[ad_1]
MOSCOW – Did we see Lionel Messi for the last time in the World Cup? The Argentine national team has distanced itself in the knockout phases of the tournament in Russia, eliminated by France in a match in which Messi returned to play below his usual level.
In this way, an inevitable countdown begins. Messi will be 35 years old and 208 days old until December 18, 2022, by which time he will have his next opportunity to be world champion. Only three older players have been holders of a world champion team: Nilton Santos in 1962, Dino Zoff in 1982 and Miroslav Klose in 2014.
That is to say that this has already been done before. This is not easy, but Messi, with his five Gold Balls, four Champions Championships and 552 with Barcelona, is specialized in the ease of the look.
In any case, it would be a very complicated feat. Zoff was champion with Italy, but as a goalkeeper, a position that has different levels of longevity. Nilton Santos was a veteran player in a phenomenal table in Brazil that included Didi, Zito, Garrincha, Djalma Santos and Pele. Klose has been three times in the German roster and scored a goal in 2014. These three teams were much more complete than the list that Argentina probably has in 2022.
Also, in all three cases In the past, the contributions of Zoff, Nilson Santos and Klose were important, but not essential for the good performance of their teams.
This is not the case of Messi. Its performance has been and will continue to be essential for Argentina's performance and, by 2022, it will face another insurmountable hurdle: the pbadage of time is neither an opinion, or a mental state. We all become old, our bodies wear out and we lose the ability to do tricks on the ground.
There are some who slow down the process, being natural or obsessive about how to take care of the physical – as a Ronaldo Christian at age 33 – or just because they are lucky people. But no one beats nature, nor Messi himself.
This elimination of Argentina in the round of 16 with a 4-3 loss to France, having been on the precipice in the group stage, leaves something clear: Messi will never win a World Cup as the undisputed figure of his team. He will not follow in the footsteps of Pele and Diego Maradona
How does this Messi World Cup influence the eternal discussion on the list of the best footballers in history?
In reality, this should not weigh heavily. The criteria are arbitrary, set by those who do not understand that only one player can not do everything. Zinedine Zidane was champion with France in 1998 because his teammates beat Paraguay in overtime without him, then beat Italy in a penalty shootout. The French star lost the 2006 final because Italy defeated them in another penalty shoot-out, again without him.
Messi probably thinks a lot about the 2014 finals against Germany, and he must certainly regret the opportunities generated. they have materialized, nothing is clearer than that wasted by Gonzalo Higüaín. But football does not work like that. It's a team sport. The individual and his exploits are judged, but it is inaccurate to measure it through the achievements of his team.
It may be that when Russia returns, Messi thinks about his four World Cups and what could have been different. He was a teenager in 2006, still far from the figure that he would become later. He played three times, two as a substitute, and scored a goal. The injury sustained by goalkeeper Roberto Abbondanzieri, and coach Jose Pekerman's decision to line up Julio Cruz, marginalized Messi from the quarter-finals against Germany. The defeat in the shootout officially closed its first World Cup.
The mistakes of Maradona, then coach of Albiceleste, derailed Argentina's participation in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Messi has played without rest, finished without annotations (though with badistance in a playmaker role) and has again failed in the quarter-finals, again against Germany.
And then came Brazil 2014. At that moment he wore the captain's armband, and although she was not in optimum physical condition, the team was thrown over the top. 39, shoulder in the group stage and led to the final. Once again, Germany was its hangman, this time with a goal in added time.
Now he has had another dark World Cup. Technician Jorge Sampaoli generated a somewhat chaotic environment, similar to that of 2010, with the difference that he's not an iconic figure like Maradona, and because of that, his mistakes have resonated. Was Sampaoli the culprit, like Maradona in 2010, or should we accept that this talented generation of Argentine footballers is just not ideal for forming a team?
Finally, Messi knows that the penalty failed against Iceland In the beginning, and their dismal match against Croatia on the second date, they had a great influence on Argentina having to play their last match against Nigeria, which they won with a dying goal from Marco Rojo.
The Albiceleste came to take a 2-1 lead against France in the round of 16, but in the end "Les Bleus" won by 4-3.
The badessment of Messi's performance with Argentina will have arguments from both sides. That's right, he played four finals – three of the Copa America and one of the World Cup – but he lost them all. He has already retired once from the national team, having lost his third consecutive final to Copa America Centenario in 2016.
Early in his career, some in Argentina doubted his loyalty to the jersey Argentinian and even his patriotism. This is what happens when a star leaves his country at the age of 13 and gets more success with his club than with his team.
Of course, it is ridiculous to doubt Messi's love for his country, considering that he played injured several times. But that's also part of his story. If you can come to a conclusion, it's the following: success is much easier when you can take advantage of an infrastructure that has the necessary resources, like in Barcelona, instead of the chaos that reigned in the Argentine Football Association during
It is not only the benefit of receiving instructions from Pep Guardiola in place of Maradona, or that in the market, you can get a middle of Central ground like Ivan Rakitic instead of being satisfied with a Lucas Biglia
C is, perhaps more than any other player of his level, Messi does not fit well. to chaos.
Consider his worst performance before the disaster against Croatia, the second leg against Roma in April, when Barcelona lost a 4-1 lead and lost 3-0 in the Champions League. On this occasion, you can also blame the tactics of the coach, congratulate the opponent for raising his game, or celebrate the magical uncertainty of the sport. But you can not exclude Messi's regrettable and apathetic performance.
So, they say that he also deserves his rest. The problem is that, at his age, nights like those in Rome and Nizhny Novgorod begin to appear more frequently.
The weather is like that. Rocky Balboa is absolutely right, time is undefeated, he is invincible
Messi can not do anything to stop the time, but maybe he can slow it down.
Maybe he'll try again in 2022. S / he does it, whether for himself, for the followers who like to watch him play, to silence those who judge the footballer for the trophies won in July instead of the trajectory of a lifetime.
Source link
