Doha (dpa) – It should be your masterpiece. Lionel Messi’s crowning on the world football stage in the fifth and if he has his way: in the last attempt. He has already scored 91 goals for his native country, which he left 22 years ago to start one of football’s greatest careers with FC Barcelona.
With the triumph in the Copa America, with his impassioned speech to the team before last summer’s decisive match in the legendary Maracanã against arch-rivals Brazil, he silenced his last criticisms. And the team around the now 35-year-old South American has remained undefeated ever since: Argentina has not lost in 36 games.
Argentina wants the record
37 is the record held by Italy not participating in the World Cup. But that’s not the only reason why Messi pronounces just one motto before the kick-off of the World Cup on Tuesday (11:00 CET/MagentaTV) in the stadium where the final will also kick off on December 18: “Win the first game it’s essential to start the World Cup well”. This will calm you down for the next games.
There should be seven in total, even to defeat the trauma of Germany once and for all. Messi has failed three times in his four World Cup appearances at DFB-Elf, in 2014 in Rio only in the final.
His greatest fans will also be in Qatar: Messi’s three sons posed for the photo before leaving in Argentinian gear, obviously with the famous father’s number 10. “Let’s go to Qatar,” wrote Messi’s wife Antonela Roccuzzo. In Argentina, “Albiceleste” matches are sometimes broadcast for boys and girls during school hours. The 23 provinces and the city of Buenos Aires alone regulate it.
The opener against Saudi Arabia gets underway at 7:00 in Argentina, with the final group match against Poland at 16:00. Most provinces allow students to arrive later or leave earlier on these days. The government also has a website with materials to integrate the World Cup into the classroom.
Messi wants to cap his career with a world title
All for one goal. It’s hard to imagine what an endless partying around the obelisk would ensue if Messi finally wins the title. Especially two years after the death of Argentine soccer legend Diego Armando Maradona at the age of 60. Having triumphed at their home tournament in 1978, Maradona had guided the Argentines to a World Cup victory just eight years later in Mexico, incidentally their second group opponents in the finals. In 2010 he tried as a coach. Pretty pathetic. As in Germany in 2006, Argentina was eliminated by the DFB in the quarter-finals.
Eight coaches have tried to win a title with Messi in the national team. All in vain. Lionel Scaloni did it, ninth. The former professional player and former international took charge in the summer of 2018 after the round of 16 at the World Cup in Russia. It’s practically his first stint as head coach and it’s working. The team is now praised as “La Scaloneta” at home. There’s already a song for it.
The loss of Giovani Lo Celso, a consolidated player in the team, should be able to cope with the selection with some experienced players such as Messi or Angel di Maria. Also the short-term exit of former Stuttgart professionals Nicolás González and Joaquin Correa. “Messi and his teammates will have a good World Cup in Qatar because the relationship between them has strengthened,” predicted Cesar Luis Menotti. The now 84-year-old, who coached the team to title triumph in 1978, still works in a responsible position at the association.
Only the Saudis don’t want to play along. They are 51st in the world rankings, one place behind hosts Qatar. And they certainly don’t want to take part in a Messi mania. “We are playing against the Argentina national team and not against a player. We are 11 against 11,” said Ali Al-Bulayhi. But of the eleven in Argentina, Messi is on course for his possible world championship.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:221121-99-599552/2
