9781422270745

STUNNING SCORING SPREE When Lionel Messi stepped on the pitch in 2012, opposing teams had more reasons to fear the awesome Argentinian than normal, as he was on an epic goal-scoring spree rarely seen in the sport. Messi put together a year-long run of staggering production, netting a calendar year record 91 goals—in just 69 games!—while competing for Barcelona and Argentina’s national team. That bundle of brilliant scoring was half a dozen better than the previous best mark owned by Gerd Muller while playing for Bayern Munich and Germany back in 1972. Messi struck 79 times in 60 matches for Barcelona and scored another dozen times in nine matches with the Argentina national team. That stretch of sensational scoring translates into a hard-to believe average of 1.3 goals a game. Indicative of his potent prowess in navigating the high-traffic areas in the vicinity of the goal, 78 of his tallies were delivered inside the penalty area.

Lionel Messi’s record 91-goal calendar year in 2012 began with a header against Osasuna and concluded with a nifty left-footed shot to the far post. Check out all of his 91 goals.

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World Class Footballers: Lionel Messi