Over the course of his brilliant career, Lionel Messi has won close to 40 trophies for both club and country, but there is one notable gap from the Argentine forward's glittering résumé: a World Cup championship trophy.
There can never be a consensus on the greatest player of all time, but there is no denying that the small playmaker, who has won seven Ballons d'Or, is a true great of the modern era.
The late Diego Maradona, who guided Argentina to World Cup victory in 1986, is regarded by many Argentines as being second only to him in terms of greatness.
However, if he leads one of the pre-tournament favourites to victory in Qatar, that may change. Maradona did not have the same level of success with his clubs as Messi did.
But that magical run to the title in Mexico conferred on Maradona immortality and a place in the history of the football-mad nation. Messi has often been described as Maradona reincarnated, but the closest he came to the World Cup title was in the 2014 final.
He shuffled past the gleaming trophy to accept the award for the best player at the tournament, eyes downcast.
Argentina’s 0-1 loss to Germany in Brazil was among a run of gut-wrenching defeats in five consecutive major finals as they wondered when the agony would end.
Messi unwillingly wore a bulls-eye on his back every time Argentina failed and even announced his retirement in 2016 when the pressure got too much before he was convinced to return.
Last year, however, the burden was lifted off his shoulders when Argentina won the Copa America to end a 28-year trophy drought.
Messi, aged 34, had been their spark and was involved in nearly every goal Argentina scored in the tournament.
He was the beating heart of the side whose members broke down in tears, and his teammates mobbed him at the final whistle after they beat arch-rivals Brazil.
“I have peace of mind of having achieved the dream that has been denied to me so many times,” Messi said. “It’s very difficult to win a World Cup or a Copa America. At the time, they didn’t value what we did. They only put emphasis on the fact that we didn’t achieve the aim.”
With a team that has a rich mix of youth and experience, Messi’s spark has grown ever brighter.
The 35-year-old captain has become a man on a mission, evidenced by his sudden spurt of goals for Argentina.
Lionel Scaloni’s team are on a 35-match unbeaten run, and Messi has scored 14 goals for his country since that Copa America triumph — including all five in a win over Estonia.
This has helped to take his international tally to 90 ahead of his last World Cup.
“There’s some anxiety and nerves at the same time. It is the last one (World Cup). I’ve been playing with the national team for a long time now,” said Messi, who made his Argentina debut in 2005 and has over 160 caps. “There have been spectacular moments, like in 2014, 2015 and 2016 — but we didn’t win and were criticised for not being champions. We did everything right until the finals.”
In Qatar, Messi will look to lead his side one step further and justify his place in the pantheon of greats alongside his idol Maradona — as equals.
(Reuters/NAN)