And then he would snap a finger and it would be an insane, drastic difference.
That ability to differentiate between the two, to have that type of mentality, was stunning. He could go from joking and funny to serious and in competition mode so seamlessly.
It was second to none.
During practice, we played five vs. five or four vs. four with one neutral player, and he would always be the neutral player, meaning he would play for both teams.
He would pass the ball and just see where the game was going. One team would go down three goals, and then he would turn it on and all of a sudden it would be 3-3. Of course he has the ability to do that physically and from a pure quality standpoint, but he also just has that in his mentality.
Every time, he would make it even enough so there would be competition at the end.
It revealed just how great he is. How much he wants to win. How much he cares. How much he cares about winning.
I found it fascinating that he was able to control the game in that sense. He had the mentality to be the guy when he wanted to, but to also take a step back when he didn’t.
You could see it in training. If we had a shooting drill and a younger guy scored two goals on his first two shots and Messi missed one, he would flip that switch. He wouldn’t miss again.
You could see it in games. He’d walk around or even stand around, scanning the field. And then, at the right time, he was there, doing the thing he does.
The game is so slow for him that he has the ability to be nonchalant. Or at least he looks nonchalant, but it is so, so difficult to turn it on and off like that.
It was stunning to witness every day.
— As told to Jayson Jenks
Дэлгэрэнгүй эх сурвалжийг харах
Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
This story is part of Peak, The Athletic’s desk covering the mental side of sports. Sign up for Peak’s newsletter here.
Julian Gressel played with Lionel Messi at Inter Miami for one season in 2024. He now plays for Minnesota United.
I always go back to how Lionel Messi plays and practices.
There were a few times in training when we would play 11 vs. 11. One day we practiced our goal kick build out against pressure. Messi stood all the way over on the touchline, talking to an assistant coach while the ball was in play. I was in the midfield trying to get us out of pressure. He was just by the sideline, waiting, talking to the coach.
Maybe he was talking about the play, maybe he was talking about his family, I don’t know.
We broke the pressure, and by that time he had walked inside the pitch to the perfect spot. We gave him the ball, and he played a perfect — absolutely perfect — through ball to the striker who was one-on-one on goal.
That’s Messi: The play starts and it seems like he’s not engaged whatsoever. But he is. Then he makes the final pass and puts a teammate through on a dime.
Indescribable.
Messi prepares in a way that no other player in the world can. No other player can just stand and walk like that and then be in the right spot at the right time. Other guys need to be fully focused on training and be tuned in at all times. He could joke around and still prepare that way.
Mental trick one USMNT player does before games
Elise Devlin
During training, he would joke and talk and laugh with his peers during warmups: Sergio Busquets, Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba. It was all s–ts and giggles and playful, to the point you would think that he wasn’t worried about the practice, that he wasn’t worried about anything. Other players would be getting ready and focused and fully into it. He would just be out there having a laugh.
And then he would snap a finger and it would be an insane, drastic difference.
That ability to differentiate between the two, to have that type of mentality, was stunning. He could go from joking and funny to serious and in competition mode so seamlessly.
It was second to none.
During practice, we played five vs. five or four vs. four with one neutral player, and he would always be the neutral player, meaning he would play for both teams.
He would pass the ball and just see where the game was going. One team would go down three goals, and then he would turn it on and all of a sudden it would be 3-3. Of course he has the ability to do that physically and from a pure quality standpoint, but he also just has that in his mentality.
Every time, he would make it even enough so there would be competition at the end.
It revealed just how great he is. How much he wants to win. How much he cares. How much he cares about winning.
I found it fascinating that he was able to control the game in that sense. He had the mentality to be the guy when he wanted to, but to also take a step back when he didn’t.
You could see it in training. If we had a shooting drill and a younger guy scored two goals on his first two shots and Messi missed one, he would flip that switch. He wouldn’t miss again.
You could see it in games. He’d walk around or even stand around, scanning the field. And then, at the right time, he was there, doing the thing he does.
The game is so slow for him that he has the ability to be nonchalant. Or at least he looks nonchalant, but it is so, so difficult to turn it on and off like that.
It was stunning to witness every day.
— As told to Jayson Jenks
