Messi’s pain and glory at MetLife Stadium
New York (USA), July 17 (EFE)
Leo Messi returns to MetLife Stadium in search of his second world title, the same stadium where ten years ago he announced he was retiring from playing for Argentina after losing his fourth final, his third consecutive one.
By 2016, Messi had already won everything with Barcelona: five Ballon d’Or awards, eight La Liga titles, and four Champions League trophies. But he couldn’t replicate that success with his national team, and he was heavily criticized for it.
He was accused at the time of surrounding himself with his friends on the Argentine national team, regardless of their performance. Therefore, the criticism didn’t stop after being defeated in extra time by Germany in the 2014 World Cup, nor after losing to Chile in a penalty shootout in the 2015 Copa América.
A year later, CONMEBOL decided to celebrate the centenary of the oldest national team tournament in the world and moved it to the United States. Messi, who had already lost his first Copa América in 2007, thrashed by Brazil (3-0), needed a success with the Albiceleste.
Everything seemed set, because the team then managed by Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino had reached the final undefeated, with 18 goals for and only two against. Moreover, the occasion offered them the chance to avenge the previous year’s defeat, because their opponent, once again, was Chile.
But the outcome was the same. The Chilean team withstood the onslaught of Argentine chances, with Claudio Bravo as their hero, and reached the penalty shootout they were seeking.
Messi didn’t shy away from the responsibility, taking the first penalty, which went high. Then, Bravo saved the fourth penalty, taken by Lucas Biglia, and the number 10 collapsed. After leaving the locker room, he announced his decision:
“That’s it, it’s over.”
“What’s coming to mind, and what I was thinking in the locker room, is that it’s over. It’s finished for me with the national team. Like I just said, it’s four finals, it’s not for me. Unfortunately, I tried, it was what I wanted most, it didn’t happen, but I think that’s it,” he said in the mixed zone of MetLife Stadium.
Messi also blamed himself for missing the opening penalty in the shootout. “It’s a great shame what happened to us again, and on top of that, I had to miss the penalty. It was the first one and it was crucial to take the lead, and well, I had to miss it. So that’s it,” he said.
It wasn’t the end of it. Weeks later he met with the new coach, Edgardo Bauza, and on September 1st he once again donned the Albiceleste jersey with the number 10 and scored the winning goal against Uruguay, in the seventh round of the South American qualifiers for Russia 2018.
Triumphant return
Messi returned to MetLife Stadium in June 2024 to heal the wound with Chile, whom Argentina defeated with a goal from Lautaro Martínez, in the group stage of the Copa América that they would go on to win, but the return, now, is triumphant.
He is already a world champion and has won two Copa América titles. No one can dispute his status in Argentina; he has become a hero on par with Diego Maradona, and during this World Cup he has silenced his critics with devastating efficiency in front of goal (8) and an overwhelming authority to lead a team that has made comebacks its hallmark.
On Sunday, against Spain, in the final that pits the best team in the Americas against the best in Europe, Messi seeks definitive recognition as the greatest of all time at MetLife Stadium, where he once considered quitting. EFE
