For many years, there was a hole in Lionel Messi’s heart. Not literally, thankfully, though at times for him it may very well have been, as the pain would likely have been less. Messi, often regarded as the greatest ever to play the biggest sport in the world, had pretty much done it all in his storied career. The word “storied”, in fact, does little to explain the success he’s earned and the joy he’s brought in his 18-year professional career; he’s won the Ballon d’Or award for the best men’s soccer player in the world a record seven times (and may be in line to win his eighth this year), the European Golden Shoe award for the highest-scoring player in Europe a record six times, and holds the Guinness World Record for the most official goals in a calendar year with 91.
Even the Wikipedia page solely devoted to a list of Messi’s achievements and honors is so damn long. Along with all of his individual achievements, the “magic man” has also won 40 trophies for club and country. At this point, the guy might need a guest house just to fit all of his awards. And yet, for years, there was always something that was missing, that gnawed away at him and once forced him into a brief retirement-- the respect of his home country.
Lionel Messi struggled to win a trophy with Argentina for much of his career. Image from: Marca.
It was ridiculous at the time, and is even more so in hindsight, but for many years Argentina scorned their own prodigal son despite his many achievements. Why? It’s simple-- his trophy cabinet with La Albiceleste was empty.
Argentina is a proud footballing nation with a rich history. Before Messi, they’d won the World Cup twice as well as being runners up twice, and had won the Copa América 14 times. The late, great Diego Maradona, by conquering the world twice over, had gotten Argentines accustomed to a certain degree of success. And Messi, for all the magic in his left foot, was unable to match that.
It certainly wasn’t for a lack of trying, though. At the tender age of 20, Messi got his first taste of international tournament defeat as he started alongside country legends like Juan Román Riquelme and Carlos Tevez in the 2007 Copa América final-- a 3-0 thumping at the hands of bitter rivals Brazil. La Pulga would go on to face agonizing defeat in three more major tournament finals with Argentina, with each one more damaging to his legacy -- as well as his mental health -- than the last.
The first of those three setbacks was the 2014 World Cup Final. Messi had willed a talented, but limited, Albiceleste team all the way to the last match against a juggernaut Germany team that had just beaten Brazil, uh, badly. Though Messi created chance after chance for his teammates against a stout Die Mannschaft defense, no one could find the back of the net until Mario Götze famously scored for Germany in extra time to win the game.
Then, in 2015, Messi and Argentina found themselves in the Copa América final against a pesky Chile team. The opponent was new, but the result was the same-- Messi put the ball on a silver platter for his teammates on multiple occasions, but his countrymen continued to misfire. Argentina went on to lose 4-1 in a penalty shootout, with Messi the only Argentine to score his penalty. In 2016, Argentina and Chile squared off again for a chance at the same trophy; La Albiceleste survived an early red card for defender Marcos Rojo and took the game to penalties again, but lost again. This time, Messi skied his own shot, and criticism from his own nation reached a fever pitch.
It nearly broke him.
Messi’s loss in the 2016 Copa América final caused him to briefly retire from international duty. Image from: Reuters.
In truth, it probably would’ve broken me. To be scorned by your club is one thing -- one can always transfer to a different city and make a new legacy -- but to be utterly rejected and vilified by your own country is a unique type of heartbreak. After his famous penalty miss in 2016, Messi shocked the world by retiring from international duty with Argentina. In his own words, he said, “I’ve done all I can. It hurts not to be a champion. I think there’s a lot of people that want this.”
It was a brutal thing to hear for any fan of the sport around the world. A man who had inspired the world with his joyous, energetic, and beautiful style of play had lost his own joy for the game. It wasn’t fair, but sometimes God laughs at the very concept of fairness. Thankfully, “Mexit” didn’t last very long; Messi un-retired later that same year and vowed to bring glory back to Argentina.
It didn’t happen overnight. There was drama. There was a Round of 16 exit in the 2018 World Cup. There was a carousel of head coaches. There was a rebuilding period while the country waited on a new wave of young talent and defenders to bolster the squad.
Then, there was triumph.
Argentina’s victory in the 2021 Copa América was some poetic justice for Lionel Messi, in a sense. After putting the team on his (very small) back for the better part of a decade, La Albiceleste ended their trophy drought with -- at long last -- heroics from Messi’s teammates. Though Messi himself was undoubtedly fantastic across their entire tournament run, it took heroic saves (and some Hall-of-Fame shit-talking) from goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez in a shootout with Colombia, and most importantly, a sumptuous game-winning goal in the final against Neymar and a wonderful Brazil team from Ángel Di María. The victory was more than just another trophy for Messi-- it was the release of the weight of the world from the tops of his shoulders.
