THANK YOU MESSI! THANK YOU ARGENTINA!!

 

Qatar put up a grand show! Though marred with controversy about the treatment of migrant labourers and the LGBTQ community, about the bribes and grafts, about paid PR agents in European Parliament like Eva Kailey, all this faded into insignificance on the evening of the final. It was Messi’s night and Messi’s World Cup. Lionel Messi finally got his hands, and his lips, on the World Cup!

 

Messi has been his country’s inspiration throughout the tournament in Qatar and scored twice in the final that finished 3-3 through extra time. The French wizard Kylian Mbappe certainly made Messi work for a golden trophy that had eluded him throughout his storied career. The France forward scored a hat-trick, the second one being a volley from heaven, as the defending champions came back from 2-0 down and then evened the match again after Messi made it 3-2 in extra time. From the ignominy of loss to Saudi Arabia in the opening match to the victory on penalties in the final, Messi was calm as a sage and inspirational as saint. We did not see the breathtaking run down the centre of his heydays in FC Barcelona but his dribbling and deft footwork, his ball control and his shooting prowess has only improved with time and today he is a wine, aged with love and passion, timeless and unique!

 

Messi no longer dominates over 90 minutes, but instead decides matches with moments of genius. He scored seven goals in Qatar, but, arguably, his assists have been more memorable. His disguised pass for Nahuel Molina’s goal against the Netherlands in the quarter-finals was weighed and measured to perfection. His twisting and turning run to beat Croatia defender Joško Gvardiol and set up teammate Julian Alvarez in the semifinals felt like peak Messi, only in slow motion. With age he has changed his game but he seems more lethal. He carries a lot of defenders away thus leaving open spaces for the other forwards Álvarez and Ángel Di María.

 

Club Football

Lionel Messi established himself as one of the greatest players of all time at Barcelona as he scored 672 goals in 777 appearances across all competitions. The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner’s 17-year tenure at the Camp Nou came to an end in unceremonious fashion as his boyhood club was not able to offer him fresh terms to stay put at Catalunya. Barcelona’s financial woes paved the way for PSG to sign the legendary Argentine on a free transfer in last summer’s biggest deal of the transfer window. It hasn’t panned out exactly how Messi must have envisioned his debut season at the French club going as the Argentina international has failed to settle into his new surroundings with Kylian Mbappe and the Brazilian Neymar as his fellow forwards. But Messi of Barcelona remains a footballing legend!

 

Messi made his debut for the 'Blaugrana' back in 2004 and he has since gone on to become the all-time top scorer of La Liga, the Spanish domestic league football. The Argentine has scored for Barcelona a total of 474 goals in 520 appearances. Lionel Messi also holds the record for most home goals (277) and away goals (197) in La Liga history. He has netted against 38 different opponents in La Liga history. His rival Cristiano Ronaldo takes the second spot, with a total of 311 goals, though the Portuguese international had only appeared for his club Real Madrid 292 times.

Messi lifting the Championship League Cup

 

Apart from being a prolific goal scorer, Messi is also a remarkable playmaker, who along with being the Spanish league's all-time top scorer, also holds the record for most assists provided, with a total of 216. His former teammate and current FC Barcelona back in 2004, the left-footed magician from Argentina has racked up several accolades as well as broken numerous records, which may be hard for future generations to breach.

 

Messi, who holds the record for most number of Ballon d'Or, with 7 wins, is also the only footballer to win the FIFA World Player, Pichichi Trophy and Golden Boot, all during his 2009/10 campaign, when the then 22-year-old won his first Ballon D'or, beating Ronaldo by over 240 points. He then went on to win the Ballon d'Or for 3 consecutive years.

Messi with 7 Ballon d'Or to his name

 

National Duty

The Argentine made his senior debut when he was just 18, on 17 August 2005, against Hungary. Messi was brought on at the 63rd minute, only to be sent off just 2 minutes later, following a foul on Hungary's Vilmos Vanczák. He however went on to play for the national team another 150 times, making him the most capped player for Argentina. He took the captain's armband in August 2011, leading them to Copa America glory in 2021. He also went on to become Argentina's top scorer with a total of 90 goals.

