Gets the Ball Rolling

Messi Kid from chris k on Vimeo.

Reed is often a little messy, and sometimes he’s a little Messi, as in the world-renowned futbol-er who plies his wares for Barcelona and the Argentinean national team. S.L. Price, a writer for Sports Illustrated, included this of Messi in a piece that previewed last year’s World Cup:

[Thierry] Henry, 32, the lanky alltime leading goal scorer for France and one of the great players of his generation, can't find words to describe how Messi zips through and around opponents like a VW bug in a cluster of 18-wheelers. Finally he resorts to tapping out a staccato rhythm on a table. "He just goes -- like that," Henry says, drumming.

"People talk about basketball players, how they run full speed but they're in control of the ball with their hands, but that's way easier," Henry continues. "Running with the ball at your feet at full speed and being able to see, [being] aware of what is happening around you, [while] people are trying to make you fall? Leo is always kind of falling, but he doesn't go down. I would love to have his first step, and his double dribbles, but it's him being small [and] quick: He touches the ball every step of his run. It's impossible to do what he does. I go one-two-three, push the ball, one-two-three, push the ball. If I want to touch it every time, I [have to] slow down. But he can go full speed: Tack-tack-tack-tack, tack-tack-tack-tack." Henry throws up his hands. "I wish I was small," he says.

Watch and listen again: Tack-tack-tack-tack, tack-tack-tack-tack. See what I mean? He’s a little Messi.