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Lionel Messi’s final opportunity, and he’s off to a bad start
Messi’s odyssey is one of the most important tales surrounding the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. He is regarded as one of the greatest soccer players of all time. His career with FC Barcelona has been legendary.
Messi’s story is typically depicted as that of a youthful genius who ascended quickly through the ranks of Barcelona in Spain. The story of Messi as a young immigrant yearning to return home is a lesser-known one. Messi grew up in Argentina’s equivalent of the Midwest, the rural province of Santa Fe, in the 1990s. He was a natural athlete even as a youngster, yet he struggled with major health issues (a hormonal growth deficiency).
His family couldn’t afford treatment because his father worked in a steel mill and his mother cleaned houses. As Argentina spiraled into a severe economic depression in the early 2000s, Messi and his father emigrated, along with hundreds of thousands of other Argentines. Messi’s story is sometimes depicted as that of a kid genius who ascended quickly through the ranks of Barcelona in Spain. But a lesser-known story is that of Messi as a young immigrant yearning to return home.
Lionel Messi has never won a World Cup with his home Argentina
Messi was born in the 1990s in the rural region of Santa Fe, Argentina’s equivalent of the Midwest. Even as a youngster, he was a natural athlete, yet he struggled with major health issues (a hormonal growth deficiency). His family (his dad worked in a steel plant, mother cleaned houses) could not afford therapy. As Argentina plunged into a terrible economic slump in the early 2000s, Messi and his father, along with hundreds of thousands of other Argentines, departed.
It’s romantic, but as anybody who has left home knows, returning after a lengthy absence is difficult. Messi’s performance with Argentina’s national team was nothing short of disastrous for years. And the worse he performed, the more enraged his fans were at home. Fans were curious as to why he performed so brilliantly for Barcelona in Europe yet so poorly for Argentina. There is a cottage industry of theorists and commentators dedicated to investigating the matter, with theories ranging from Messi’s own identity crisis to the more plausible possibility that Barcelona’s team is simply better at supporting his genius.
The truth is that Messi has spent most of his career trying to win with Argentina, attempting to gain the affection of his own people, and failing terribly. That all looked to change under the direction of Argentina’s new coach, Lionel Scaloni, who led the team to a historic triumph at La Copa America in 2021 (a significant South American Cup). To say that aspirations were high for Messi and the Argentina squad as they prepared to leave for Qatar is an understatement.
The team was widely regarded as a strong contender for advancing further in the tournament. There was also a deadline: Messi, who is now 35 years old, recently announced that this would be his final World Cup. Argentines awoke early this morning to witness the squad make its debut in Qatar against Saudi Arabia. It was usually seen as a simple victory. But what happened in the following 90 minutes stunned the soccer world: Argentina lost 2-1.
This will be remembered as a historic upset by Saudi Arabia, which was previously seen as an uninspiring challenger. Argentines awoke early this morning to witness the squad make its debut in Qatar against Saudi Arabia. It was usually seen as a simple victory. But what happened in the following 90 minutes stunned the soccer world: Argentina lost 2-1.
This will be remembered as a historic upset by Saudi Arabia, which was previously seen as an uninspiring challenger.