20,000 Argentine fans will cross the Andes hoping that the jinx is ended at the Copa America starting in Chile on Thursday. PHOTO: AFP
And 20,000 Argentine fans will cross the Andes hoping that the jinx is ended at the Copa America starting in Chile on Thursday.
Barcelona's 3-1 victory over Juventus on Saturday provided Messi's fourth Champions League crown in 10 years. He also has seven Spanish titles and two World Club Cups and has been world player of the year four times.
But Argentina's defeat to Germany in the World Cup last year extended a national title drought lasting back to the 1993 Copa America.
"Our aim is to win this year," said Messi, who has nevertheless tasted Olympic gold with his country at the 2008 Beijing Games.
But while he was declared player of the World Cup, the Little Genius's speed and jinking runs never seem the same on the international stage as they do when he pulls on a Barcelona shirt.
Messi scored 43 goals in 38 Spanish championship matches this season -- behind eternal rival Cristiano Ronaldo on 48 -- and has the most goals in La Liga history with 286 and also a record 77 in the Champions League.
But the rate falls for Argentina, with 45 goals in 97 appearances.
Messi says he is always being asked why Argentina, who start this tournament again as one of the favourites, never win.
He wept uncontrollably after losing the 2010 World Cup quarter final 4-0 to Germany when Argentine legend Diego Maradona was the coach.
"It's great to play with the national team, to wear the shirt and to be captain," Messi said recently. "But getting a title would be the ultimate for me."
In 2007, Messi was part of the Argentine team that lost the Copa America final 3-0 to Brazil. In 2011, they lost to Uruguay in the quarter-finals on penalties when playing in his home province of Santa Fe.
Messi was jeered by Argentine fans for the first time in his career, according to his father Jorge.
Argentina start this tournament against Paraguay in La Serena on Saturday and also play Uruguay and Jamaica in Group B.
Argentina coach Gerardo Martino believes that this will be his country's year because Messi has been in precocious form for Barcelona after two seasons marked by injury absences.
"He is doing things I have never seen him do before. I can see that he is taking pleasure being with his counterparts in attack," added Martino who coached Messi at Barcelona for the 2013-14 season.
As Martino can choose between Messi, Carlos Tevez, Sergio Aguero and Gonzalo Higuain up front there is no reason the goals should not flow.
Messi and Tevez only arrived in Chile on Monday to join up with their teammates in La Serena after their clash in opposing sides in the Champions League final.
Barcelona's Javier Mascherano and Juventus midfielder Roberto Pereyra were also late arriving because of the final.
No matter the result in Chile, Messi will be welcomed back to Barcelona with open arms.
But a statue of Messi put up during the World Cup last year was vandalised during the tournament.
And the Little Genius will have to use his magic to lift the Copa America in Santiago on July 4 to become a real Argentine hero.
Neymar leads resurgent Brazil at Copa
A resurgent Brazil are determined to bury the memory of last year's traumatic World Cup campaign as they prepare to regain their crown as the kings of South American football at the Copa America.
Brazil's challenge at the World Cup on home soil was obliterated in a 7-1 semi-final mauling by eventual champions Germany, a result that was compared to the hosts' infamous defeat to Uruguay in the climax of the 1950 tournament.
An emphatic 3-0 defeat to the Netherlands in the third place play-off only added to the mood of disarray surrounding Brazil as the world's most successful footballing nation came to terms with its early exit.
But fast-forward nearly a year, and Brazil are heading into the Copa America in Chile with renewed confidence after a sequence of nine straight wins since the World Cup debacle under the guidance of former captain Dunga.
Dunga, who succeeded Luiz Felipe Scolari, has overseen a steady return to winning ways since his reappointment.
Brazil's run of victories has included friendly wins over Colombia, Chile, Argentina and France, with Mexico becoming the latest victims in a 2-0 win in Sao Paulo on Sunday.
Dunga, who coached Brazil to their last Copa America win in 2007, believes the form of star striker Neymar is one of the keys to the revival.
One of Dunga's first acts last year was to hand the captain's armband to the Barcelona forward, and the 23-year-old has thrived on the added responsibility.
"It is not a surprise, but the statistics are there to show that when Neymar puts on the captain's armband, he takes a step forward," Dunga said in March.
"He is a player who likes challenges. The more responsibility he has, the more he will develop. He is making history in European football."
Neymar missed Sunday's friendly with Mexico but will reunite with the squad bristling with confidence after scoring the final goal for Barcelona in their 3-1 Champions League final defeat of Juventus on Saturday.
Neymar's late strike in Berlin was the final act of a superb season for the Spanish treble winners which saw him notch 39 goals.
Dunga believes Neymar's goalscoring performance in the Champions League final augurs well for Brazil's Copa America campaign.
"This is good for Brazilian football as a whole, having a player scoring in the final and winning the Champions League," Dunga said.
While the core of the Brazil squad is the same as the team torn asunder by Germany, Dunga has successfully blooded several new players who could play a part in Chile.
Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder Fred, Monaco defender Fabinho and Lazio's attacking midfielder Felipe Anderson all featured in the win over Mexico on Sunday, which also saw Liverpool's Philippe Coutinho score his first international goal for Brazil.
"We are on the right track, though we haven't got anywhere as yet. We must improve day by day individually and collectively," Dunga said.
Brazil open their Group C campaign against Peru in Temuco on Sunday before a showdown with Colombia on June 17 in Santiago, a rematch of their stormy World Cup quarter-final last year which saw Neymar suffer a fractured vertebra.
They then face Venezuela on June 21.
If Brazil win Group C they will then face a quarter-final meeting with the runner-up from Group B, potentially either holders Uruguay or Argentina.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