New Delhi: Lionel Messi is undoubtedly one of the all-time football greats. His exploits in La Liga are perhaps the highlight of his career, as the Argentinian became the Spanish league’s highest scorer in history with 474 goals to his name. During his 17-year stint in the Spanish league, he played 40 different opponents and managed to score at least one goal against 38 of those teams. There are, however, two sides against whom Messi never disturbed the scorers.
Xerez CD
In recent years, Xerez CD have been competing in the fourth tier of the Spanish football leagues. However, in 2000-10, Xerez played in the top flight. With 34 points to their name in that season, Xerez finished at the bottom of the league, and their stay in the season was quite short.
Barcelona played two games against the side during the season, but Messi failed to score in any of them. It wasn’t an underwhelming performance from the Argentina captain that stopped him from being on the scoresheet. In both games, he came on as a second-half substitute as Pep Guardolia’s men ensured an easy win for them. In their away fixture, though, Messi assisted Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Murcia
Messi faced Murcia in La Liga only once, back in 2008, when Barcelona played the club in the final fixture of the 2007-08 season. It was also the coach Frank Rijkaard’s final game in charge of the Barcelona. Messi failed to find the net but produced two brilliant assists for Barcelona to register a 5-3 away win.
For Barcelona, though, the campaign was a forgettable one, with the club finishing third in La Liga and losing both Copa del Rey and the Champions League in the semi-finals. Rijkaard’s farewell season with the side wasn’t outstanding, but Messi has always rated the Dutchman highly for how his career was shaped because of him. Messi voiced his opinion on Rijkaard a few years ago, stating that while every coach has taught the Argentina captain something, Rijkaard was the one who showed faith in him.
BARCELONA, SPAIN – OCTOBER 07: Lionel Messi (R) of Barcelona celebrates scoring besides his teammate Jordi Alba during the la Liga match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid at the Camp Nou stadium on October 7, 2012 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Jasper Juinen/Getty Images)
It was Rijkaard who chose Messi to play in the first team initially to train and later debuted in La Liga under the former Barcelona boss. Messi played four years under Rijkaard and played 13 years more with Barcelona after Rijkaard’s departure. He formed a crucial partnership with Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba to turn Barcelona into a formidable force in La Liga. Messi recently even said that Alba is the only player who “understands him to perfection.” The trio currently feature in Major League Soccer for Inter Miami.
La Liga’s all time highest goal-scorer has only failed to score against two teams during his stint in the Spanish football league. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
