A chance to win football immortality

RIO DE JANEIRO: Never has a World Cup final been so centered around one player and his ability to grab what now most certainly seems within reach: football immortality.

Who is the greatest player ever to have played football? Millions of diehard fans argue about this very question almost on a daily basis. And while legends such as Pele and Maradona are always mentioned in the same breath when the question arises, it’s a little trickier for Argentinian maestro Lionel Messi.

Messi has conquered modern day football like no one else. His trophy cabinet includes numerous domestic and European titles and an unprecedented number of Ballon d’Or wins. To his fans, he is already among the greats of world football, past and present. Yet, in his own words, he would give away all his personal records for the one title that eludes him: to be world champion. Critics of the little magician have always pointed to his subpar performance when it comes to his international career.

Messi had played in two World Cups and scored one goal – a far cry from Maradona’s record, which includes one World Cup title and two of the most memorable goals ever scored in the competition: the famous hand of god goal and an unbelievable solo run from half-line.

Messi, who was whisked away by FC Barcelona when he was 13, could have already been world champion, playing alongside fellow Barcelona teammates Xavi and Andrés Iniesta if he had given into persistent offers to play for the Spanish national team.

But instead, he opted to follow the footsteps of Argentina’s favourite son, Maradona, who famously led Argentina to victory 28 years ago.

However, his decision to play for Argentina has never translated into widespread devotion for him. Argentinians have always been sceptical about his commitment to the national jersey, often seeing him more loyal to his club, FC Barcelona.

That perception has changed to some extent in the recent past. Messi’s performance at Barcelona has suffered this past year with the club walking away title-less this season while he has racked up a significant amount of goals for the national side. Some Argentinians have even gone as far as to say that he was ‘saving’ himself for the World Cup and consequently, for the first time, putting his country before his club.

And that is what it has all come down to. Messi – who is often referred to as ‘La Pulga’ (the Flea) because he was once so short that his legs wouldn’t touch the ground when he sat on the bench – will finally be given the opportunity to walk out of Diego Maradona’s shadow once and for all by leading the Albiceleste to their third World Cup triumph when they play Germany – the team Argentina beat to win their last World Cup title in 1986. An Argentinian win will only be made sweeter by the fact that the final will be played in Brazil, Argentina’s greatest football rival.

But the Argentinians face a German team that has so far relied more on team effort than individual brilliance; a team that humiliated Brazil 7-1 and also successfully neutralised Messi’s nemesis and Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo. Thomas Mueller has had a brilliant World Cup with an outstanding five goals and three assists, but the Germans have also seen mouthwatering defensive efforts from Manuel Neuer and Mats Hummels.

Messi has so far netted four goals and provided one assist in the tournament. Another goal would put him at par with Maradona’s five goals in the 1986 World Cup.

The weight of wearing the No 10 jersey and captain band has never been heavier for Messi, who has been heavily marked since entering the knockout stages, but ‘the flea’ has managed to shape every game, be it with an assist, a pass or a penalty. After the game against Belgium, Argentina coach Sabella likened Messi to an oasis found in the desert.

“When the terrain was dry he gave us this breath of fresh air,” he said. “He gives us the water in the desert.”

On Sunday, a bit more maybe required from the little boy who moved from Rosario to Barcelona to reach unparalleled football heights at the club level; the boy who scored goals in return for chocolate; the boy that got up each time he was tackled despite being the smallest guy on the pitch; the boy who still finds joy in one thing and one thing only: playing football.

Messi will be given a chance to form a trinity of immortals alongside Diego Maradona and Pele on Sunday but only time will tell whether he will stand up and grab this opportunity or forever live in the deep shadow of Maradona.


Published in The Express Tribune, July 13^th, 2014.