Lionel Messi leader in nine Copa America stats

By
Osvaldo Godoy
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62

In addition to winning and lifting the trophy with Argentina, Lionel Messi had an amazing performance in the 2021 Copa America and leads in nine of the stats.

Here, all the Copa America stats where Messi was the best:
– Most goals (4)*
– Most assists (5)
– Most free kick goals (2)
– Most key passes (22)
– Most chances created (26)
– Most successful dribbles (36)
– Most goal creating actions (8)
– Most shot creating actions (46)
– Most accurate through balls (4)

*Luis Díaz, from Colombia, also scored four goals.

This is the video Messi posted via his Instagram account, which is a great recap of his best plays during the tournament:

With the stunning Copa America Messi had, which ended up with his national team lifting the trophy, the Ballon d’Or FIFA 2021 seems to have a clear candidate. Will Lionel Messi be able to win his 7 th Ballon d’Or, this year?

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62 Comments

  1. More precisely before the tournaments ELO rankings:

    Copa America 2021 (ELO 2021 06. 10. last day before the start)
    Chile 18
    Uruguay 10
    Paraguay 23
    Bolivia 57
    Ecuador 28
    Kolumbia 11
    Brazil 1

    Euro 2016 (ELO 2016 06. 09. last day before the start)
    Iceland 45
    Austria 21
    Hungary 42
    Croatia 18
    Poland 24
    Wales 47
    France 7.

    Messi route was harder, ARG results and his performance were much better than CR’s.

  2. Fifa Coca Cola ranking is very imprecise, ELO-ranking is much better (used in chess too).

    Chile 25
    Uruguay 10
    Paraguay 20
    Bolivia 63
    Ecuador 27
    Kolumbia 11
    Brazil 2 (in Maracana)

    5 wins 2 draws

    vs Iceland, Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Poland, Wales, France..with 1 normal time win and CR quasi didnt even play in final, Messi route was tougher and his performance was much better.

  3. RM president recordings from some years ago were leaked and apparently this is what he had to say
    “Cristiano Ronaldo an ‘imbecile,’ Jose Mourinho ‘abnormal’: leaked Florentino Perez audio from 2012
    Jose Mourinho and Cristiano Ronaldo during their time at Real Madrid. Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images
    Real Madrid president Florentino Perez called Cristiano Ronaldo an “imbecile” and Jose Mourinho “abnormal” while he also said the two had “huge egos” in two audio recordings from 2012 that were leaked on Wednesday.

    Both Portuguese stars were at Madrid during Perez’s second tenure as club president. Audios of Perez attacking former players Iker Casillas and Raul Gonzalez as the “biggest frauds” in the club’s history in an audio recording from 2006 had been leaked 24 hours earlier.
    “He is mad,” Perez had said of Ronaldo in one of the audios released by El Confidencial. “This chap is an imbecile, he is ill.

    “Do you think this chap is normal? He is not normal, otherwise he wouldn’t do the things he does. The last foolish thing he did, everyone around the world saw it.

    “Why do you think he does that foolish thing?”

    It is unclear what Perez was referring to regarding the “foolish thing.” ESPN has approached Ronaldo’s representatives for comment.

    Perez also attacked super agent Jorge Mendes, who represents Mourinho and Ronaldo.

    “Mendes does not order him, nor does he order Mourinho whatsoever,” Perez said. “Zero. Not even for the interviews. These are guys with huge egos, both of them spoiled.

    “He and the coach don’t see the reality because the two could earn a lot more money if they were different. They are both abnormal because we are talking about a lot of money in image rights.

    “Furthermore, with that face they have, with that defiant manner that they are disliked by everyone. … Advertising is the opposite, it is the complete opposite.”

    Madrid released a statement on Tuesday on behalf of Perez in which he claimed the audio with comments on Casillas and Raul was leaked because of his involvement in promoting the recently failed European Super League. The statement also said the club are considering legal action.

    Ronaldo, Madrid’s all-time top scorer with 450 goals, joined the Spanish giants in June 2009, 11 days after Perez returned as Real Madrid president. Mourinho, now in charge of AS Roma, guided Madrid to the La Liga title, the Copa del Rey and the Supercopa Espana from 2010 until 2013 before returning to coach Chelsea.

