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It was around 4:30 in the morning when I first heard the name Lionel “Leo” Messi. In 2003, Rosario, Argentina, his bar resident was an early riser, not a night owl.
It was a strange time as Boca Juniors were playing AC Milan and the match was in Japan. You’re sipping coffee, smoking cigarettes, and nibbling on medialuna, when the guy next to you says, “Have you heard about this new kid?”
Since then, for almost 20 years, Messi, born in the same city of Rosario, has exploded into world football like new fireworks. His dominance and artistry have surprised and puzzled people.
He plays the game in a way that no one has, not even the large shadow of a national hero hanging over him.
But that night, when the quintessential Argentinian club team, Boca, faced European competition, Messi was still a distant dream. Tevez showed up early in practice for a beautiful match. But little did we know.
Angry Lionel Messi is good for Argentina, but terrible for opponents
What does it mean to be the greatest who has ever achieved something? How to be the best at playing football? Of course it’s all subjective, but for Leo Messi it’s all about his one man and his one country.
What Diego Maradona means to Argentina cannot be overemphasized. Especially for Americans, because there is not much interest in international sports. We pretend to have national heroes during the Olympics, but it’s much more than just cereal boxes and family drama.
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Simply put, all of Argentina is loving the loss of former Messi coach Maradona in 2020. He was the last Argentinian star to lift the World Cup in 1986 and wore the same iconic number 10 as Messi. Not only did he create arguably the best goal in the history of the tournament, but he also created a cheeky (and possibly illegal) Hand of God goal.
Lionel Messi of Argentina during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Round of 16 match between France and Argentina at the Kazan Arena in Kazan, Russia on June 30, 2018.
(Jean Kachuuf/Getty Images)
No matter how good Messi was at professional clubs, first in Barcelona and now in Paris, no matter how many Ballon d’Or he won as the best player in the world, he won a record-breaking seven. Allowing him to surpass Maradona as the country’s greatest legend. Winning the World Cup.
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In addition to the drama, Maradonna won the cup in his prime, but this is Messi’s swan song. rice field.
Last year he won his first ever South American Championship, but only the purifying power of the World Cup can truly scrub off the sky blue and white striped jersey.
FILE – Argentina captain Diego Maradona in action against Bulgaria in the FIFA 1986 World Cup group match at the Olympic Stadium in Mexico City, Mexico, June 10, 1986.
(Dave Cannon/Allsports/Getty Images/Hulton Archive)
But let’s not forget that there is also a team on the other side of the pitch. Ironically, Messi’s Paris Saint-Germain teammate and dynamic Kylian Mbappe has other ideas. He has already won the World Cup since France won it two years before him. This is his second win at the age of 23. He is the only Pele to win three times. Will the student end up getting in the way of the master?
FILE – In this June 21, 1970 file photo, Brazil’s Pele holds his team’s Jules Rimet Trophy (FIFA World cup trophy).
(AP photo, file)
In Bernard Malmud’s novel The Natural, the protagonist, young baseball genius Roy Hobbs, was asked what his goals were. The game once had. It didn’t work out for Hobbs, but Messi is one football game away.
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As you watch on Sunday, you will remember the bars in Rosario, the passion of the fans at midnight, the tension of the penalty shootout and the victory of Boca in the shootout on the street. The story of that man who watched the game together.
Today I have an answer to his question. “Yes, I heard about the child.
Click here to read more about David Marcus
