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| Breaking moments |
Lionel Messi has matched and topped Gerd Muller's record of 85 goals in a
calendar year.
The Barcelona man pulled even with his first goal against Betis on Sunday night
and then pushed past the prolific Germany with his second, meaning he had
notched up the tally in 66 games.
It took Muller just 60 appearances to set the previous record in 1972.
The Argentine started 2012 with two goals against Osasuna in the Copa del Rey,
and regularly notched up doubles and trebles throughout the year for both club
and country.
Heading into the night he had scored exactly two goals on 20 occasions, and at
least three strikes nine times, including a five-goal haul against Bayer
Leverkusen in the Champions League.
Muller hit 42 Bundesliga goals in 34 outings to fire Bayern Munich to the
German title in 1971-72 and eventually 1972-73, and he also played an integral
role in West Germany's European Championship victory. He scored five goals in
the four finals games it took die Mannschaft to lift the trophy under the old
format
.
Muller was also boosted by Bayern's run of 21 matches in 37 days during the
traditional preseason period. Due to the summer Olympics that year, the German
domestic football season was pushed back until September 16, so a new
competition - the DFB-Ligapokal (League Cup) - was hastily introduced to ward
off rustiness.
Muller scored 12 goals in five games in that maiden campaign, while he scored
10 goals against Galatasaray and Omonia Nicosia in the opening stages of the
old European Cup.
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| historic moments |
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Gerd Muller must be sick of the
sight of Lionel Messi. For the second time in the space of six months he has witnessed
the diminutive attacker break one of his long-standing records. By the end of
the 2011-12 season the 25 -year-old had surpassed the prolific German's tally
of 67 goals in a campaign, and now he has seen his record of 85 goals in a
calendar year shattered too.
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| messi | |
Muller netted on 85 occasions for Bayern Munich and West Germany in just 60
matches during 1972, while Brazil icon, Pele, had previously sat in second
place for most goals in a single year with his haul of 75 back in 1958, before
Messi nonchalantly swept past that figure last month.
With the Argentina international having now beaten even Muller's tally, lets
take a comprehensive look at when and where his 86 goals flew in.
1 + 2 - January 4. vs Osasuna (h). Copa del Rey. (4-0). Started the
year with a bang despite initially being confined to the bench with flu for
this game. Scored twice in the second half after being introduced on the hour
mark, the first a header and the second a wicked curling strike.
3 + 4 - January 15. vs Real Betis (h).
Primera Division. (4-2). After showing off his Ballon d'Or award to the Camp
Nou crowd ahead of kickoff the diminutive Argentine lived up to the hype by
finishing a fine team move in the first half and then adding a penalty late on.
5, 6 + 7 - January 22. vs Malaga (a). Primera Division (4-1).
Notched his first hat trick of 2012 courtesy of a precise header and two
magical solo efforts in the second half.
8 - February 4. vs Real Sociedad (h). Primera Division. (2-1).
Sealed all three points for his side with a well-taken volley in the 72nd
minute.
9 - February 14. vs Bayer Leverkusen (a). Champions League.
(3-1). Scored Barcelona's final goal against the German opposition, following a
nervy encounter at the BayArena.
10, 11, 12
+ 13 - February 19. vs Valencia (h).
Primera Division. (5-1). Inspired his team to victory with four goals in his
200th game for the club.
14 - February 26. vs Atletico Madrid
(a). Primera Division. (2-1). Secured a hard-fought win for Barcelona with a
stunning free kick from 25 yards in the 81st minute.
15, 16 +
17 - February 29. vs Switzerland (a).
International Friendly. (3-1). Stole the show in Bern with a fine hat trick
that guided Argentina to victory.
18, 19,
20, 21 + 22 -
March 7. vs Bayer Leverkusen (h). Champions League. (7-1). Made history by
becoming the first player ever to score five times in a single Champions League
match, as Barcelona ran riot at Camp Nou.
23 + 24 - March 11. vs Racing Santander (a). Primera Division. (2-0).
Bagged his 49th and 50th goals of the 2011-12 season with a close range finish
and a confident penalty in the second half.
25 - March 17. vs Sevilla (a). Primera Division. (2-0). Scored
twice at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan as Barcelona cruised to a comfortable win.
26, 27 +
28 - March 20. vs Granada (h). Primera
Division. (5-3). Netted his third hat trick of 2012 in an eight-goal Liga
thriller at Camp Nou.
29 - March 24. vs Mallorca (a). Primera Division. (2-0). Helped
Pep Guardiola's side win its 50th competitive match of the season by opening
the scoring with a curling free kick in the 25th minute.
30 - March 31. vs Athletic Bilbao (h). Primera Division. (2-0).
Scored a second-half penalty as the Catalan giant brushed aside its tired
opponent that had played in the Europa League just 48 hours earlier.
31 + 32 - April 3. vs Milan (h). Champions League. (3-1). Broke the
record for most goals in a single Champions League season (14) with two
penalties, as Barcelona advanced to the semifinals.
33 + 34 - April 7. vs Real Zaragoza (a). Primera Division. (4-1).
Reached the 60-goal mark for the 2011-12 season as his side labored to victory
at La Romareda.
35 -
April 10. vs Getafe (h). Primera
Division. (4-0). Smashed a devastating finish past Miguel Moya just before the interval
as Barcelona romped to victory at Camp Nou.
36 + 37 - April 14. vs Levante (a). Primera Division. (2-1). Scored
twice to overturn Levante's first-half lead and seal all three points for his
side.
38 + 39 - April 29. vs Rayo Vallecano (a).
Primera Division. (7-0). Ensured a harrowing week for the club ended on a high
following its Champions League exit at the hands of Chelsea by scoring two
goals from close range as Barcelona hit seven past Rayo.