 

He was part of the Argentina team that lost to Germany 1-0 in the World Cup final in Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 13 July 2014. The magic he produced during his peak years for Barcelona never seemed to translate when wearing the blue and white stripes of his country. The football pundits felt he was in far better company of players in his club than he was while representing his country, but that is an opinion which belittles both him and Argentinean football. A World Cup victory was essential to establish his greatness.

 

Messi in Maracana

After the Qatar World Cup Messi has now surpassed Pele with 13 goals at World Cups and is tied for fourth with Just Fontaine on the all-time list. His seven in this year’s tournament surpassed Maradona’s five at the 1986 edition in Mexico. Messi has now scored a national team-record 98 goals in 172 games. That places him third in the all-time scoring list for men’s internationals, behind Cristiano Ronaldo (118) and Ali Daei (109).

 

For some, no one will ever surpass Pele, who won the World Cup three times with Brazil. Even in Messi’s homeland of Argentina, Diego Maradona remains, for many, the country’s ultimate football icon after captaining the national team to the 1986 World Cup. Come 2022, there was a sense of destiny for Messi and Argentina and this World Cup triumph in Qatar has firmly established him in the pantheon of football legends.

 

At 35 and nearing the end of his career, the tournament in Qatar was widely seen as his final shot at the World Cup. And if that is the case, he had surely saved his best for last. Thank you Messi! Thank you Argentina!!

 

 

SPORTS AND THE SOCIAL MEDIA - A MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN

 

Sport legend Dhyan Chand, Leslie Claudius, Milkha Singh, Sunil Gavaskar, Prakash Padukone and Ramnathan Krishnan happened before social media defined our lives. Sachin Tendulkar, Sania Mirza and P.V. Sindhu were all lucky to be playing in this social media age where the world knows all about them. But imagine the fan following of Messi, Christiano Ronaldo, Neymar today and think what social media would have done to the popularity of Pele, Maradona, Socretes, Bekham and Bekenbaier.

 

Social media is changing the way sports stars, clubs and fans are interacting with each other. From live-tweeting games, creating snarky memes and cheerleading from the webosphere, spectators are no longer simply watching sport, and fans can often get news, insights and commentary straight from the source. The instantaneous, intimate and interactive nature of social media and mobile technologies make them perfect platforms to fuel our sporting desires.

 

Fans are now always on their phones during games to see stats and highlights. Social media is taking over. Social media provides so much for sports. It provides up to date stats, communication with players and fans, opinion of other players, and most importantly it allows you to become more educated on sports.

 

While fans have taken to social media to share their love of sport, some sporting clubs and athletes are finding it more challenging. If social media is making it possible for fans to be more engaged, it’s also making it possible for sporting professionals to be more accountable for their public comments and the way in which they, in return, engage with their fans and wider community.

 

Social media platforms pose a minefield for some users. Posts and updates by sports officials and athletes that could at best be described as ‘incautious’ are resulting in those individuals being questioned in the media and sometimes being reprimanded and penalised. Stephanie Rice lost a valuable Jaguar sponsorship after using a gay slur in a tweet and in 2012, Voula Papachristou was ejected from the Olympic Games for posting a racist tweet. Margret Court, the Australian tennis star of yesteryear, was criticized for her opinion against LGBTQ and sports legends refused to play in a tennis court named after her!

 

Sporting bodies are also developing their own media platforms and companies, like NBL TV and AFL Media, bypassing the traditional news media to broadcast their own games and break their own news. Social media is climbing its way up. If you want to see a score or see the best highlight of the day all you have to do is look on twitter and you will find it. The ESPN app on your phone also provides updates on the regular basis. Social media is a great way to interact with fans and start conversations.