    Ronaldo left Madrid for Juventus in 2018 after a nine-year spell at Los Blancos following a reported rift with Perez over a new contract.”
    (ESPN).

  4. Argentina has best midfield in the world-
    1 De Paul
    2 Lo celso
    3 Paredes
    4 Emi Buendai
    5 Guido Rodriguez
    6 Papu Gomez
    Oh come on you can not get better than this. Argentina needs a good striker who is good both in ground and in air. Lucas Alario looks best suited for that role.Dybla would be great too. Now Angel Correa should play in Left Wing and Nico Gonzalez would be a good substitute.

  5. I am not superstitious, and I think it’s purely coincidence, but I found this interesting and wanted to share.
    A friend of mine who is also an Argentina fan mailed me this –

    Parallels between Indian, Australian ODI cricket team and Argentina, Brazil football team:

    Achievements:
    Argentina – 2 world cups, Brazil – 5 world cups
    India – 2 world cups, Australia – 5 world cups

    Jersy:
    India and Argentina – blue and blue-white
    Brazil and Australia – yellow and yellow-green

    waiting for achievement:
    India won world cup after 28 years in 2011.
    Argentina won copa america after 28 years in 2021.

    Enemies:
    India hates England for dominating them for 200 years.
    Argentina hates England for grabbing Falkland Islands.

    India also hates neighbours Pakistan.
    Argentina also hates neighbours Chile.

    player success and birthdays:
    India and World’s greatest player for 2 decades – Sachin Tendulkar won world cup on 6th attempt.
    Argentina and World’s greatest player for 2 decades – Messi won copa america on 6th attempt.

    Sachin Tendulkar birthday – 24 April
    Lionel Messi birthday – 24 June

    Question:
    Sachin Tendulkar won the world cup 8 years after reaching first final in 2003.
    Will Messi win the world cup 8 years after reaching first final in 2014?

    • Actually england is one of the allies of India. So this hate thing i don’t think is true. Many joint ventures being rolled out between england and india and also india is one of the biggest trade partner of England. So hate factor is not there.

      • yes, english people are very clever , they spit india-pakistan in a way(leaving kashmir matter unsolved) that india-pakistan will hate each other but will love england. But we india-pakistan-bangladesh should hate england as they were tyrant ruler for us but we are so foolish to love them and hate each other.

  6. On Tuesday evening, transfer insider Fabrizio Romano was asked directly on Twitch about Romero possibly joining Tottenham, and he offered an interesting response.

    Romano told fans to keep an eye on Romero to Tottenham, suggesting that there is real Premier League interest emerging for him even if nothing is imminent, and he feels that Romero joining an English club like Tottenham is ‘a possibility’.

    “I would keep an eye on Romero,” said Romano when asked about Romero to Tottenham. “I am told he has chances to move to the Premier League, but it will take some days to see where he is going. It’s a possibility, I’m sure it’s a possibility,” he added.

    ——

    Transfer guru Romano has said it. So he said it is a real possibility to the EPL. The interested teams so far:
    1. Hotspur: He will be a starter for sure for Hotspur but I suddenly remember Erik Lamela’s case, he was a star for Roma then moved to a “bigger club” Hotspur and he was never the same Lamela anymore. So for me better Atalanta than Hotspur.

    2. MU: Romero is seen as Varane back up plan. If somehow they fail to land Varane, they will be aggressive for Romero for sure as they clearly are looking for Harry Maguirre partner. For me it is a NO because if Solksjaer can bench the always reliable De Gea for an English man he could do the same to Romero.

    3. Barcelona: Imagine Messi, Aguero, and Romero to be on the same team. My preferred choice for sure but am not sure ir Barca have the money to sign him unless it is a sign and trade scenario. Romero would be for sure a key player right away for Barca replacing Lenglet or Pique.

  7. I am sure Scaloni will keep almost same team for next friendlies. I hope Scaloni include Palomino or Senesi. Prepare at least one CB who can be alternative substitute for Romero.
    Romero,Otamendi, Pezzella, Senesi or Palomino

  8. Emiliano Martinez stats (out of top five leagues) according to fbref:
    6th for shots on target faced (177)
    3rd for saves made (135)
    7th for save percentage (76.8), very very close to Ospina and Nick Pope
    9th for clean sheets (15), all of the goalkeepers above him having considerably better defenses
    4th for crosses attempted into their area (393)
    6th for crosses stopped (33)
    3rd for post shot expected goals minus goals allowed, +7.4 (so he saved 7 more goals than he should have, technically)
    Keep in mind he plays in the most difficult league and with an average defense, so these numbers are impressive. For me there is no clear “best” goalkeeper in the world but he should be in the top five no doubt

    • 1st in reflexed save. Aston Villa fans really afraid of losing him now. He would be an upgrade for example for MU.

