Lionel Messi — in a galaxy of his own
The Hindu
Lionel Messi: The greatest name in football history, a miracle man who brought joy and glory to Argentina.
Greatest of all time. Undisputed. Inevitable. A force of nature. These descriptions offer just a peek at the abundance of wreaths accumulated across a career that has embodied excellence like no other.
But what best encapsulates the little boy from Rosario, Santa Fe — if at all possible to summarise his galactic glory — is magical. Lionel Andres (Leo) Messi is perhaps the greatest name to grace the beautiful game.
Not so much a little boy anymore, the 5’7’’ Argentinian forward, now 37, recently wound up another successful international assignment after lifting the Copa America 2024 — completing a hat-trick of international titles for La Albiceleste along with the 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2021 Copa.
Things could have turned out very differently had the maestro followed through with his retirement announcement — it created seismic waves in the world of football — following that heartbreaking penalty shootout defeat to Chile, for the second year running, in the 2016 Copa final. Leo had sent his spot-kick into the stands resulting in a 2-4 reverse.
The record LaLiga goalscorer (474) was inconsolable after the game. “I am done with the national team,” he said.
For the next two months, a giant Leo-sized hole was gaping, oozing, and hurting from the collective loss suffered after Messi’s international retirement.
Fans were on the streets with posters, hashtags went viral on social media and the whole world was desperate for the return of La Pulga. It was evident things had changed. Luckily change is a constant, and soon the Argentinian announced his return to international football, hoping to “give the fans joy very soon”.