How Much More Magic Does Messi Have!

I remember the night of the 2014 World Cup final vividly. It felt as if I had witnessed one of the most silent cries in football history with my own eyes. Germany had defeated Argentina to win the World Cup, and it was shining all around by the winner's joy. 

It was announced that Lionel Messi, the tournament's best player, was to go up on stage to receive the 'Golden Ball' award. But his feet seemed unwilling to move forward. For a man who had come to touch the golden trophy, this award for the best player felt trivial! Despite his reluctance, he moved forward. There was no smile on his face, no joy. There was only the long shadow of unfulfillment. Many hearts were filled with sorrow at such cruelty from the footballing gods. He did not give the most coveted trophy to the best football magician! Seeing him return empty-handed despite coming so close, I thought perhaps Lionel Messi's story would end with the unfulfillment of the World Cup.

Looking back today, it feels like that night at the Maracanã was not the final chapter of the story. It was a page of intermission. That incomplete sentence was completed in the desert of Lusail—when Messi kissed the golden trophy and raised it toward the sky.
The image of Lionel Messi lifting the golden trophy beneath the desert sky of Lusail recalls his unforgettable 2022 World Cup triumph in Qatar. It was there, at the magnificent Lusail Stadium, that he led Argentina to their third world championship—a feat that forever sealed his place among football's immortals and settled the debate over his status as the greatest of all time.

The story of winning the golden trophy is now an epic narrative in the United States. Naturally, the central character here is Lionel Messi, with many supporting characters. All 17 players from the Lusail victory are in this squad. So there is experience, youth, and the memory of winning the title. But to paint an immortal picture on the green canvas, the eye searches for that old artist. Many hands hold the colors, but not everyone can deliver the final brushstroke.

The problem is Messi's time. Age has placed its hand on his shoulder. Although the artist still paints new watercolors of football every week for Inter Miami, the World Cup is a tough arena. The challenge of defending the title could be difficult for this artist, who is approaching 39. Despite many having doubts about this, Scaloni does not. The Argentine coach's analysis is that even as age advances, the artist's brush is still not dry— "No matter how much I think about the match or strategize, once Messi starts to fly, all plans go into the dustbin."

Initially, the coach was worried about Messi's injury. After sitting out the first warm-up match, the magician played for only 20 minutes in the final preparatory match against Iceland. He scored a goal, initiated attacks that led to goals for others, and with every touch of the ball, he spread that familiar enchantment. Dispelling all clouds of doubt, he seemed to announce that the artist is ready to race toward a new dream.

On Wednesday, against Algeria, Messi will play his 200th match in the Argentina jersey. He had made his debut in 2005 against Hungary, only to be sent off with a red card. Among the 199 matches in that journey, there are many stories of heartbreak—twice losing Copa America finals in tiebreakers, the heartbreak of the World Cup final. But there is also abundant glory: 117 goals, 64 assists, the feat of winning the Copa America, winning Golden Balls in two World Cups, and finally, through winning the 2022 World Cup, establishing himself on a divine pedestal in Argentine football.

Around him, Argentina is once again dreaming of a fourth title. The Argentines have also realized that the key to opening the door to that dream is still in the magician's hands. If the remake of that football-art from the Miami nights is seen on the World Cup stage, if he makes the impossible seem easy again with his left-footed magic, then Argentina might once again be painted in the colors of the title. World football will witness a new epic, whose final line will be written by that old magician.