      The thing abt Emi is he’s got a strong personality like some great goalies such as Chilavert or Nauer. Not just good excellent technique.

      • Yes and his ability to command the box and keep defenders calm, something which the stats do not show. Might I ask where is the reflex shots stat from? Any link to prove? I am surprised that many stats websites do not show that it should be important

  9. He should, probably will, win it. But, and this is extremely important: IT IS EARNED. Not just because he’s Messi. Arguably, and alongside The Euro, Copa America is by far the biggest football competition of the year. Bigger than any other competition in the whole world. It had a collection of world class players, all competing for the cup. And Messi was the best player. In the competition itself, in the competition itself, he played better overall than anybody. Not only that, the team he led, Argentina, actually won the title. Not only that, Argentina won for the first time in28 years. A huge, huge, historic, momentous event in world football. Argentina chasing a title has been a story unto itself. Won by beating no other than Brazil, at home, at the Maracana. This was, this is, huge. Difficult to grasp how big Argentina win really is, it is a big event in football. And Messi is at the center. Euro is of course big too, Italy won, but this is 14 years after winning the World Cup. And there’s no one on that team with Messi degree of production. Nah, Messi has effectively earned a seventh ballon d’or. And the year is not over yet. A rejuvenated Messi has even more games to shine before the year is over.

  10. Am I the only one missing international football already??
    I cant wait for the Olympics to kickoff and watch some more football.
    As far as these CR fangirls, its a lost cause and the blind leads the blind.
    The discussion about the best player ever always included 3 players, Pele, Messi and Maradona and never Christina where she was NEVER on anybody’s mind ………until he started winning Ballon dOrs and that was more due to RM as being the best club on the planet than her as a player, nm that as it stands now, Messi should have 2 more than he does because of that corrupt former FIFA President.
    I can go on about their 2016 EURO title or the Mickey Mouse nation’s league or whatever its called……..but I won’t.

    I have been enjoying ARGENTINA’S COPA AMERICA TITLE since Saturday and I will continue to do so and lets see what they do when the BOSS wins the Ballon d’OR again.

  11. Lets Compare Euro and Copa Stats leaders:

    Euro Most goals – 🇵🇹 Ronaldo (5)
    Copa Most goals- 🇦🇷 Messi (4)

    Euro Most assists – 🇨🇭 Steven Zuber (4)
    Copa Most assists- 🇦🇷 Messi (5)

    Euro Most free kicks – 🇩🇰 Damsgaard (1)
    Copa Most free kicks- 🇦🇷 Messi (2)

    Most key passes – 🇮🇹 Marco Veratti (14)
    Most key passed- 🇦🇷 Messi (22)

    Most chances created – 🇧🇪 De Bruyne (16)
    Most chances created- 🇦🇷 Messi (26)

    Most successful dribbles – 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Sterling (23)
    Most successful dribbles- 🇦🇷 Messi (36)

    Most accurate through balls – 🇪🇦 Pedri (4)
    Most accurate through balls – 🇦🇷 Messi (4)

    Most shot creating actions – 🇪🇦 Pedri (27)
    Most shot creating actions – 🇦🇷 Messi (46)

    Most goal creating actions – 🇪🇦 Pedri (5)
    Most goal creating actions – 🇦🇷 Messi (47)

    Messi alone is the BEST combination all the best of Euros combined. 😜🔥

    • Do not compare Euro and Copa – the competitiveness between the Cups are very different..the group stages are very difficult in Euro. In Copa out of 5 teams in a group, 4 automatically qualify to quarters..In Euro it is not the case..

      We all know Messi is a champion..

      That is why we have a world cup which is the level playing ground..

