Key Components in Lionel Messi that makes him so special!!!

Keeping a cool head

Footballing geniuses often come with a dark side, think Zidane, Maradona and even Christiano Ronaldo. But you very rarely see an explosion of temper from Messi. He seems unflappable. His cool, calm and collected approach is impressive considering how many defenders have put in strong challengers on him and that can be shown in his card count since he burst onto the scene in 2004-05 compared to his fellow genius. Ronaldo at that time.

MESSI............................................. 0 red cards, 14 Yellow cards

RONALDO..........................................5 red cards, 32 yellow cards

Watching his diet

Messi suffered from a string of knocks and short-term injuries in his early playing days at Barcelona so the club changed his diet to help combat the problem. Two years ago, they swapped his 'asado'- a salty roast beef which is an Argentinian delicacy- for more fish, fruits and vegetables, hoping that the anti-inflammatory qualities in the fruit and vege would reduce the effect of any knocks and the calcium in the fish would make his bones stronger.

Building Up Strength

Anyone who saw Messi's extraordinary second goal against Real Zaragoza last month will have been impressed by how much such a small man can be so strong. He outmuscled the Zaragoza midfielder to win the ball to prove once more that he is not afraid of the physical side of the game.

Messi has been involved in 157 tackles and challenges in this season Champions League- more than any other player. At the age of 11, Messi was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency. For two years he underwent daily injections but when his club in Argentina, Newell's Old Boys, could no longer afford the treatment, Barca stepped in with an offer to continue paying the bill if he was willing to move to Spain.

A Sense of Balance

The trick of dribbling past so many players, so often and at such speed, is Messi's balance. Apart from when when he chooses to fall over, Messi,who is just 5ft 7in, looks effortlessly stable, no doubt helped by the low centre of gravity which also benefited Maradona (5ft 5in), Pele (5ft 8in) and Gazza (5ft 10in). 

It is no surprise then that he has made more dribbles (81) than any player in the Champions League- Porto's Hulk (79) is the only other player who comes within 25 of him.

Doing The Leg Work

Messi normally does about 50 minutes running and then an hour doing weights in the gym to keep his legs strong. As his frame is not the biggest, Barcelona wants Messi's legs to be as strong as possible so he can fight off defenders and show that electric pace over 10 yards. The other advantage of building up his legs is giving him the spring he needs to win the ball in the air- something that is very important considering his height. 

If you want to proof it works, cast your mind back to his header in last season's Champions League final.

The Shooting Boots

One thing not many people realised, Messi wears white and gold Adidas Tunit F50 boots- he is the only player in the world to wear them in that colour. The toe has extra grip on it, which helps Messi with his close control, and is made with just one layer of material, meaning it is lighter than other boots. No wonder he is the Champions League's top goalscorer this season with eight.

Mclaren MP4-12C...now everyone can own an F1 car

A gull-winged 200mph supercar dubbed 'an F1 car for the road' was launched by UK racing specialists McLaren.

The £150,000 McLaren MP4-12C is Britain's answer to Italy's legendary Ferrari and is the long-held dream of boss Ron Dennis to produce an 'affordable' supercar with the greenest credentials.

Pulling off the dust-sheets to reveal the car were Formula One drivers Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton.

Using a one-piece carbon-fibre chassis McLaren plan to offer the car for around half the £300,000 price tag that would normally be expected of a car of this calibre. The new McLaren uses lightweight aluminium and carbon fibre to keep weight down and performance high.

With aerodynamic styling designed to keep it on the ground at high speed, the new McLaren two-seater will accelerate from rest to 60mph in just 3.4 seconds. It is powered by a massive 3.8 litre V8 twin turbo engine which develops 600 brake-horse-power of pulling power - equivalent to about six Ford Fiestas.

