The New Messi

It's exciting down at the bottom! Just ask the teams still living under the threat of relegation and some of them may well respond 'Who - us?' But the Grim Reaper of Segunda 'A' would appear to have a particularly large sickle this season.

After this weekend's' fare, during which Real Madrid re-established a decent lead over Barcelona courtesy of Atlético's 4-2 victory over the Catalans, various teams were beginning to sweat in the hellish zone below, and others were perhaps trying to ignore the awkward truth. This is the fact that in 18th position lie Recreativo de Huelva, recently defeated at home by Real Madrid but in general not having a very happy season. They have 29 points, not an altogether tragic amount at this stage of the season, especially given the fact that two sides lie below them, Murcia on 23 and troubled Levante on 19. It is even less tragic when you consider that Betis, newly installed in a comfy-looking 11th place, are only three points ahead of them, and that Getafe, in tenth place and on the verge of a second consecutive King's Cup Final, only have four more.

Any of this bunch could be dragged down into the mire at a moment's notice, as Zaragoza may well be reflecting on Monday as they wake up to find themselves only one place off the relegation slot, but on the same points as Recreativo. After a couple of seasons in which they seemed to be making real progress, Zaragoza have declined suddenly and surprisingly.

Valencia on 35 points can possibly relax for now, especially given that there are so many sides below them who are more likely to be scrapping for survival, but you never know. This is because another interesting feature of the weekend's results was that they all bucked the trend of recent weeks: Real Madrid managed to win away against a relatively weak rival (they previously failed to do this at Betis and Almería), Barcelona were expected to beat a timorous Atlético Madrid side seemingly on the slide - especially since the Catalans themselves were moving upwards again in the elevator of life - and Valencia, fresh from a morale-boosting draw in the Camp Nou cup fixture in midweek (great game it was too) returned to the doldrums with a 2-0 defeat at Espanyol, themselves going through a poor run that threatened to quash their dreams of Europe next season.

And then Sevilla, looking to be recovering their form at last, slipped up at Deportivo, a side that has struggled all season at home. Even so, Sevilla are still only five points adrift of Atlético, in the final Champions League spot, so there's time a-plenty to attempt to establish some sort of consistency before the final run-in.

Whatever, Atlético v Barça has been one of the consistently entertaining games in Spain over the last five seasons since the Madrid outfit returned from their temporary two-year exile in the Second Division. Before that exile, the two teams had played some epics as well, so the 4-2 result is nothing new. It's just that recent form rather suggested that it would more likely turn out to be 2-4, but that's football for you. Well - not exactly.

Barça play Celtic in the Champions League this week, and left Leo Messi on the bench. In his absence, the other vertically-challenged Argentine most often quoted as the 'new Maradona' was given centre-stage, and he certainly took it. Perhaps he should be called the 'new Messi', but Sergio 'Kun' Agüero, the youngest player ever to debut in the Argentine league at 15-years-old, finally began to look like he justifies the tags hanging awkwardly from him ever since his arrival from Buenos Aires.

Another of those Maradona types with a low centre of gravity and a compact explosive musculature, he's never quite convinced up to now, apart from in flashes. His consecration on the altar of the Calderón so far has been more in expectation than in delivery, and anyway, on the departure of Fernando Torres the club needed a new hero. Diego Forlán doesn't quite fit the bill, efficient though he is - but in Agüero the Atlético fans have always sensed that they had a player capable of being amongst a world elite that rarely includes players from the Calderón - not even Torres.

We all know about Messi now, and it seems less and less absurd to call him the best player in the world or the new Maradona. He is simply sensational. But how good is Agüero? Well, the first thing to say here is that both players share an ability to shine on the big occasion. Agüero was never going to really join the Atlético pantheon if all he did were score hat-tricks against Levante, with all due respect. So the way that he took Barça apart almost single-handedly on Saturday night suggests that he is here to stay. The great players all do it against the great teams. It's an immutable law of football.

Gabi Milito, a compatriot of Agüero and one of the major reasons for Barça's defensive improvement this season, was simply powerless to stop the little forward on Saturday. It's clear that Zaragoza's decline has had a lot to do with Milito's departure this season, as well as the fact that Carles Puyol's seemingly unchallenged position at the heart of the Catalans' defence is suddenly a thing of the past. Milito is a central defender in the Ricardo Carvalho mode - one who relies on guile and anticipation rather than brute force for his effectiveness, but when the true test came he was found wanting. This may be a little harsh, since Agüero was given too much time and space by other players in crucial zones of the pitch, but the sensation on Saturday night was that La Liga this season will be decided by individual inspiration, as opposed to collective endeavour.

The same might be said of Real Madrid, who have tended to win this year when Robinho has been handed a starting berth. It's true that Iker Casillas and Van Nistlerooy have been the fulcrum of their success so far this season, but it is Robinho who has tended to supply that little unpredictable extra, that rompe esquemas (strategy-breaking) element of which the Spanish remain so fond - a weakness for raw talent that has always seen them looking to South America before other leagues have done - investing in the probable and the possible which other footballing cultures have tended to look upon with suspicion.

Both Liverpool and Bayern Munich could have signed Agüero, but professed themselves sufficiently unconvinced as to the player's temperament to splash out the €20 million that Atlético finally paid for the youngster. Up to now you might have been tempted to agree with them, but it's becoming clear that the often hapless Madrid-based club has finally got it right, thirteen years after the ridiculous sin of letting Raúl travel across the city to the Bernabéu.

This is what makes the Champions League so fascinating this season - not that Atlético are a part of it. They might be next season, which would be a fitting stage for this emerging young talent. But for now, you get the feeling that Barcelona could easily win it, for no other reason than the fact that they have Messi in their ranks - and Ronaldinho, and Eto'o, and Uncle Tom Cobley and all. Real Madrid have Robinho, but it might not be enough. Manchester United have Ronaldo, and that might easily be enough, and Milan have Kaká, a fact of which Arsenal will not need to be reminded. Individuals will swing the balance.

Meanwhile, Atlético can concentrate on holding onto their fourth place spot so that their particular star can begin to shine in the wider firmament, as opposed to fading ignominiously in the mud at Bolton. He's much better than that, as proved by his second goal whose simplicity outranked Ronaldinho's relatively spectacular bicycle-kick that opened the scoring for Barça.

Next week Atlético visit Zaragoza, and although Gabi Milito will not wish any harm on his old mates (or on his brother Diego), he'll be mighty glad that he won't have to face Agüero again this season. Celtic in midweek should be a relative stroll.

---

Any comments? Email Us

Click here to visit the Soccernet Store