Messi won his first international trophy with Argentina in 2021. Image from: Getty Images.
His unbridled joy, as well as his much more open and expressive personality with the Argentine national team, has been apparent. His behavior at the 2022 World Cup has been a night-and-day difference from the often soft-spoken personality Messi has shown throughout his nearly two-decade-long professional career. He himself has been talking trash with aplomb, but most notably he just seems happier.
Messi, of course, has been far and away the best player at this World Cup. Even at 35, in what he’s called his final World Cup with Argentina, Messi has put up a masterclass in every single game en route to his second final appearance. He currently is tied for the tournament lead in both goals and assists, and has put up at least an 8.0 match rating in each game. Argentina’s defense looks stout, save for a bizarro collapse at the end of regulation in their quarterfinal victory over the Netherlands, Martínez has again been a beast in goal, the young Enzo Fernández has provided incredible balance and poise in the midfield, and Julián Álvarez has been on fire, scoring four goals at the competition-- less than only Messi and Kylian Mbappe.
This is quite easily the best chance Lionel Messi has had, and ever will have, to lift the ever-elusive World Cup trophy. Admittedly, they are going up against an extremely talented French squad looking to be the first team to go back-to-back at the World Cup since Brazil in 1962, but Les Bleus have been dealing with injury and illness all tournament, and have looked especially vulnerable in defense. They’ve invited too much pressure after scoring and have in their last two games been very fortunate not to concede a very damaging equalizer.
The supporting cast around Messi is the strongest it has ever been, which has long been known as the key to Argentine success on the international stage. The team is balanced overall, with enough depth to adjust on the fly, an arsenal of players with a nose for goal, and an incredible cohesiveness and chemistry. Above all else, we should be treated to a phenomenal football match.
I would personally argue Messi doesn’t need to do anything further to cement his legacy as the single greatest player of all time. But man, would a victory on Sunday be the cherry on top of one of the best sporting careers the world has ever seen. It would be the perfect send-off, the best possible gift for a man who has everything. It would, quite simply, be one of the most beautiful moments in the history of sports.
Many would say that there’s no such thing as the “perfect” story. After all, perfection is inherently an impossible construct to aspire toward. But I don’t buy that. Lionel Messi winning this World Cup would be nothing short of pure perfection. It’s the type of story that’s much rarer than just once-in-a-generation-- it’s once-in-a-lifetime. And what a life it would be to watch it happen. ■
Even the Wikipedia page solely devoted to a list of Messi’s achievements and honors is so damn long. Along with all of his individual achievements, the “magic man” has also won 40 trophies for club and country. At this point, the guy might need a guest house just to fit all of his awards. And yet, for years, there was always something that was missing, that gnawed away at him and once forced him into a brief retirement-- the respect of his home country.
Lionel Messi struggled to win a trophy with Argentina for much of his career. Image from: Marca.
It was ridiculous at the time, and is even more so in hindsight, but for many years Argentina scorned their own prodigal son despite his many achievements. Why? It’s simple-- his trophy cabinet with La Albiceleste was empty.
Argentina is a proud footballing nation with a rich history. Before Messi, they’d won the World Cup twice as well as being runners up twice, and had won the Copa América 14 times. The late, great Diego Maradona, by conquering the world twice over, had gotten Argentines accustomed to a certain degree of success. And Messi, for all the magic in his left foot, was unable to match that.
It certainly wasn’t for a lack of trying, though. At the tender age of 20, Messi got his first taste of international tournament defeat as he started alongside country legends like Juan Román Riquelme and Carlos Tevez in the 2007 Copa América final-- a 3-0 thumping at the hands of bitter rivals Brazil. La Pulga would go on to face agonizing defeat in three more major tournament finals with Argentina, with each one more damaging to his legacy -- as well as his mental health -- than the last.
The first of those three setbacks was the 2014 World Cup Final. Messi had willed a talented, but limited, Albiceleste team all the way to the last match against a juggernaut Germany team that had just beaten Brazil, uh, badly. Though Messi created chance after chance for his teammates against a stout Die Mannschaft defense, no one could find the back of the net until Mario Götze famously scored for Germany in extra time to win the game.
