No one walks like Messi
THE RUB
I can't tell you which teams are left in the World Cup. I can't even tell you when or where the last game will be played. But I can tell you that Lionel Messi walks more than any other outfield player on the field.
Thanks to Conor O’Neill’s excellent article in The Athletic, I learned that Messi has spent 63% of this World Cup walking. He’s an outlier.
Here’s what’s crazy. He also spends 25% just standing, only 3% running, and 1 % at high-speed. To an untrained onlooker like me, this might look like laziness or disinterest in the game, but O’Neill enlightened me on the brilliance of Messi’s play.
THE FRAMEWORK
Messi is ruthlessly efficient and is among the leaders in touches where it matters, chance creation, and scoring goals. His economy of motion isn’t laziness. It’s efficiency aimed at the decisive moments. His approach reminds me of the Navy SEALs training mantra, “Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast.”
O’Neill provides specific examples to show how Messi uses subtle shifts to create space. Other players run to open up, while Messi quietly glides into a pocket. His lack of movement also lulls his opponents into complacency, so when he does explode with speed, his defenders are too late.
What impresses me most about Messi’s strategy is how it gives him a mental advantage. O’Neill’s description is my sentence of the week: “Messi’s stillness plays into his preternatural game intelligence, giving him the calm perspective to digest the chaos around him and identify the vulnerabilities he can attack.”
Of course, this comes at a cost. Most teams depend on all eleven players pressing and passing. Messi doesn’t offer that, and he isn’t there when Argentina tracks back. This creates a greater defensive burden on his teammates — a sacrifice they are willing to make for the value he brings.
THE PRACTICE
It’s fairly obvious how I can apply Messi's style of play at the office.
Conserve energy where I can. Over the course of my career, I've created many PowerPoint slides that have never seen the light of day. I've done data analysis that didn't lead to a conclusion or result. Am I running toward the ball, or am I running simply to be running?
Create space with subtle shifts instead of big moves. When something isn't working, my instinct is to make a drastic change. To run around and yell, “I’m open.” Making smaller adjustments prevents overcorrecting and feels less jarring. Be like Messi and move into position with a few steps. It draws less attention and creates the opportunity to spring into action when the moment is right.
Observe the whole field and understand the entire game.“Preternatural game intelligence" is an ideal skill to strive for. Watch for the chaos to form in a meeting. Avoid piling in like everyone else. Pause, observe, and digest who is chasing what. That should give me the perspective to determine where I can create a big chance.
Yeah, yeah, sure, sure. But here’s how I really plan to use this information. The next time I’m running an ultra and anyone suggests I should walk less and run more, I’ll gladly begin to tell them how Lionel Messi spends 63% of every match walking. Of course to do his story justice, I’m going to have to continue to work on my pronunciation of “preternatural.”