and Croatia , Argentina, which did not give their opponents any chance throughout the game, actually took the victory in their pockets in only 35 minutes. After Messi overcame the discomfort in his left leg, overnight he made it possible to break more records in the subsequent finals.
25 World Cup appearances, tying Matthaus; 11 goals, surpassing Batistuta to become the World Cup scorer in Argentina's history; directly involved in 19 goals in the World Cup, tied for second place in history with Klose, Ronaldo, Gerd Muller, and second only to Pele's 21 times; 8 assists tied Maradona and Raymond Kopa, only 1 away from the world record of Pele and Fritz Walter.
From Brazil to Russia to Qatar , from the peak to the trough and then back to the top, the 8-year road to recovery, Messi and the Argentine team have gone as long and bumpy.
For Messi’s greatness, there is no need to blame the Grand Slam for perfection; the Hercules Cup has never been the only one in Messi’s legendary playing career. But for the sake of his motherland Argentina and their national glory, Messi must do it.
Messi's heavy pressure
The World Cup for Argentina will always have multiple meanings that transcend football itself.
In 1986, it was a healing agent that healed the people's defeat in the Falklands War; in 1990, it was a clarion call to fight back against the European tyrants' encirclement and suppression efforts and penalty standards.
In 2002, it was the only spiritual sustenance for the people who were suffering from the economic collapse and the peso plunge...
Various non-football factors were intertwined, so that Messi, who was protected at the beginning of his career as a player, realized the unbearable weight of life before he was fully grown up.
In the inversion of club performance and national team record year after year, what people have seen is a Messi who is divided to the point of becoming obsessed.
In the 2006 World Cup, Messi was still a junior on the team; in 2010, he made 35 dribbles in the first 4 games, and used breakthroughs alone to fight against the opponent's rough fouls. Messi surrendered 30 shots in 5 games and only hit the post twice...
After the game, he cried bitterly in the locker room, ending his first core tour.
In 2014, in 7 games, he was selected as the official best of the match 4 times and completed 4 goals and 1 assist. He also created 23 scoring opportunities and completed 46 successful dribbles. Messi’s only contact with the Hercules Cup was when he entered the stadium before the game and couldn’t help but touch it with excitement...
But it was the German who finally took the Gold Cup into his arms.
In 2018, everything Messi experienced was a nightmare.
html Novgorod 34 years ago, Argentina lost 0-3 to Croatia in the second group match. Messi was forced into a desperate situation in the World Cup group stage for the first time... Then there was internal strife between the team and coach Sampaoli , and the shame of being crushed by Mbappe in the top 16.
This terrible trip to Russia may be the most chaotic, noisy and confusing period in Messi’s World Cup memories.
He is more like Maradona
But at the age of 30, Messi is no longer a doormat on the court. He dares to express his emotions more clearly, and he is not afraid to use words and body to fight back against his opponents.
In other words, he is more like Maradona.
Whether it was the short-lived but shocking decision to withdraw from the national team after the 2016 America's Cup, or the red-hot 2019 America's Cup semi-finals, and the continuous attacks against CONMEBOL after the game...
In Qatar, even though he had calmed down his temper, when facing the Netherlands in the quarter-finals, Messi still continued his fighting spirit from the court to off the court. Faced with the interference of the opponent's goalkeeper Norpert, Messi made an exaggerated ironic expression after scoring a penalty kick.
Facing Van Gaal , he demonstrated with the celebration of Riquelme, who had been relegated to the sidelines by the Dutch; even in the post-match interview, he greeted Verhorst with foul language, which instantly set off secondary creations on social media.
You must know that Messi, who has already received a yellow card in the game, may be caught by the moody Raos at any time for extraordinary behavior, and FIFA's post-match investigation of Argentina and the Netherlands has not yet pronounced a verdict.
But so what? Opponents who try to provoke Messi are often counterattacked by the provocation in the end, and when everything returns to football itself, Messi is still the calmest, but also the most deadly Messi.
Be calm and be yourself
In the days when he was most entangled with the Hercules Cup, Messi has expressed his position more than once that he is willing to use all the Golden Globe Awards he has received in exchange for a Gold Cup.
However, after failing in the 2019 Champions League semi-finals, Messi, who competed with Van Dijk for the Ballon d'Or that year, said "no" to this exchange plan for the first time.
In the eyes of the outside world, these are the angry words of Messi, who has suffered repeated defeats, but for Messi himself, they are detached and relieved.
In the 16 years of being tired of the Gold Cup, everyone knows the extra energy Messi has put in for the World Cup: every World Cup year, Barcelona will acquiesce in Messi's reservations in the game. This is why the Red and Blue Army failed to defend the Champions League in 2010, and one of the important disadvantages of the four major losses in 2014.
Even if he moves to Paris Saint-Germain , Messi's contract still has a clause that prioritizes the national team - apart from personal training and preparations, even the Argentine team can use the training and recovery facilities of Paris Saint-Germain, which is written in black and white.
Not to mention that during the years when he played for the national team, Messi was arranged by the Football Association many times to generate revenue and friendly matches, and he even paid out of his own pocket many times to cover the team's travel, food and accommodation expenses...
Messi, who rarely talks about Argentina, actually uses many silent contributions that are ignored by fans to completely bind him to the national team and share weal and woe.
For Messi, who basically settled in Europe after the age of 10 and was once regarded as an outlier after being selected for the national team, "the most benevolent" is no longer enough to describe his feelings for his motherland.
Taking responsibility seems to mean being insulated from happiness. But in the semi-finals, what people saw was an extraordinarily calm Messi. There was no wild and exaggerated celebration, and he was not the most eye-catching position in the celebrating crowd. He did not even go to meet his family in the stands, nor did he cry with joy like last year's Copa America final.
At this moment, Messi, who is unfazed by favor or humiliation, may be the Messi that fans are most familiar with.
On social media, Messi also maintained his usual gentleness: "We returned to the final in order to work hard to play another great game."
"Messi deserves the Golden Globe Award and the World Cup, He is the decisive factor for the team to reach the final. He has surpassed greatness and is above everyone else. 38 years ago, the Argentinian coach Sabella, who knew Messi best and used Messi best before Scaloni, has passed away, but the judgment about Messi and the World Cup is still appropriate.
This Gold Cup is for Argentina, not for Messi himself.
(sit-ups/ Yang Jian )
first published by The Paper
