In Messi’s second goal & Sachin’s googly to Moin, an insight into genius minds
Even in the least flashy goal of his World Cup hat-trick, Lionel Messi’s genius was quietly at work. All one needed to do was look closely. At first glance, his second goal comes across as a plain vanilla poacher’s strike — an easy tap-in from a few metres with the goalkeeper out of position. It is only on a second look, ideally in slow motion, that the layer of intrigue is unearthed in this seemingly open-and-shut goal. On the frame of the goalkeeper sprawled on the ground, after his futile full-length desperate dive to his right, helplessly watching the ball pass him by on his left, was the smooth cursive Messi signature. The Argentine great could have easily scored by going to the right of the goalkeeper – clearly the best option, as he only had to swing his right foot and hook the ball. He could have even tried the fancier, and often-used, alternative of chipping the ball over the goalie. But Messi, as usual, took the less travelled path — pushing the ball …
