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!!