SUMMARY
- For almost two decades, Messi has been terrorizing his opponents with his extra-terrestrial skills.
- Arguably the greatest player of all time, Messi has won everything there is to win in soccer.
If there’s any name in the soccer world that a defender truly fears, it’s none other than Lionel Messi. For almost two decades, Messi has been terrorizing his opponents with his extra-terrestrial skills. Arguably the greatest player of all time, Messi has won everything there is to win in soccer. However, there have been instances that have shown even the Argentine ace is a human after all.
For a long, Lionel Messi has left his opponents in his wake and has humiliated his opponents. From leaving defenders on the floor or scoring hat tricks after hat tricks, Messi has handed some embarrassing punishments to his opponents. Nevertheless, let’s take a look at five instances when Lionel Messi had to leave the field utterly humiliated.
5. Lionel Messi-led Argentina were humiliated by Germany in the 2010 World Cup
Lionel Messi tasted defeat in a major international tournament during the 2010 World Cup. Messi’s Argentina faced Germany in the quarterfinal of the World Cup. However, Argentina, led by the then-coach Diego Maradona, was humbled 4-0 by the Europeans. Miroslav Klose’s brace, along with Thomas Muller and Arne Friedrich’s goals ended Argentina’s World Cup dreams.
On this day in 2010, Germany beat Messi’s Argentina 4-0 in the quarter-final of the World Cup in Cape Town, South Africa.
⚽ ‘3 Müller
⚽ ’68, ’89 Klose
⚽ ’74 Friedrich pic.twitter.com/pTr1Rt4xg0— Sports Brief (@sportsbriefcom) July 3, 2023
The defeat marked the beginning of Messi’s struggles in the international arena. Messi was spotted leaving the pitch at the World Cup with a forlorn look on his face. Despite Maradona’s best efforts to try to console a disconcerted Messi, the Argentine talisman left the field with a blank look on his face.
4. Lionel Messi’s FC Barcelona were humbled 4-1 by Real Madrid
Despite a promising start to his FC Barcelona career, Messi experienced a tough loss against bitter rivals Real Madrid in 2008. FC Barcelona was defeated 4-1 by Real Madrid in a match where the Catalans had to give a guard of honor to their arch-nemesis as they became La Liga champions.
Raul, Arjen Robben, Gonzalo Higuain, and Ruud van Nistelrooy scored the goals for Real Madrid, while Thierry Henry scored FC Barcelona’s consolation goal. FC Barcelona’s current head coach Xavi Hernandez was also sent in that match.
3. Lionel Messi’s forgettable record with Argentina at La Paz
One of Lionel Messi’s favorite international opponents is the South American nation of Bolivia. However, Messi has struggled against Bolivia at their home stadium in La Paz. Bolivia’s stadium in La Paz, which is located at an elevation of 11,932 feet, is one of the highest stadiums in the world and it gets extremely difficult for players to perform.
Bolivia vs Argentina
The two nations face each other at the Hernando Siles Stadium in La Paz.
The stadium is almost 12,000ft above sea level making it one of the highest professional stadiums in the World.
Back in 2013, some of the players needed oxygen on the pitch. pic.twitter.com/ciVaErIs5T
— Classic Football Shirts (@classicshirts) September 12, 2023
Messi’s first match in La Paz ended with Bolivia routing Argentina 6-1. The conditions were so difficult that players ended up breathing with the help of oxygen masks. Moreover, as astonishing as it may sound, Messi has yet to score against Bolivia at La Paz, despite having eight goals in 11 appearances against them.
2. FC Barcelona’s crushing defeat against Liverpool in the Champions League
Easily one of the most embarrassing nights for Lionel Messi, FC Barcelona was crushed 4-0 by Liverpool in the semifinals of the Champions League. The first leg against Liverpool ended in FC Barcelona’s 3-0 victory thanks to a Messi brace and a goal from Luis Suarez against his former team. One of Messi’s two goals was the sumptuous free kick that he scored from 35 yards out.
😱 One of the greatest come-back in football took place #OnThisDay in Anfield
⚽️ Liverpool beaten FC Barcelona 4-0 and acceded to the UEFA Champions League final pic.twitter.com/pF2Zc3nXVP
— Quality Sport Images (@QSImages) May 7, 2020
However, in the second leg, Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool managed to turn the tables around. A brace from Divock Origi and Georginio Wijnaldum and some quick thinking from Trent Alexander Arnold forced Liverpool‘s unbelievable comeback. Messi, along with his FC Barcelona teammates, cut a sorry figure that night at the iconic Anfield.
1. Lionel Messi and FC Barcelona’s Bayern Munich debacle
FC Barcelona’s shocking 8-2 defeat against Bayern Munich is undoubtedly the most humiliating night of Lionel Messi’s career. FC Barcelona faced Bayern in the quarterfinals of the Champions League at Lisbon’s Estadio da Luz stadium. It was a display of sheer dominance from the Bundesliga giants who obliterated FC Barcelona.
In addition to this, the defeat marked Messi to the extent that he ended up reportedly sending a burofax to the then-club president and expressing his desire to leave the club. However, due to a legal complexity in his contract, Messi ended up staying at the club for one more season before being forced out. Nevertheless, the defeat against Bayern Munich would continue to haunt the former FC Barcelona skipper all his life.