It is anyone’s game on Messi’s big night Premium

So often in his career, the pressure of carrying Argentina to victory has weighed heavily on Lionel Messi. This time he seems to have found a balance between fortitude and joy

Lionel Messi and Argentina have enjoyed a somewhat strange relationship in the past. By all accounts, he’s been the preeminent footballer of his generation, and by many accounts the best of all time. Yet, his own country has taken its time to fully warm to his greatness. 

Partly, as Jonathan Wilson explained in his book,  Angels With Dirty Faces: The Footballing History of Argentina, this is down to the country’s deep-rooted adoration for Diego Maradona. Or as the novelist Eduardo Sacheri memorably put it, “It isn’t Messi’s fault that we Argentineans are incapable of ending our mourning for Diego.” 

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This love for Maradona over Messi in some ways transcends the game — the bias, arguably, has more to do with issues of class and persona and the ability of fans to relate to their players. Maradona, as Wilson noted, is seen as the ultimate  pibe — something which the journalist Borocoto defined as a “liminal figure, the urchin who will make his way through life with a combination of charm and cunning”. He was thought of as the player who defined the basic Argentinean tenet, who defined their cultural spirit, their way of life. 

Messi, on the other hand, was for long viewed as a more distant figure, as a player of ethereal ability no doubt, but still somehow, for Argentineans, “not one of us”. This attitude, though, has changed in recent times. When Argentina won the Copa America last year, defeating Brazil at the Maracana, Messi had become a more beloved figure. And now with this World Cup seen as his last possible chance to achieve the ultimate triumph, the fans appear to be fully behind him. 

So often in his career, the pressure of carrying Argentina to victory has weighed heavily on Messi. But this time he seems to have found a balance between fortitude and joy. He’s part of an Argentinean side that are far from perfect. But they have a more resolute goalkeeper and a defensive structure that is built around giving him the greatest possible freedom — Messi’s is a free role in the tradition of the most legendary  enganches, the number 10s, the playmakers, of Argentinean history. 

When the opponent has the ball, Messi rarely does anything of note. He’s almost non-existent on defensive transitions. Indeed, making himself invisible seems to be part of the plan — for much of the 90 minutes, Messi merely moves around, at walking pace, between the centre circle and the right wing. But the moment his team wins the ball back and finds him, he darts to life. Consider his assists in the quarterfinal and semifinal at Qatar — the first a sparkling run through the middle of the field, followed by a no-look through ball; and the second, a piece of genius, where he twisted and turned Croatia’s Josko Gvardiol — who’s been the best defender at the tournament — on at least three occasions before laying it off for a finish.