America, Barsile coached Messi, allowing him to swing his left leg more significantly when touching the ball to generate greater strength and control. And "Roman" is Riquelme, the team's free kick expert. In that game, Argentina lost to Brazil and finished second, and Messi started to play in every game.

Messi said of the free kick: "I have never practiced a free kick before. One day I tried it and soon I realized that I could do better, and then I really did it!" Messi's free kick is characterized by using the inside of his foot to kick the ball, pursuing accuracy rather than strength, whether it is bypassing the wall or aiming at the side of the goalkeeper.

Barcelona's physical coach Juanjo Brau once revealed: "Messi will definitely stick to it in training until he scored a free kick and scored a dead end before leaving." A free kick quickly became one of Messi's reliable weapons and could play a role in many situations. His first free kick goal was won against Atletico Madrid in 2008.

Since then, Messi's free kick goal record has become longer and longer, including many classics: the 2012 Spanish Super Cup vs. Real Madrid, the 2015 European Super Cup vs. Sevilla, the 2016 American Cup vs. the United States, the 2019 Champions League semi-finals against Liverpool, the 2021 American Cup vs. Chile, and the debut for Miami International in 2023, with the opponent being the Blue Cross.

There is no doubt that this time against Porto is one of Messi's most important free kicks. Messi injected energy into the club, which has been established for only five years, and has given the team a solid position in this game that brings together top teams in the world.