Who is Guillem Balague, and what is he talking about?

By: Kevin | January 8th, 2009

Blame tomatutomate for this quick post, rooted in something that he he read about this guy and his comments about our Lionel Messi.

Balague seems to be saying that Messi is fast headed down the Ronaldinho path, and will be there within four years. That already, he isn’t wanting to practice as much, etc, etc. And tomatutomate, with just concern, is wondering just who this dude is.

And well….we know one thing….he’s a Parakeet.

That is, a supporter of the periquitos of Espanyol, according to a Wikipedia page. This is a strain that is more virulent than being an EE supporter. They can be identified by certain symptoms:

1. Strained back from chip on shoulder
2. Pallor, due to always turning away from the bright side of Barcelona.
3. Ends every phrase with “We’re as good as they are!”
4. Grimace of pain, from being sore losers and yet losing almost all the time.

Now. Humor aside, he’s also a respected footy journalist (and Liverpool supporter) who contributes to many publications. He’s also on Sky Sports’ Revista de La Liga. His Web page is a mess, however. Here’s Guillem….

As to his contentions about Messi becoming another R10, an M10 so to speak, I’ll worry when we start seeing him out in nightclubs when he should be home sleeping/recovering, not training when he should be, getting fat and not performing as he should. Then we’ll know he was right.

Until then, let’s just enjoy our leonine Argentine who, like those shoes he’s rocking in the picture, has the ability to turn the mundane into pure gold.

It’s easy not to place much weight in Balague’s contentions, such as they are, to toss them away with a “Well, he supports Espanyol AND Liverpool, so he must be anti-us.” But a journalist can lay aside personal beliefs when doing their job.

And I too think he’s right about Messi’s term with us being limited, but for different reasons. (Please, don’t everyone beat me up at once here). Yes, we took him under our wing, took care of his medical needs, worked with him and essentially, made him.

But Messi had the talent. We saw that when he was with Newell’s, and it wasn’t like we did all that stuff out of good-hearted altruism, right? Messi is a spectacular player, but he’s also a true superstar now, and with that status comes certain baggage, such as this big, giant case called “expectations,” a bag that becomes a case that becomes a trunk that becomes a moving van. It gets bigger every time the player steps onto the pitch.

There is also a ton of pressure. Everybody says that Messi makes Barcelona go, yet everyone also says that Messi shouldn’t act as if he makes Barcelona go. It would be crazy crap to deal with for a fully-fledged grownup, never mind an athlete who is of adult age, but given the lives that superstar athletes lead, isn’t really a grownup in the “life is hard, I can deal with it” sense.

Which means what? Here’s where I blaspheme:

Balague gives Messi four more years in the Blaugrana. I don’t. Not the way things are going now. Why? Because I just don’t think that Messi is Barca for life in the way that Puyol, Xavi or Iniesta are. I can’t imagine any of those players being in another side’s colors. For me, this just isn’t true of Messi. And it isn’t even because he didn’t fully come through our youth system, though to be sure, had River Plate had the money to pay for his medical treatments, he almost certainly wouldn’t be wearing our colors.

If you watch matches from his early days, he just doesn’t look like he’s enjoying the game as much now. If you looked closely, you could see those same signs in Ronaldinho, as he went from being a cylinder in the engine, to the whole car. Yes, Messi enjoys success. Who doesn’t? And yes, his goal celebration after notching that second in El Clasico makes it clear that he loved putting the knife in against those lads.

But in the same way that some of us were suggesting in hushed tones that we sell Ronaldinho a year before we actually did, the same questions will begin to arise about Messi, who will eventually become too big to keep on the farm, so to speak. Crazy money and ego have a way of spoiling even the most well-grounded of players.

I hope I’m wrong. I hope that there is a video somewhere of Messi as there is of Xavi, living at home, playing video games with his brother and eating at the family table, so to speak, living a life that keeps him grounded in that way that is essential for a top-flight, superstar football player — that keeps him doing the work, making the effort and reaping the rewards. And in the Blaugrana. For life.

You can see Guardiola trying, in how he reacts to his crazy-good matches. Recall that Guardiola, after Tuesday’s match, said in effect “I shook his hand like everyone else’s.” Stuff such as that is important. It reminds a player that yes, he had a great match, but he isn’t the team, and isn’t bigger than the team.

But let’s not also forget that mega-stars such as Messi have an expiration date. Ronaldinho did, Ronaldo did, C. Ronaldo does, they all do. It’s an unfortunate mark of the breed. Something will happen, or somebody will offer something like 130 million for him….something unforeseen, that will tip the apple cart.

Think I’m crazy? Who could have foreseen, a mere two seasons after Ronaldinho participated in the joyful scene at Stade de France, hoisting the Champions League cup and celebrating a double, that he would be fat, unhappy and on a 20 million, cut-rate ticket to another city with a conversational Italian phrasebook in his hand.

But man, would I love to be wrong about this.