Yeah sure dude, if that makes you happy

He was provoked by the Netherlands. Let’s not forget the Dutch are infamous for spicing up difficult matches, specially in World Cups. They played dirty against Portugal in 2006, Spain in 2010 and Mexico in 2014. They tried to do the same with Argentina but it backfired horribly, since most matches in the South American qualifiers are always like that.

I’m not against dirty tactics, they spice up the game. But the Dutch should stop crying every time they lose in their own game. Let’s not forget they injured Cristiano with disqualifying kicks in 2006, and softened Spain’s flesh with their kicks in 2010.

Messi was never an enganche to begin with anyway. He’s a right wing with an absurd talent for passing, and a tendency to switch from the right wing to the center to strike with his left from a position where his shots would likely not miss the target. He was never a midfielder and whenever he had to fit that role, his godly scoring capabilities were completely wasted (see Argentina with Maradona as the coach, who always put Messi as an offensive midfielder and had his worst numbers in the National team in that position).

The number 10 is usually given to that one creative player who commands the attacks. And both Zidane and Messi are certainly that player, but they didn’t play in the same spot, since Zidane was indeed an offensive midfielder.

What’s rarely used nowadays is the classic stationary offensive midfielder position and that’s a fact, but just because the game is now more fluid and having an creative player in just one place is a waste of potential. We have to remember the formations in the past were waaaaay more rigid than what we see now, so not only the “enganche” is changing, but also the classic defensive midfielders and the side half midfielders. In Argentina for example, Scaloni for his midfield uses THREE players that would’ve been labelled as “classic number 10s” some years ago, yet he gets the best for the team by teaching them new tricks in different zones of the pitch. And I believe skilled midfielders are going to be the norm in this age of football.