Messi gives new meaning to 'Hand of God'
Source: Agencies |
March 9, 2012, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
LIONEL Messi gave a new meaning to the phrase 'Hand of God' when he netted a Champions League-record five goals in host Barcelona's 7-1 demolition of Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday.
The Argentina forward has always had to endure comparisons with his compatriot Diego Maradona, who coined the famous phrase after using his fist to score a goal that helped knock England out of the 1986 World Cup.
"La manita de Dios" (the little hand of God) was the front page headline on sports dailies Marca and Mundo Deportivo yesterday, as local Spanish media scrambled to find new ways to describe the 24-year-old's latest goal-scoring feat.
World Player of the Year Messi netted five and youth team winger Tello added two more as the holder crushed the German side 10-2 on aggregate to sweep into its fifth consecutive Champions League quarterfinal.
At the end of the match at the Nou Camp, Barcelona fans waved one hand aloft, open with all the fingers spread wide, in the sign of 'la manita' while chanting his name.
"The 75,632 spectators that saw it live will be able to say 'I was there'," sports daily AS wrote. "Like when Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in a (NBA) game, when Muhammad Ali beat Sonny Liston, or when Bob Beamon flew (in the long jump) at the Mexico Olympics."
Both coaches, Barcelona's Pep Guardiola and Leverkusen's Robin Dutt, showered praise on Messi's display as did his teammates.
"It's not only that he scored goals, but they weren't easy either. They were fantastic goals and that's what makes it even more special," Spain and Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas told reporters.
On Twitter, Atletico Madrid's Columbia striker Radamel Falcao said: "Was it a Champions League game or one on Playstation? If he scored six would he get two match balls?"
England and Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney wrote: "Messi is a joke. For me the best ever."
Meanwhile, Cyprus was celebrating yesterday after little APOEL Nicosia achieved mission impossible by qualifying for the quarterfinals of the Champions League.
APOEL became the first Cypriot team to reach the last eight when it beat Olympique Lyon 4-3 on penalties on Wednesday after the tie had finished 1-1 on aggregate.
"I feel joy and relief," goalkeeper Dionisios Chiotis told UEFA.com. "We've achieved something no one would have thought possible at the start of the season."
APOEL scored all four of its spot-kicks with aplomb but its hero was Chiotis who saved penalties from Alexandre Lacazette and Michel Bastos to send the crowd into raptures. Gustavo Manduca, sent off in extra time for a second booking, had netted in the ninth minute to earn APOEL a 1-0 victory in the second leg.
The Argentina forward has always had to endure comparisons with his compatriot Diego Maradona, who coined the famous phrase after using his fist to score a goal that helped knock England out of the 1986 World Cup.
"La manita de Dios" (the little hand of God) was the front page headline on sports dailies Marca and Mundo Deportivo yesterday, as local Spanish media scrambled to find new ways to describe the 24-year-old's latest goal-scoring feat.
World Player of the Year Messi netted five and youth team winger Tello added two more as the holder crushed the German side 10-2 on aggregate to sweep into its fifth consecutive Champions League quarterfinal.
At the end of the match at the Nou Camp, Barcelona fans waved one hand aloft, open with all the fingers spread wide, in the sign of 'la manita' while chanting his name.
"The 75,632 spectators that saw it live will be able to say 'I was there'," sports daily AS wrote. "Like when Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in a (NBA) game, when Muhammad Ali beat Sonny Liston, or when Bob Beamon flew (in the long jump) at the Mexico Olympics."
Both coaches, Barcelona's Pep Guardiola and Leverkusen's Robin Dutt, showered praise on Messi's display as did his teammates.
"It's not only that he scored goals, but they weren't easy either. They were fantastic goals and that's what makes it even more special," Spain and Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas told reporters.
On Twitter, Atletico Madrid's Columbia striker Radamel Falcao said: "Was it a Champions League game or one on Playstation? If he scored six would he get two match balls?"
England and Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney wrote: "Messi is a joke. For me the best ever."
Meanwhile, Cyprus was celebrating yesterday after little APOEL Nicosia achieved mission impossible by qualifying for the quarterfinals of the Champions League.
APOEL became the first Cypriot team to reach the last eight when it beat Olympique Lyon 4-3 on penalties on Wednesday after the tie had finished 1-1 on aggregate.
"I feel joy and relief," goalkeeper Dionisios Chiotis told UEFA.com. "We've achieved something no one would have thought possible at the start of the season."
APOEL scored all four of its spot-kicks with aplomb but its hero was Chiotis who saved penalties from Alexandre Lacazette and Michel Bastos to send the crowd into raptures. Gustavo Manduca, sent off in extra time for a second booking, had netted in the ninth minute to earn APOEL a 1-0 victory in the second leg.
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