      • Group matches are quite similar. If 4 qualifies from 5 countries in copa thn in euro 3 qualifies from 4.both tournament only 1 team gets knocked out. Ur comment is illogical. Ur degrading the quality and stats unnecessarily

        • We all know copa America has easiest route to final. In euro team like peru can only dream to play in semi and team like Paraguay and Ecuador in quarters.
          To win WC we need to improve alot they can’t escape in WC with foul fest 1 or 2 players would be sent off . Even Brazil can’t go beyond quarters WC.

          • Denmark reached semis and they are same level of peru. Stop degrading our team’s success. Obviously world cup is much tougher competition where euro champion of 2016 gets knocked out in group stages only euro champion of 2012 spain knocks out in group stages in 2014 wc euro winner of 2004 greece could not even qualify for world cup even 2000 euro winner France was knocked out in group stages only 1 euro winners who won next wc was 2008 spain side who won 2010 wc also otherwise all failed 👎 before spain in 1972 west germany did it winning wc after winning euros. So u know this continental trophies has not much effect in wc results. Its a big win dont whin. We all know we need improvements actually many European sides r quite mediocre right now. 2018 wc was held in Europe bt this time its in asia results will be different. European teams always struggle in asia and support will be huge for Brazil and Argentina that will work as a 12th man. I believe Argentina has real chance this year.

      • Yeah but the intensity and even competition of the Copa quarter finals is MUCH higher than the Euros. England would loose to Paraguay and Peru.

      • At the end of the day what matters is if the Team has the ability to push along. Look at France. It does not matter if you play in Copa or Euro. But yes Any Euro teams would have found it hard in Brazil pitches this year. Lets not even talk about bad referrees. Copa plays it hard.

  12. Y’all need to stop calling for Lisandro Martinez as CB. He is small, not tall and big enough. Teams like Germany, England just to name a few will kill us with their crosses. Do you see him jumping with Harry Kane. CB need to be tall and big period ( Bonucci & Chellini). Don’t need Midgets unless you are really good (Cannavaro). 2014 we had Garay and Demichelis. 2006 Ayala got beat by Klose on a cross. Clearly yall don’t learn

    • He is decent in the air, he wins a higher percentage of aerial duels than Quarta, Medina, and Perez (who are all taller than him) and more per game than Pezzella in the eredivisie of the Netherlands, the tallest country in the world. Romero wins the highest percentage in the league of all of our center backs so both together would be complemented nicely

      • Yes, Olive very well said indeed ! We don’t need to have 2 a very tall CB’s, because most of the crosses to our box will come from either corners and freekicks(, because it is not that easy to give a verygood cross from full speed and send it to the box offcourse depending of the Angel and by who is done…) and by this i mean quality crosses where we can have other our players helping Romero out and by this i not mean that Lisandro can’t jump heigh enough like u very well pinpointed that in eredivisie of Netherlands have the most propably very tall players as Netherlands being the tallest country in the world and i have seen it so many times with my own eyes visiting Netherlands from allready at early 1990’s til Covid arrive… and everytime i go there or have been there no matter in which area, because the country itself it is quite an small area with very much of population for such a small country so literally u can have tour around the whole country in less than day and if u want to do it more faster it can be done in several hours, but not more than 12 forsure, maybe even in 6 hours if u are not stopping at everywhere…? But back to Lisandro and like u said : ”He is decent in the air, he wins a higher percentage of aerial duels than Quarta, Medina, and Perez (who are all taller than him) and more per game than Pezzella” Yes totally correct and now we are only talking about his aerial duels as, because for some he is not tall enough, well Ok Yes there is other players in the world and propably many specially in eredivisie of Netherlands so i agree deffinetly that he is a short CB but not as ”MIDGET” for me ! No not at all and even he would be i would Still partner him with romero or use him maybe later as DM even, because he deffinetly has a very good technique as a very skillfull player and the most important abbility of his is deffinetly how to read the game so by positioning himself he is allready at very good level and will just get better and the same goes for his vision in the game and also that is allready at very good level and will get better for sure as he has quite many year’s a head of him and hopefully avpiding injuries as much as he can… Yes maybe not yet on Cannavaro’s level, but the comparison is not even a fair one for me we are talking about 2 different CB’s who at least have one thing in common that both are quite short for CB, but they might also have something else in common as is my personal oppinion of my own and by this i mean offcoursehe have to proove him to get even close to Cannavaro, but also in other hand none can say yet that he won’t or even maybe get better this is about his future and how much he plays and in Ajax he is allready been one their key players for qyuite some time why else would Ajax even to be intrested of him as they have players coming through their academy like ant’s and i’m not talking about the” height factor” here, no,no not at all…
        Ajax been as long as i remember at least from 70’s most propably even before that continually producing very good talent through their ranks and also they been very succesfull as Porto have been of buying young talent and make them blossom ! We have so many examples of this so need mention names here at all ! So just waiting for him starting to regularly playing for our beloved Albiceleste and maybe at some point he will move to another team and if he does so i hope it is a ”the one” for him where he will play regularly as he does in Ajax allready! Gongratlution’s once more for u and for all of Argentina and for past and present players of Albiceleste and for everyone around the world who is supporting our beloved Albiceleste with that true passion from their heart’s ! Let’s keep it going and wish even for more Trophy’s to arrive in the near future as this was such a great trophy to eon in every possible Sense and the say we did was with such a fasshipn and style and most importantly in such rare circumstances in Brazil where everyone who has been following football or studied history of football knows that how difficult and really rare it is to win there and what can be a better a place than the ” mighty Maracana” ! Stay well and healthy as u can and keep on posting as much u can, because your post’s are allways very intresting and also very nice to read ! Best Regards Ricky

