Argentina’s Messi dependency

Rohit Mahajan

Lionel Messi leapt on to the back of Marcos Rojo, who sprinted on as if Messi was a feather. For long, Messi has carried Argentina, but in the match against Nigeria, it was a teammate, Rojo, who carried Messi and Argentina to safety. It was a do-or-die match — anything other than a win would have knocked Argentina out in the very first stage of the World Cup. For the football-mad nation that hopes to win the World Cup every four years — the hopes have been fruitless for 32 years — a first-round exit would have been nothing less than national disaster. Argentina won 2-1, but for most of the second half, they seemed to be on their way out. Argentina did create chances, but they fluffed them, too; Nigeria’s opportunities were more real and dangerous. Then Rojo scored, and Argentina could breathe. 

Messi’s early goal, in the 14th minute of the match, was breathtaking: Ever Banega, from mid-ground, floated in a wonderful pass; Messi, on full run, received it on his left thigh, transferred it to the tip of his left boot without letting it touch the ground, ran in six paces and shot with his right foot — allegedly his “weaker” foot. It was a typical Messi goal — breathtaking ball control, great tactical awareness, a perfect finish. For Messi, such acts of genius are almost banal, for he performs them almost every week for his club, Barcelona; he’s done it often enough for Argentina, too, but the nation thirsts for a global trophy. It wants Messi to deliver them the World Cup. Argentina did reach the final four years ago, but that’s not enough. Argentina won two World Cups out of three in 1978-1986. Neighbours and bitter rivals Brazil have won two titles since then. Argentineans desperately want a third. They want it for Messi. 

Messi is rated by many as the greatest footballer of all time. But in the absence of a global title with Argentina, that claim rings hollow. He’s indeed won the Olympic Games gold with Argentina, but that’s a relatively lightweight tournament, for the Olympics teams can include only three players over 23 years of age. Among the ‘men’, Messi has lost four finals with Argentina — one in the World Cup and three in South America’s continental championship, Copa America. Messi was heartbroken after the loss in the Copa America Centenario final in 2016. The title was decided on penalties, and Messi had missed his. He decided to retire from national football, at age 29, saying: “I think this is best for everyone, firstly for me and for a lot of people that wish this. The team has ended for me, a decision made.” Soon, though, the decision was unmade, and he came back to play for Argentina. Obviously, he had his eye on the World Cup. 

Pressure!

"Messi has a revolver put to his head called the World Cup and if he doesn't win it, he's shot and killed," Argentina’s coach Jorge Sampaoli said earlier this month. That’s some pressure. Messi felt it on Tuesday night in the match against Nigeria. He said he had never suffered so much before, but the man often called god of football had put his faith in surer quarters, saying: “I knew that God was with us and would not leave us out (of the tournament).”

But how long can Argentina last in this competition? The team is in strife — the regular goalkeeper is injured and the replacement had made horrendous errors against Croatia.  They’ve had to go to the third-choice goalkeeper. The defence is suspect, the midfield unsteady. Sampaoli has been blamed for faulty selection and lack of ideas under pressure. The team is capable of random acts of genius, but it has lacked the assuredness of a likely World Cup winner. Yet, despite the mauling by Croatia, Argentina live on, as does the dream of Messi.

Messi arouses worldwide passion. It's a case of historic love for Latin/Argentine football coalescing with the TV-induced love for European football. Cable TV has made Barcelona or Real Madrid global clubs — Messi-mania or Ronaldo-mania can be observed even in smaller cities of India, for instance. Messi's obvious genius, his touching back-story of growing up in Argentina, his short stature (at 5ft 7in, he's tiny) have made him the object of global love. He seems to be a nice fellow too; by footballing standards, his sins seem to be relatively few - mainly tax evasion, which can be caused by an overzealous accountant. Indeed, Messi has claimed he knew nothing about how his money was being used, as "I just played football."

Argentina's first World Cup win came at home in 1978, two years after the country came under military dictatorship, which has a reputation for being incredibly brutal.  The junta used the World Cup as a distraction from the horrors it inflicted on the country. Argentina's win was marred by suspicions that the military had fixed matches; the junta did certainly try to gain legitimacy through football. Argentina's second World Cup win in 1986, though, was the triumph of the genius of Maradona. Four years later, with Maradona on the wane, they rode their luck to reach the final despite playing dull, uninspired football. In the final, they had two men sent off and seemed to be waiting for a penalty shootout. Mercifully, a German goal six minutes from full time thwarted Argentina's hopes of winning the World Cup on penalties. Maradona returned as the manager for the 2010 World Cup, but his managership didn't have the spark he had as a player.

Maradona is omnipresent but not universally loved, for he can be quite unpleasant, despite being in his 58th year — after Argentina’s win over Nigeria, he was seen making obscene gestures. But he’s got a World Cup. Messi, perhaps equally great as a player but universally loved as a man, doesn’t have a World Cup. His team was four minutes away from elimination on Tuesday night. It survived. Messi thought God didn’t want his team out. But there’s no evidence of God having scored goals on a football field. If Argentina are to win the World Cup title, it’s Messi himself who will have to raise his game, escape his markers and go on scoring.

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