Lionel Messi has received almost 40 trophies for membership and nation in an illustrious profession however the Argentine ahead’s glittering resume has one main omission — a World Cup winner’s medal.
The controversy over the best of all time is one that can by no means be settled, however there isn’t any doubt the diminutive playmaker is a real nice of the fashionable period with seven Ballons d’Or to his title.
Within the eyes of many Argentines, he ranks an in depth second to the late Diego Maradona who led the South American nation to World Cup glory in 1986. However that would change if he evokes one of many pre-tournament favourites to glory in Qatar.
Maradona didn’t obtain as a lot as Messi in his membership profession however that magical run to the title in Mexico conferred on him immortality and a spot within the historical past of the football-mad nation.
Messi has typically been described as Maradona reincarnated however the closest he got here to the World Cup title was within the 2014 last as he shuffled previous the gleaming trophy to simply accept the award for finest participant on the match, eyes downcast.
Argentina’s 1-0 loss to Germany in Brazil was amongst a run of gut-wrenching defeats in 5 consecutive main finals as they questioned when the agony would finish.
Messi unwillingly wore a bulls-eye on his again each time Argentina failed and even introduced his retirement in 2016 when the strain obtained an excessive amount of earlier than he was satisfied to return.
Final yr, nevertheless, the burden was lifted off his shoulders when Argentina received the Copa America to finish a 28-year trophy drought.
Messi, aged 34, had been their spark and was concerned in almost each purpose Argentina scored within the match.
He was the beating coronary heart of the aspect who broke down in tears as he was engulfed by his workforce mates on the last whistle after they beat arch-rivals Brazil.
“I’ve peace of thoughts of getting achieved the dream that has been denied to me so many occasions,” Messi stated.
“It’s totally troublesome to win a World Cup or a Copa America. On the time they did not worth what we did, they solely put emphasis on the truth that we did not obtain the intention.”
With a workforce that has a wealthy mixture of youth and expertise, Messi’s spark has grown ever brighter and the 35-year-old captain has develop into a person on a mission, evidenced by his sudden spurt of targets for Argentina.
Lionel Scaloni’s workforce are on a 35-match unbeaten run and Messi has scored 14 targets for his nation since that Copa America triumph — together with all 5 in a win over Estonia — to take his worldwide tally to 90 forward of his final World Cup.
“There’s some anxiousness and nerves on the identical time. It’s the final one (World Cup). I have been enjoying with the nationwide workforce for a very long time now,” stated Messi, who made his Argentina debut in 2005 and has over 160 caps.
“There have been spectacular moments, like in 2014, 2015 and 2016 – however we did not win and had been criticised for not being champions. We did the whole lot proper till the finals.”
In Qatar, Messi will look to guide his aspect one step additional and justify his place within the pantheon of greats alongside his idol Maradona — as equals.