Putting Lionel Messi's goal-scoring record in context [View all]

[many a good man]

Some might not care for calendar-based records -- the trophy tally at the end of a season being the ultimate definition of success -- but there's little dispute over the magnitude of Lionel Messi's accomplishments on Sunday, passing a four-decades-old year mark for the most goals in a single year.

Lionel Messi scored his 85th and 86th goals of this calendar year to break Gerd Muller's record.
The record of 85 goals, previously held by iconic German goal poacher Gerd Muller, was shattered in typical Messi fashion, a pair of left-footed drives inside the box to enliven a humdrum league game against Real Betis. It's an individual accolade that won't crown him as the greatest player ever to live, though it is extra gilding for a resume that might one day see him defined as exactly that.

So what if you don't believe in such records, which have a magical, though artificial feel? (I for one find the accolade a touch forced, but it is these numerical touchstones upon which trivia is founded.) Some players never manage 86 goals in a career, let alone in 11 months and 9 days, and in a team sport through which carefully calibrated formations and reductive tactics can overcome any solo brilliance, the manner in which Messi has gripped the sport can't be understated.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/blog/_/name/espnfcunited/id/2167?cc=5901