Ligue 1 – Before PSG-OL: Lionel Messi – Jérôme Boateng, real humiliation, false domination

“Golazoooooooooo. I’m leaving because there is nothing more to see! Ladies and gentlemen, turn everything off. Turn off the radio, turn off the TV. Tonight there is no more football. Because, never, NEVER, will we see something better. What Messi has just done is not football, it is not sport. It’s magic“. Emotions are always better in the original version. ESPN’s flagship commentator, Jorge Ramos, aka” the narrator of the Americas “, has seen others in his career. only one moment of his long professional odyssey would undoubtedly be this: Lionel Messi’s dribbling against Jérôme Boateng.

On May 6, 2015, present at Camp Nou for the first leg duel between Barça and Bayern Munich in the Champions League semi-finals, the Uruguayan can only succumb to the irresistible. A suspended moment, full of grace, a masterpiece immediately listed as a world football heritage and in the memory of all fans. A gesture as decisive as it is sublime, arriving like the icing of an already appetizing cake.

Before this fratricidal duel and Pep Guardiola’s reunion with Camp Nou, the Catalan coach had warned: “It’s impossible to stop him, we can’t control Messi“. For 77 minutes of a sublime and indecisive set to go, his players made him lie. In place, compact, disciplined and saved by Neuer to withstand the onslaught of the MSN, the Bavarians make almost the perfect match. Almost. In the 77th minute, Messi – who else? – inherits the leather at the entrance to the box and arms a tricky shot that licks the post to give the Catalans the opener. But the best is yet to come .

Fatal hesitation

80th minute: Rakitic performs a marvelous pass from the outside to find Messi at 20 meters. Facing him, Golgoth Boateng finds himself in a delicate situation. “When I get closer to him, I only think of erasing him to open the way to the goal, as in any match in which I receive the ball under these conditions, with an opponent in front.“, will explain the Argentinian years later.

The magic of this action probably lies in this preliminary analysis. Because deep down, Boateng cannot choose. Or rather, Messi does not give him time to do it. An eternal tango then begins between the two, a right-left sequence of supersonic speed which completely disrupts the German plan. “I thought about it in a second, will explain the Argentinian afterwards. I chose to go right because I figured Boateng was going to expect me to come out inside, to kick off on my right foot.“.

Rafinha, Boateng’s teammate and holder as a right-back that evening, will be a little more verbose with the channel. “The way Boateng falls … it was strange, will explain the Brazilian before describing the reaction of the German after the fact. He was sad, he was bad, it was complicated. In such moments, it is better not to speak because the guy is not well, he is sad. No one is going to go tell him something. We know what happened but we don’t talk about it. Even if you have character, you dive after that. It’s a moment that stays in history, you can’t go back“.

And Boateng in all of this? He manages to put the distance necessary to protect himself. “Honestly, it doesn’t bother me more than that, he will say in June 2015. I laughed at myself. When you fall or slip in these kinds of situations, it’s a normal reaction. These things happen, it’s happened to me as it has happened to other players. For me he is simply the best player in the world. It’s football. Sometimes things go wrong, something unforeseen happens. But it doesn’t kill me“.

Since then, water has flowed under the bridges. Proof that Boateng has almost moved on, his recurring tweets on the subject have often been refreshing. “Honestly, I would have loved to see each of you defend against Messi“, had he laughed in March 2020 in a response session with Internet users.”Come on, gift, here’s something to make you laugh in these tough times, he wrote for the fifth anniversary of the event with a photo of the action. I’m going to go grab some popcorn while I’m waiting… and watch the 2014 World Cup final“.

Collective and historical superiority

Obviously, the arrival of the German in L1, and the prospects of reuniting this Sunday during PSG-OL, have revived the memory. “I didn’t come here because Messi plays in the league, he explained during his presentation in early September. I have had good and bad experiences against him. It’s normal. Who can say that he has only had good experiences against him?“.

The bad one, we saw it. But there are many more good ones. Because Boateng-Messi, it is also the reflection of two recurring confrontations of the past years where the star has not so often taken the light. In an official match, these two crossed paths 7 times. For 6 victories to the robust defender. But the figures do not say everything about the nightmare experienced by the Argentine against the German.

Because Boateng has been the most hurtful rout of Messi’s career. First, this 2010 World Cup quarter-final where Germany will crush Argentina with the reigning Ballon d’Or (4-0). This 7-0, then, cashed in the semi-final of C1 over all two matches by Barça against Bayern, marking the end of Barcelona’s hegemony over Europe. Then, rebel in 2014, with this defeat in the World Cup final which still remains a trauma for the Parisian number 30 today (1-0). And, finally, this butchery experienced during the Final 8 in 2020 with the correction of the Bavarians against a very small Barça (8-2), recording the net downgrading of Barça on the European scene. Did you say humiliation?