So, how is social media helping sports organization? If I am to summarize it

1. Keeps fans updated on team news like new signings, contracts, announcements and events
2. Fosters fan engagement with original content from leagues, teams, coaches, and players
3. Promotes events or teams
4. Creates and share live sports content like live video, real-time games, play-by-play updates, goal announcements, etc.
5. Gathers feedback from fans through tools like Twitter and Instagram polls and authentic UGC from them, too
6. Builds new revenue from partners and fans through the digital media captured every day

 

Sports Marketing

The social media tools have impacted the sports from many different ways, such as communications and sports marketing. Social media enables sports leagues to have direct and real-time access to fans worldwide. This connection allows international fans to connect with their favourite teams no matter where they live. People can engage in the sports, follow their favourite athletes and teams, and get the most updated sports contents instantaneously. 

 

For sports organizations, the advantages of using social media is that it can help sports organizations to build relationships with the public, to reduce their marketing costs and to increase sales etc. Organizations can use social media to promote two-way conversations with the public and build a community under their mission. Then again, social media has got attraction as an essential tool for connecting with sports fans. Finally, athletes can benefit from using social media to connect with their fans, to build a personal brand and to promote themselves etc. Compared with the traditional media, the social media nowadays costs less but affects more efficiently and more consistently. Just one post per day, that too by a hired PR professional, could make the athlete active in his/her fans’ sights, which will bring corresponding economic benefits. Besides, the athlete himself/herself may enjoy more while sharing their sports relevant updates, which will certainly lead to a sustainable development.

 

How has social media changed sports media?

Social media have influenced sports, particularly in marketing and communications. Many sports marketers now capitalize on social media to promote campaigns, events, teams and sports activities. Also, social media is changing traditional journalism: Sports media outlets now share content with mass audiences via social media platforms daily.

 

Media helps to build an international fan base. English Premier League games are so popular in India that commentaries in seven regional languages besides English are telecasted simultaneously. The teams reap the benefits of accessing a larger fan base. Another example, while Americans love basketball, the NBA actually has more fans in the U.K., Germany, and China than in the U.S.! So media has internationalized sports and the marketing that goes hand in gloves with it. No wonder the media rights of IPL, EPL, and World Cup are sold at astronomical prices, much higher than the budget of most of the countries in the world!

 

How does social media affect athletes?

With social media, athletes are no longer just athletes but also commercial brands. Athletes benefit from having social media to promote themselves, build a personal brand profile, and connect with their fans year round.  Moreover, athletes can enjoy job opportunities and economic benefits based on their reputation on social media. With the right social media strategy, athletes can:

1. Enhance their public image
2. Build a community of loyal audiences all over the world
3. Position themselves for future opportunities and earnings.
4. Stand for a social cause and popularize it like education for all children, AIDS research, LGBTQ cause etc. Stars like Ben Stokes and Naomi Osaka very successfully brought out the problems of work related stress and encouraged millions around the world by declaring “it is perfectly all right not to be OK”.

 

How does the media influence sport?

Social Media is a huge part of the sports experience. It helps raise awareness of sports, showcase the values of sports, and offers an avenue for sports events to be shared across the world. Sports organizations, media outlets, fans and athletes embrace social media as a tool to communicate. This is a big win for the sports industry because it has allowed sports to become truly ingrained in people’s lives.

 

Problems with Social Media

Despite of the many benefits, there are still some negatives of social media in sports. For example, bad contents can be spread more quickly than ever before; players may have no idea of using the social media appropriately; negative comments from fans could affect the performance of the athletes or the team, etc. There are lots of cases indicating that the use of social media among athletes need to be trained and one bad post can dramatically influence the athletes as well as the sports organizations. All in all, social media is still at its infancy and will continue to grow, and the engagement of social media in sports is one of the most significant issues in the sports industry. The sports fans and athletes, as well as sports organizations are embracing social media as the most important tools to promote, to communicate and to interact.

 

A sports event today doesn’t just take place in the stadium. In addition to the fans in the stands, people from all over the world can virtually attend any sports experience sharing opinions about how the athletes are performing as well as how the referees are calling the game. Whether the fans are at the game or streaming it, they observe what’s happening on the field and then tweet, retweet, share, post, and like, becoming citizen journalists.

 

Social media and sports is a match made in heaven. Their relationship demands constant care and attention to each other, mutual understanding and tolerance of the occasional turbulence.