Then, in 2015, Messi and Argentina found themselves in the Copa América final against a pesky Chile team. The opponent was new, but the result was the same-- Messi put the ball on a silver platter for his teammates on multiple occasions, but his countrymen continued to misfire. Argentina went on to lose 4-1 in a penalty shootout, with Messi the only Argentine to score his penalty. In 2016, Argentina and Chile squared off again for a chance at the same trophy; La Albiceleste survived an early red card for defender Marcos Rojo and took the game to penalties again, but lost again. This time, Messi skied his own shot, and criticism from his own nation reached a fever pitch.
It nearly broke him.
Messi’s loss in the 2016 Copa América final caused him to briefly retire from international duty. Image from: Reuters.
In truth, it probably would’ve broken me. To be scorned by your club is one thing -- one can always transfer to a different city and make a new legacy -- but to be utterly rejected and vilified by your own country is a unique type of heartbreak. After his famous penalty miss in 2016, Messi shocked the world by retiring from international duty with Argentina. In his own words, he said, “I’ve done all I can. It hurts not to be a champion. I think there’s a lot of people that want this.”
It was a brutal thing to hear for any fan of the sport around the world. A man who had inspired the world with his joyous, energetic, and beautiful style of play had lost his own joy for the game. It wasn’t fair, but sometimes God laughs at the very concept of fairness. Thankfully, “Mexit” didn’t last very long; Messi un-retired later that same year and vowed to bring glory back to Argentina.
It didn’t happen overnight. There was drama. There was a Round of 16 exit in the 2018 World Cup. There was a carousel of head coaches. There was a rebuilding period while the country waited on a new wave of young talent and defenders to bolster the squad.
Then, there was triumph.
Argentina’s victory in the 2021 Copa América was some poetic justice for Lionel Messi, in a sense. After putting the team on his (very small) back for the better part of a decade, La Albiceleste ended their trophy drought with -- at long last -- heroics from Messi’s teammates. Though Messi himself was undoubtedly fantastic across their entire tournament run, it took heroic saves (and some Hall-of-Fame shit-talking) from goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez in a shootout with Colombia, and most importantly, a sumptuous game-winning goal in the final against Neymar and a wonderful Brazil team from Ángel Di María. The victory was more than just another trophy for Messi-- it was the release of the weight of the world from the tops of his shoulders.
Messi won his first international trophy with Argentina in 2021. Image from: Getty Images.
His unbridled joy, as well as his much more open and expressive personality with the Argentine national team, has been apparent. His behavior at the 2022 World Cup has been a night-and-day difference from the often soft-spoken personality Messi has shown throughout his nearly two-decade-long professional career. He himself has been talking trash with aplomb, but most notably he just seems happier.
Messi, of course, has been far and away the best player at this World Cup. Even at 35, in what he’s called his final World Cup with Argentina, Messi has put up a masterclass in every single game en route to his second final appearance. He currently is tied for the tournament lead in both goals and assists, and has put up at least an 8.0 match rating in each game. Argentina’s defense looks stout, save for a bizarro collapse at the end of regulation in their quarterfinal victory over the Netherlands, Martínez has again been a beast in goal, the young Enzo Fernández has provided incredible balance and poise in the midfield, and Julián Álvarez has been on fire, scoring four goals at the competition-- less than only Messi and Kylian Mbappe.
This is quite easily the best chance Lionel Messi has had, and ever will have, to lift the ever-elusive World Cup trophy. Admittedly, they are going up against an extremely talented French squad looking to be the first team to go back-to-back at the World Cup since Brazil in 1962, but Les Bleus have been dealing with injury and illness all tournament, and have looked especially vulnerable in defense. They’ve invited too much pressure after scoring and have in their last two games been very fortunate not to concede a very damaging equalizer.
The supporting cast around Messi is the strongest it has ever been, which has long been known as the key to Argentine success on the international stage. The team is balanced overall, with enough depth to adjust on the fly, an arsenal of players with a nose for goal, and an incredible cohesiveness and chemistry. Above all else, we should be treated to a phenomenal football match.
I would personally argue Messi doesn’t need to do anything further to cement his legacy as the single greatest player of all time. But man, would a victory on Sunday be the cherry on top of one of the best sporting careers the world has ever seen. It would be the perfect send-off, the best possible gift for a man who has everything. It would, quite simply, be one of the most beautiful moments in the history of sports.
Many would say that there’s no such thing as the “perfect” story. After all, perfection is inherently an impossible construct to aspire toward. But I don’t buy that. Lionel Messi winning this World Cup would be nothing short of pure perfection. It’s the type of story that’s much rarer than just once-in-a-generation-- it’s once-in-a-lifetime. And what a life it would be to watch it happen. ■
Awesome article!!! Very well written. 👏
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