40, 41 +
42 - May
2. vs Malaga (h). Primera Division. (4-1). Further stamped his name in the
history books with three goals that took him to 68 for the season, surpassing
the previous European record tally set by Gerd Muller in 1972-73.
43, 44, 45
+ 46 - May 5. vs Espanyol (h). Primera
Division. (4-0). Scored all four goals for the Blaugrana as they hammered their
local rival in La Liga.
47- May 25. vs Athletic Bilbao (a).
Copa del Rey Final. (3-0). Helped his side win the Copa del Rey, netting the
second of three goals with a sumptuous effort with the outside of his left
foot.
48 - June 3. vs Ecuador (h). World Cup Qualifier. (4-0). Curled
a shot past Alexander Dominguez on the half hour mark to make it 3-0 as
Albiceleste marched to a comfortable victory.
49, 50 +
51 - June
9. vs Brazil (h). World Cup Qualifier. (4-3). Put in a phenomenal
performance in New Jersey as Argentina took on its bitter rival in a showpiece
friendly, scoring a wonderful hat trick to lead his team to victory.
52
- August 15. vs Germany (a).
International Friendly. (3-1). Swept home Argentina's second goal from
the edge of the box, as it dominated the friendly against Joachim Low's team.
53
+ 54 - August
19. vs Real Sociedad (h). Primera Division. (5-1). Got Tito Vilanova's reign as
Barcelona coach off to a flyer by finding the net twice as the Catalan giant
hit five past Sociedad.
55 - August 23. vs Real Madrid (h).
Supercopa. (3-2). Helped Barca win the first leg of the Supercopa by
sending Iker Casillas the wrong way with a second-half penalty.
56
+ 57 - August 26. vs Osasuna (a).
Primera Division. (2-1). Inspired his team to victory with a late double after
Joseba Llorente had given the Pamplona-based side a 1-0 first-half lead.
58
- August 29. vs Real Madrid (a).
Supercopa. (1-2). Fired a fantastic free kick past Iker Casillas on the brink
of halftime to keep Barcelona in the game and just a goal behind, but could do
nothing in the second half as Madrid held out for the win.
59 - September 8. vs Paraguay (h). World Cup Qualifier. (3-1).
Scored another glorious set piece in a confident showing from Alejandro
Sabella's side.
60 + 61 - September 15. vs Getafe (a). Primera
Division. (4-1). Came off the bench to bag two goals for Barcelona as the club
maintained its 100 percent start to the Liga season under Vilanova.
62 + 63 - September 19. vs Spartak Moscow (h).
Champions League. (3-2). Rescued his team with two more late goals, after the
Russian opponent had gone 2-1 up in the 59th minute through Romulo.
64 + 65 - October 7. vs Real Madrid (h). Primera Division. (2-2).
Locked horns with Cristiano Ronaldo to much acclaim as each player scored two
fine goals that meant the pulsating game ended in a draw.
66 + 67 - October 13. vs Uruguay (h). World Cup Qualifier. (3-0). Two
goals from Messi helped Sabella's men secure a comfortable win over their
Rioplatense neighbor, with the Barcelona forward's second a joy to behold, as
he rattled a free kick under Uruguay's jumping wall and into the bottom corner.
68 - October 17. vs Chile (a). World Cup Qualifier. (2-1). Scored
the first goal of the game in the 28th minute as Argentina edged past the Roja.
69, 70 +
71 - October 20. vs Deportivo (a).
Primera Division. (5-4). Helped make it 12 games unbeaten in La Liga for
Barcelona with a well-taken hat trick, as the Riazor played host to a nine-goal
thriller, with six of those being scored before halftime.
72 + 73 - October 27. vs Rayo Vallecano (a).
Primera Division. (5-0). Notched his 300th senior goal for club and country
with a thumping strike three minutes into the second half, before adding a
second moments before the end.
74 - November 7. vs Celtic (a). Champions League. (1-2). Scored
his side's only goal as the team fell victim to a shock 2-1 defeat against Neil
Lennon's team.
75 + 76 - November 11. vs Mallorca (a). Primera Division. (4-2).
Reached another milestone with two strikes in this match, as he surpassed
Pele's mark of 75 goals in a calendar year.
77 + 78 - November 17. vs Zaragoza (h). Primera Division. (3-1). Got
himself on the score sheet twice in a game devoid of many clear cut chances, as
Barcelona made it 11 wins out of 12 in La Liga this campaign.
79 + 80 - November 20. vs Spartak Moscow (a). Champions League.
(3-0). Moved to within five of Gerd Muler's 85-goal record with two goals in
Moscow, while also equaling Ruud van Nistelrooy's tally of 56 Champions League
strikes.
81 + 82 - November 25. vs Levante (a).
Primera Division. (4-0). Netted his 18th double of 2012 with a nonchalant lob
over Gustavo Munua, and a close-range finish after some superb build-up play
from Andres Iniesta.
83 + 84 - December 1. vs Athletic Bilbao (h). Primera Division.
(5-1). Helped Barcelona make the best-ever start in Liga history by scoring
twice as the club romped past Bilbao at Camp Nou, while on a personal level he
moved to within one of Muller's astonishing record.
85 - December 9. vs Betis (a). Primera Division (2-1). Messi made
a quick recovery from a bruised knee sustained against Benfica four days
earlier and opened the scoring with a diagonal run and angled drive back across
Betis goalkeeper Adrian to draw level with the German great.
86 - December 9. vs Betis (a). Primera Division (2-1). The
Argentine added a second with an opportunistic left-footed drive short of the
half-hour mark after he was set up by Andres Iniesta. With three games still
left for Barca in 2012, Leo had broken Muller's magical mark.
