‘Magician’ Messi stays humble despite breaking Mueller’s calendar-year record

Wellington: Barcelona forward Lionel Messi reached another milestone in his phenomenal career when he set a record for goals scored in a calendar year of 86 with a La Liga double at Real Betis, beating Gerd Mueller's 40-year-old tally of 85. A humble Messi said after achieving the feat that it was team’s win that matters most to him rather than individual honors. The 25-year-old World Player of the Year equalled the record with his first of the night in Seville when he picked up the ball in a central position in the 16th minute and left the Betis defence standing before sending an angled shot across goal into the bottom right corner. Andres Iniesta's clever back heel set the Argentine up to score again nine minutes later with a sweeping shot from a similar position just inside the penalty area that flew into the same corner of the goal.

“I always say the same, it's nice for what it means but the victory is more important as it maintains our lead over the other teams,” Stuff.co.nz quoted Messi, as saying to a Spanish channel. “My goal when the year began was to try to achieve everything again, with the team, in the league, the (King's) Cup, the Champions League. I always start with that idea in mind,” he added. Favourite to secure a fourth successive World Player award when the winner is announced next month, Messi has netted 74 times for Barca and 12 for Argentina in 2012, surpassing Mueller's total for Bayern Munich and Germany in 1972. The forward has scored 56 in La Liga, 13 in the Champions League, three in the King's Cup and two in the Spanish Super Cup, and still has two league matches and one King's Cup game to add to his tally before the end of the year. ANI