5 reasons why lionel Messi is key player for FIFA world cup final against Germany

A four-time world player of the year, Argentina's Lionel Messi is gifted with talents that most footballers can only dream of. What makes him special is that he possesses not just one or two but a combination of special skills that give him an edge over just about everyone.

Although he hasn't played brilliantly in every game of this World Cup, Messi's talents have been on display on Argentina's road to Sunday's final against Germany. Here are five traits that explain what makes the Argentina captain so difficult to stop.

___

SPEED

There are plenty of players who could outrun Messi in a 100-meter dash. But running with the ball is a different story. Messi can control the ball at close to top speed, making him an excellent dribbler. Also, it's his acceleration rather than his top speed that cuts up defenses. Few defenders can keep up when Messi revs up from standstill, creating space for his left-foot shot.

___

BALANCE

Like former Argentina great Diego Maradona, Messi uses his short stature to his advantage. His low center of gravity enables him to make quick turns and to stay on his feet when challenged. Often, the only way to knock him off balance is to foul him. Defenders at the World Cup have been taking turns tackling Messi to spread the risk of getting booked around the team.

___

ACCURACY

Messi is one of the world's top free-kick takers, striking the ball with impressive accuracy with his magic left foot. Almost always he hits the target or just misses it — you rarely see Messi blast a free kick five meters over the crossbar. In Argentina's final group-stage match, Nigeria gave Messi two free kick opportunities near the penalty area toward the end of the first half. He elegantly curled the first one over the wall, but goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama was well-positioned and stopped it. By the second free kick, Messi had fine-tuned his aim, and struck the ball perfectly inside the post. Enyeama jokingly asked the referees during the break to not give Messi any more free kicks.

___

PATIENCE

Patience is a perhaps and underrated virtue for a football player, and it's one that has served Messi well in the World Cup. Every opponent has come with a plan to stop him, by closing down his space and tackling him as soon as he touches the ball. As a result Messi has looked out of the game for long periods. But instead of hanging his head and getting frustrated, Messi keeps looking for openings, patiently awaiting a moment when defenders take their focus off him for just a split second. That's when he strikes. Against Iran, that moment came in injury time when he scored his second goal of the tournament. Against Switzerland, it happened in extra time as he set up Angel Di Maria's winning goal with a piercing run down the middle.

___

INTELLIGENCE

Messi also stands out for his ability to read the game, mapping out paths to the opponent's goal in his mind before the opponent does. That's key to understanding why he's such a prolific scorer. Knowing by instinct where a gap will open up for a quick pass or shot gives him an advantage over others, though it can also complicate things for the team. Sometimes Messi lets chances slip away by being too smart for his Argentina teammates, who aren't in sync with him to the same degree as Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez in Barcelona.

10 Interesting Vin Diesel Facts

Mark Sinclair Vincent, aka Vin Diesel was born in New York City, USA, on July 18, 1967.

Mark lived in New York for his entire childhood, and he has always been fascinated by theatre and the big screen from an early age.

It is believed that the ‘Vin’ from ‘Vin Diesel’ is an abbreviation of his last name ‘Vincent’, while ‘Diesel’ is a nickname given to him by his friends.

Raised by his mother and adoptive father, Vin never knew his real father, but he says that this never really bothered him in any way. Vin had to work very hard to achieve the level of fame that he currently enjoys, as he had his share of missed opportunities while coming up as a young and energetic actor. Still, here are a few interesting things you probably didn’t know about Vin Diesel:

1. He got into acting by accident When he was just seven years old, Vin and his friends broke into a theatre trying to vandalize it. In the process, they met a woman who offered them a script and around 20 dollars each, with the condition that they attend the theatre every day after school. Vin apparently developed a pretty strong attraction for acting, and has been doing it ever since. It’s crazy when you think about it, that is because of a good willing stranger that we are able to enjoy Vin’s acting nowadays.

2. He used to work as a bouncer While he was coming up as a young actor, Vin did his share of odd jobs in order to make a living. At one point, Vin worked as a bouncer for some of the hippest clubs in New York, the type of working experience that he is thankful to this day for. He says that when you work as a bouncer, you learn how to keep your mouth shut and pay attention, which for the most part is a good life advice for pretty much anybody.

3. He financed his first feature by telemarketing We already discussed about Vin and his odd jobs, well this is one of them. You see, Vin knew that he wasn’t going to get picked up for a serious role if he kept hoping for auditions to ho his way, so he decided to take matters into his own hands. While he was in Los Angeles, he worked as a telemarketer in order to save enough money for his first feature. His idea paid off in the end, as he raised around $50,000 for his first movie ‘Strays’(1997).

4. He is a huge fan of ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ Vin never made a secret of his love for ‘Dungeons & Dragons’, and he enjoys playing it at every chance he gets. He has been playing D&D for more than 20 years now, which means that he started around the age of 12. Supposedly, Vin had a fake D&D tattoo on his stomach while filming ‘xXx’. Furthermore, Vin even wrote a foreword for the book ’30 Years of Adventure: A Celebration of Dungeons & Dragons’.

5. He was once nominated for ‘Worst Actor’ This happened in 2003 when he was nominated for the ‘Razzie Award’ nominating ballots. He received the nomination for his roles in xXx(2002) and Knockaraund Guys(2001), as well as for his role in A Man Apart(2003). He didn’t ‘win’ however, as apparently there were far worse actors than him at the time, which is an understatement.

6. He once wrote an admiration letter to Steven Spielberg Vin Diesel admires Steven so much, that he once wrote a three page letter to the man, telling him how much he looks up to him. Diesel says that ‘Schindler’s List’ is one of the best movies ever made, or at least one of the best he ever saw.

7. He started a video game company Vin Diesel has always been a bit of a geek, a fact that he acknowledges himself actually. In 2002, he started ‘Tigon Studios’, a video game company that worked on games such as ‘The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay”. Nowadays, the company focuses on next gen games, even though they retain the right to involve themselves in any Vin Diesel games.

8. He was offered the role of Daredevil It appears that Ben Affleck wasn’t the first person they offered the Daredevil role. The role was initially offered to Vin Diesel as the producer thought that it fit him perfectly. Nobody actually knows why Vin Diesel turned down the role, although it might have something to do with the amount of work he was doing at the time.

9. He did a break dancing instructional video when he was younger There is a break dancing instructional video out there, with Vin Diesel as the main protagonist. Vin says that he filmed it during his teens, and he doesn’t remember much of it anyway. We already talked about the younger Vin Diesel and the odd jobs he had to do in order to get by, well this is one of them.

10. He gained 35 pounds for his role in ‘Find Me Guilty’ Vin’s character in this movie is quite a corpulent guy, so he had to gain quite a few pounds before the filming started. Although make-up played an important role in his character’s credibility, Vin went through a lot of trouble to help every way he could. In the end, Vin received a lot of praise for his performance as ‘Fat Jackie’, forcing many of his critics to admit that Vin Diesel is more than muscles and attitude.