        • Thank you very much Ricky, and I agree with your points. I think Lisandro is a great youngster and will only get better and has become one of the key starters of Ajax, a big club. If height is such a problem why do they play him?

    • @Martingean you and some others here need to stop saying that Lisandro shouldn’t start because he’s “small”. The kid is 5’10, which doesn’t make him a giant but he sure ain’t small, Passarella, Mascherano, Ayala and even the likes of Cannavaro were 5’8-5’9 and they did just fine aerially. Also having height is an advantage in the air for sure but anticipation and technique are also essential in the aerial game. Now going back to Licha, he’s actually very strong in the air, in addition to being a great reader of the game, great with the ball at his feet and very versatile. Without a doubt Licha and Romero are the best possible CB pair for Argentina IMO.

  13. Honestly a 40 year old Messi should be good enough to be in the team.

    Not only 2022, but he should be there in 2026 as well. He will be close to 39 at that point.
    Other footballers like Roger Milla, Angel Labruna etc have also done that.
    And nowadays the science of fitness has improved a lot.

    I want to see Messi and possibly Di Maria in 2026 as well.

  14. CR7 fan boys making every excuse in the book lol…I never heard them mention the Nations league as a Major international honor until Sunday morning lol. If they want to count that friendly tournament then they can count Messi’s Olympic gold and U20 WC as well…7th B D’or loading

  15. These stats are not worthy to discuss – Messi is beyond it….

    Messi may be the player of the tournament – but even he is human and missed a sitter..why not add that to the stats for missing the most easy opportunity in the entire tournament…

    We have had enough Messi posts and slowly getting tired of it..lets also talk about the other players who were part of the winning Argentine Team..

  17. 🚨It’s official – International Super Cup will be played between winners of European Championship and Copa America. It’s a new combination between UEFA and CONMEBOL in tribute to Diego Armando Maradona who’s an Argentina 🇦🇷 legend and Napoli in Italy.

    It’s inaugural name would be called ‘Maradona Super Cup’. It will be a continual finals starting from this year.

    Inaugural match will be 🇮🇹 vs 🇦🇷, no fixed fate yet

  18. Copa compared to Euro top attacking stats.

    1) Most Goals
    🇦🇷 Messi 4 vs 🇵🇹 CR7 5
    2) Most assists
    🇦🇷 Messi 5 vs 🇨🇭 Zubar 4
    3) Most free kicks
    🇦🇷 Messi 2 vs 🇩🇰 Damsgaard 1
    4) Most key passes
    🇦🇷 Messi 22 vs 🇮🇹 Verrati 14
    5) Most chances created
    🇦🇷 Messi 26 vs 🇪🇸 KDB 16
    6) Most successful dribbles
    🇦🇷 Messi 36 vs 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Sterling 23
    7) Most goals creating actions
    🇦🇷 Messi 8 vs 🇪🇸 Pedri 5
    8) Most shot creating actions
    🇦🇷 Messi 46 vs 🇪🇸 Pedri 27
    9) Most accurate through balls
    🇦🇷 Messi 4 vs 🇪🇸 Pedri 4

    BEAST MODE. What an amazing performance.

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