McLaren Automotive chairman Ron Dennis said: 'We have long held the dream of building a range of McLaren high-performance sports cars that take the raw elements of Formula 1 principles, processes and performance and forge them into a unique package - one that offers customer-focused requirements of quality, efficiency, comfort and reliability.

Average fuel consumption is expected to be around 22mpg but emissions of carbon dioxide - the so-called greenhouse gas blamed for global warming - will be below 300g/km.

The new road car includes many hi-tech spin-offs from the world of F1. That includes seven speed F1-style paddle-shift with intuitive gears - dubbed 'pre-cog' for pre-cognition. The so-called 'seamless-shift gearbox' system pre-selects the gear before you shift to it.

The aerodynamic styling and flat underside creates massive downforce to give great roadholding and prevent car from taking off like an aircraft. The driver and passenger are protected inside a strong but superlight carbon fibre mono-cell or 'tub' as used in F1 cars.

The whole structure weighs just 81kg - about the same weight as an average man.

Giant side air scoops are designed to cool engine and powerful brakes. The hi-tech fabric in the bucket seats 'breathes' to help driver and passenger stay comfortable. Buttons and dials are kept simple and to a minimum, and there is a seven inch dashboard touchscreen. Lifting the gull-wing upwards and forwards is designed to help driver and passenger get in and out more easily - especially in tighter parking spots.

The new McLaren aims to take on key rivals including the brand new Ferrari 458, Lamborghini Gallardo, Porsche 911 Turbo, Bentley Continental GT, Aston Martin DB9.

Walcott's pace terrified Barcelona and Premier League defenders!

Theo Walcott is the fastest footballer we have ever seen. The most terrifying thing for any full back is coming up against genuine pace.

The movement that really scares full backs is when a winger looks to go long; when they play on your shoulder and midfielders try to play the ball in behind.

Against Arsenal - with Walcott - most teams drop deep on to the edge of the box, so that negates the threat of his pace, so the ball can't as easily be slipped in behind the back four.

On Wednesday, Barcelona played higher up the pitch to try to win the ball in the home side's half. By doing that, they created space in behind for Walcott to exploit, and he did just that with his goal. The winger benefited from their approach at the Emirates and next week at the Nou Camp he may force Barca to change their game plan entirely.

Theo's an immense talent but he's very young and still learning his game. He's always relied on his raw pace and will continue to do so but as he gets older he will learn when to use it best.

The pace of Theo Walcott caused all sorts of problems for left back Maxwell but the Barcelona star's approach to defending against him was a large part of the problem. When you're defending against raw pace, it is suicidal for the left back to leave a big space between him and his centre half, as Maxwell did night.

That meant that Abou Diaby could intercept a pass from Sergio Busquets and feed the ball to Samir Nasri, who in turn passed to Nicklas Bendtner. The Dane was able to play the ball through that gap as Walcott raced around the outside of Maxwell - at a top speed of almost 23mph - to get to the ball first.

If Maxwell had closed the gap, Arsenal would have had to give Walcott the ball in front of Maxwell and he would have had to beat him to cause any damage. But what Barcelona soon realised - and this is the best way to defend against pace - is that if they stopped the ball being fed to Walcott, he couldn't hurt them.

As soon as Barcelona started closing Diaby down, he couldn't play that ball and Walcott's influence on the game waned.

Let's see the 10 best summer signings of the season!!!

Premier League ending soon..Let us look at who is the Top 10 summer signings of the season..We'll start from number 10 and count it down to the best signings of the season..

10.Damien Duff - Newcastle to Fulham, £4m

While this season has been heartbreaking on the international front, and he missed a gilt-edged chance to win the play-off with France, things have gone swimmingly at Craven Cottage. Duff has weighed in with eight goals and added experience and a touch of quality to Roy Hodgson's midfield. With the Europa League run still going strong, he can be delighted with his contribution and reassured that his career is back on an upward curve.

