Bayern Munich beware. Lionel Messi will be in the lineup for Barcelona in the first leg of the 2013 Champions league semifinal.
After his injury against Paris Saint-Germain, many questioned whether the superstar would be on hand to lead his team against the German side. The team's website confirmed his involvement earlier with a post that read, "Leo Messi took a full part in training on Sunday morning and although he has not yet been declared match fit by club doctors, he has been included in the squad to face Bayern in Munich."
Messi's inclusion means a great deal for the squad. To put it in perspective here is a look at Messi's numbers this year. The Argentine has scored 43 of Barcelona's 99 Spanish league goals; that output is good for 43.4 percent of the team's goals. However, on closer inspection Messi has 11 assists meaning that he has impacted 54 of Barcelona's 99 goals; well over half of the team's output. In the Champions league, he has eight goals and two assists; the team has scored a total of 18 goals in the entire tournament. Once more it is clear that Messi has been a major impact on more than half of the team's offensive output. Those who claim that Barcelona is nothing without Messi will certainly find support in these numbers.
By comparison, Munich has scored a total of 89 goals in the Bundesliga and their leading scorer, Mario Mandzukic, has scored 15 goals for the team. The team has scored 22 times in the UCL, but no player has more than five goals in the tournament. Munich has three players with 10 or more goals while Barcelona has two with ten or more; however, it is all negligible when one accounts for the fact that Messi leads second leading scorer Cesc Fabregas by a full 33 goals.