This morning, I was thinking about Leo Messi, and how ten years from today, when he is going to be as old as I am now, he is going to be at the twilight of his career, certainly over his top
players will play, star and fade away, in every football fan lifespan. Some will slip our memory, others will double park permanently in our hard disk. They will be the wonder kids, the superstars, the veterans, and, before we will notice, they will become old. Today’s promise is yesterday’s nostalgia
It happens every time, no exceptions. When we look at Messi running, dribbling or just staring at the ball, it is hard to imagine him in ten years, older, close to the end, his body showing all the effects of a long career running away from defenders who were willing to do anything to stop him. This idea, of imagining Messi in ten years, is too cruel for me
That’s why I am limiting my imagination about Messi for only the next couple of weeks and the next three El Clasico’s. These two weeks, when  Barcelona’s season can turn from great into exceptional, Messi will be already somebody else. He either will be more valued and decorated or defeated and humane. What is certain is that Messi will be 14 days older
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One goal off a penalty kick, some great missed chances, some nice individual efforts, plenty of running, many hits to his body and legs, a few smiles — this was Messi’s production in the first El Clasico of April 2011
It was nothing for the record or history books, and it definitely paled in comparison to Messi’s top performances against Madrid in previous years (the dramatic hat trick in the 3:3 tie in 2006, or the couple of goals in the amazing 6:2 in 2009), but Messi was still Barcelona’s best player on Saturday, a standard he must keep in order for Barcelona to earn its first crown of the year
It is easy to pick the world’s best player as the most important player for a series of deciding games, but lately, despite and because Messi phenomenal shape, people started to take him for granted
Some term Xavi as the team brain, Some others term Iniesta as its engine. These Spanish couple deserve a lot of accolades, but Messi has done in the last few years, since he took the team upon himself, is exceptional
When I was living in Barcelona in 2004, there were a lot of buzz about a small and talented Argentinean who was doing for Barcelona’s second team. He was marked as a great promise, and the expectation from the 16-year-old were sky high. Messi didn’t just fulfill these expectation, but he put a new standard for greatness in a club where many greats put on its uniform
Messi is crucial not just for Barca, but to the game itself. A few years ago I wrote that he is a safe with two legs because he embodied all the top secrets about the game. I am standing behind my statement today. The years just made Messi a better football player and more important figure to his team
As for the next ten years? I am not daring to imagine. You live Messi one series at a time, one game, one goal, one smile
WHAT TO DO NOW?