9. Jamie O'Hara - Tottenham to Portsmouth, loan

O'Hara has proved himself to be Premier League class and his determined displays have lifted the Fratton Park faithful. Although he misses out on the big FA Cup semi-final against his parent club, there will be other grand occasions for him later in his career - obviously starting with the final in May if Spurs are beaten. He won't stay on the south coast when Portsmouth go down and it's unlikely he'll remain at White Hart Lane. But he'll have a choice of where to play his football next term, that's for sure.

8. Kevin Doyle - Reading to Wolves, £6.5m

Wolves had been accused of not scoring enough goals until their recent win at West Ham, but there's no blame attached to their record buy. His goal return of seven from 28 matches is almost identical to his international record but his game is not all about putting the ball in the net. Doyle has developed into an ideal lone striker, capable of shielding the ball, keeping possession and putting in a lot of selfless work. Mick McCarthy's system is bringing the best out in him and he's worth far more than what they paid Reading for him now.

7. Antonio Valencia - Wigan to Man United, £16m

Ferguson had the Ecuadorian earmarked as the replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo for some time and he's exceeded expectations in his first season at Old Trafford. An old-fashioned winger who likes to beat his man and deliver the ball into the box, he has supplied Wayne Rooney with plenty of chances this term. His manager has admitted he just needs to come out of his shell because he has a shy personality, and there is the feeling that he doesn't realise how good he can be. That said, he was man of the match in his first major final with United and there could be more medals on the way this season.

6. Joe Hart - Man City to Birmingham, loan

Birmingham have benefitted hugely from having the England hopeful on board. The youngster has developed into a top-class goalie and the only problem is trying to convince City to sell him permanently. Scott Dann and Roger Johnson were also astute acquisitions from Alex McLeish but Hart has been the pick of the bunch.

5. Niko Kranjcar - Portsmouth to Tottenham, £2m

Harry Redknapp likes a bargain and the Croatian was an absolute steal. With Pompey about to endure the worst year in their history, the midfielder was picked up for a song and has adapted well to life at White Hart Lane. With his fellow countrymen Luka Modric and Vedran Corluka at the club, he has been made to feel at home and become an important member of the side. Undoubtedly one of the biggest bargains over the past year or so.

4. Darren Bent - Tottenham to Sunderland, £10m

When Bent got the move he craved, he hasn't stopped hitting the net and managed goals against all of the 'big four'. With his tally standing at 20 in 32 league games, there is no denying he has been one of the shrewdest signings of 2009. His record has always been impressive but it was a gamble from Steve Bruce - one that has struck gold for the Black Cats manager.

3. Richard Dunne - Man City to Aston Villa, £6m

The uncompromising Irishman was a popular figure with the supporters at Eastlands but jettisoned by former boss Mark Hughes to make way for Kolo Toure and Joleon Lescott. Yet he's had better seasons than both of them and been a rock at the back for Villa. Reliable and rugged, he has helped the Midlanders go all the way to the Carling Cup final and book a return to Wembley to face Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-finals.

2. Thomas Vermaelen - Ajax to Arsenal, £10m

Some scoffed when Arsene Wenger splashed out on the Belgian centre-back, with rumours in Holland suggesting the Gunners had overpaid. Now he looks like a steal after an accomplished first campaign at Premier League level. His partnership with William Gallas was rock-solid before the Frenchman got injured and he's already an Emirates favourite. Composed and cultured in possession, he weighs in with more than his fair share of goals.

1. Carlos Tevez - Unattached to Man City, £25m

After a few games, the knives were out for the South American striker. Sir Alex Ferguson was right not to sign him, his first touch wasn't good enough, his goal return was poor. But he worried his old club in a thrilling derby and, once off the mark in the league against another of his former teams in West Ham, he hasn't looked back. 19 goals in 26 starts is some record and he also weighed in with another six in six in during the Carling Cup run, which included three strikes against the Red Devils. The main man behind City's push for fourth spot and, if he gets them into next season's Champions League, it'll definitely be a case of money well spent.