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June 25 2024
Lionel Messi: Lionel Messi, the boy from Rosario, Santa Fe, has established himself as one of the greatest footballers of all time. At the age of 35, he silenced his critics by winning the World Cup for Argentina, the crowning moment of his career.
Barcelona legend Lionel Messi reached the brink of the abyss and conquered his ultimate peak. But the journey was not without dangers. In fact, it was the opposite, and winning every possible trophy with Argentina is a story of hope, resilience and sheer willpower.
At the age of 13, Messi's hopes of becoming a professional footballer were dashed when he was diagnosed with a "growth hormone deficiency". However, he and his parents did not give up, moved to Barcelona and gradually progressed to prove himself as one of the best footballers of all time. While his club career was exceptional, his career with the national team until recently has been full of ups and downs, with more ups than downs.
Messi's international journey began during the Under 20 Championship in 2005. With a relatively unknown name and short stature, Messi did not make a good impression on the Argentine coaches, but they knew that Spain wanted him to play for their national team.
At the age of 17, a small boy with very loose hair sneaked onto the field. He was very ordinary at first, but everyone was surprised to see him doing magic on the field. The ball stuck to his left foot as if he had a magnet attached to his foot.
He would pick out a player perfectly, as if he had drawn a line through which the ball was allowed to go. Years passed and Messi transformed from a quivering teenager to a player who was regarded as one of the greatest players of all time.
His extraordinary performance did not reflect in his international career, scoring over 40 goals a season for his club Barcelona, which had become the new normal. As Messi and Ronaldo pushed each other to new heights every season, Messi’s international career just didn’t quite measure up.
Messi led Barcelona to 10 domestic league championships, but he could not win a single international trophy for his country. In 2014, he came very close to winning the World Cup against a strong German team. The world was ready to celebrate the G.O.A.T.'s victory in football's biggest tournament, but alas, the gods of football had other plans.
90 minutes were over and the score was 0-0, extra time was on. Mario Gotze came on as a substitute for Germany, the man who took away Messi's dream in the blink of an eye. In the 113th minute a cross from Schurrle found super sub Mario Gotze who supported the ball with his chest and headed the ball past Argentina goalkeeper Romero. The first of many disappointing endings for the Argentina national team and Messi.
Earlier misses by Higuain and Messi cost them the match. Despite winning the tournament's best player award, criticism fell on the team and its captain Lionel Messi.
A year after the crushing defeat at the World Cup, Messi had another chance to bring his country international glory with the Copa America. La Albiceleste reached the final of the Copa America 2015. After 120 minutes of play, the match against Chile ended in a 0-0 draw, so it went to a penalty shootout. Messi did his job, but his teammates did not. Higuain made another miss during the penalty shootout which cost Messi and company another tournament.
Moving forward another year, Messi was in another Copa America final, once again facing Chile. Messi scored 5 goals in the campaign and the team secured a win against Chile during the group stage, however, when it came to the final, the goals went missing. Once again Messi found himself on the penalty spot during the shootout, however, this time Messi saw the ball fly over the crossbar. Déjà vu, that was the feeling for fans and players as Argentina lost another Copa final against Chile after a penalty shootout.
Criticism came again. Feeling that he could no longer continue with his national team, Messi decided to retire from international football. He was at the pinnacle of his career and had led Barcelona to a treble last year with Iniesta and Neymar.
His retirement did not last long as fans and his teammates requested him to come out of retirement, after which he decided to make a comeback.
However, things did not get better, with Argentina's loss to France in the round of 16 after barely progressing from the group stage during the 2018 World Cup and a 0-2 loss against Brazil during the Copa America semi-finals once again drawing criticism from Messi. Argentine football legend Diego Maradona criticised Messi, saying he was not fit to be the captain of the national team. Following this, Messi showed the football world what is the best individual performance of a player's career as he led a faltering Barcelona to a domestic double.
He made it look like Barcelona was still what it used to be, even though that was far from the truth. His team let him down that year as he single-handedly led Barcelona to the Champions League.
Messi's relationship with Barcelona was strained. There were rumours of his departure, however, he stayed for one more season after which he was forced to leave the club he had spent his entire life with. His move to Paris was bittersweet as he left his childhood club, but seeing him play alongside his friend Neymar brought back memories of his Barcelona days.
While Messi achieved everything he wanted personally and with his club, an international trophy eluded him. By now, Messi's priority had changed. He was now focusing more on his national team.
La Albiceleste was in the process of rebuilding. Led by Lionel Scaloni, a team was built around Messi, this time filled with players who had grown up watching Messi and who idolised him. Players who were willing to give their all to see the man who made so many fall in love with the game, happy. Messi seemed different with the team too. He had become a more vocal and encouraging figure for the team.
Then came the Copa America 2021, Messi became the best player and top scorer of the tournament as he led his country to a trophy that had eluded them for so long. A win against their arch-rivals Brazil. After the final whistle, Messi went down on his knees, happy to have finally got what he wanted. And that is where his entire football journey began.
After winning the Copa, UEFA and CONMEBOL organised the Finalissima to honour the legacy of the late Maradona in 2020. Argentina faced Italy and Argentina came out on top with a 3-0 win against the reigning Euro Cup champions Italy.
Fast forward a few months and the World Cup arrived, the biggest tournament, Messi's biggest dream - a chance for redemption, a chance to silence the critics, a chance to be called the undisputed greatest footballer of all time.
Messi and his team were the favourites in the World Cup campaign despite having heavyweights like England, France, Belgium and Brazil, but all dreams were shattered after the first group stage game as Saudi won against Argentina in a shocking upset. Messi asked fans to have faith in the team and said the team would not disappoint fans again. And eventually, that is what happened. After a thrilling World Cup final against France, in which the match went to extra time, Argentina became world champions and established themselves as the undisputed, unrivalled greatest of all time.
In the immortal words of Peter Drury, "Lionel Messi had conquered his ultimate peak, Lionel Messi had shaken hands with heaven."
As Lionel Messi reaches the final stage of his career, his story transcends the boundaries of one game, and weaves itself into the fabric of the collective dreams and aspirations of football fans.
His journey from the dusty streets of Rosario to the top of the football world is not just a tale of unparalleled skill, but also a testament to unwavering determination, humility and grace. Messi's magic on the pitch and his ability to create moments of pure artistry out of thin air remind us of the beauty that lies in perseverance and passion.
His every touch, every goal and every heartfelt celebration resonates with the hopes of millions, inspiring generations to pursue their dreams with relentless passion and intensity. In Messi his fans find not just a footballer, but a beacon of the human spirit, a poetic symbol of how to rise, strive and shine, illuminating the world one breathtaking moment at a time.
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