July 10, (THEWILL) – It finally came to be for Lionel Messi as it was for his arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo five years ago. At his sixth attempt of trying, Messi ended his international trophy drought with continental glory and lifted the 2021 Copa America to break his trophy drought with Argentina.
Their Ballon d’Ors aside, the pair share 11 between them, achieving success with the national team has been critical to the grander standing and legacy of two of the most outstanding players this generation has ever seen. And for a class of Argentina’s football fans Messi remained in Diego Maradona’s shadow.
For them, the late Maradona, who took La Albiceleste to World Cup glory in 1986 was easily better than Messi as international glory has eluded Messi for all his club accomplishments. THEWILL recalls that Argentina’s best with Messi was a 2014 second position.
It has been to Messi’s ill luck that the football icon had also never won the Copa America. That was until Saturday’s 1-0 win over Brazil. It was extra special that it came against Brazil and at the Maracana, the same venue where he lost the World Cup final to Germany in 2014
Messi was part of the Argentina sides that lost Copa finals in 2007, 2015 and 2016. He briefly retired after missing his penalty in the 2016 final shootout.
This tournament was his sixth shot at lifting the trophy. And it was the 34-year-old’s best yet, dominating as joint top scorer with four goals and topping the Copa assists charts with four.
Although the 34-year-old was not the star in the final, as a lively Angel Di Maria scored the winner with Argentina’s first touch inside Brazil’s penalty area in the 22nd minute, it was very much the relief his career needed and the record he had been without since forever.
Unlike nine of the 12 goals that Argentina scored where Messi was directly involved, this time it was Udinese midfielder Rodrigo De Paul that helped set up the winner. De Paul was a key presence at both ends, while goalkeeper Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, who was the star in the semi-final shootout, was exceptional again in between the sticks.
However, it is difficult not to see Messi as the big story of the victory. Even before the final was played, Messi and Brazil’s Neymar were picked as the two best players of the Copa America with a CONMEBOL statement explaining that “It is not possible to choose only one (best) player because this tournament has two of them.”
But while Neymar will wait a little more for his time in the klieg lights, the Argentina captain and superstar has taken a huge weight off his shoulders with international glory finally. And with it, rabid Argentina football fans will start dreaming about what is possible at next year’s World Cup in Qatar for their legend.
What will fuel those expectations is the fact that Lionel Scaloni’s La Albiceleste are unbeaten across 20 games. Martinez was so brilliant in goal that they also conceded only three goals throughout the entire tournament.
The Argentine squad made the final, which began as a seemingly Messi versus Neymar affair, Messi’s fellow South American superstar and former Barcelona team-mate, a victory for themselves and for Messi. Indeed, Neymar was busy all through only that Scaloni’s charges closely marked him out every time.
It was well that they did so given the influence Neymar can wield if allowed space. The Brazilian missed Brazil’s 2019 Copa triumph as he was nursing an ankle injury. As such, even though Brazil were defending champions, he is another global superstar yet to personally lift the World Cup or a continental title.
This defeat on home soil will be a great disappointment for the Selecao as a team but the pain will go deeper and sting more for Neymar. But at 29, he still has years ahead to reach that objective and claim the reward his hard work definitely deserve. He was one of the hardest workers throughout for Brazil as he showed again in the final.
For the team as a whole, it was Brazil’s first loss at home in 25 games under Tite, having won 21 games, and drawn three. It was such a painful way to end their 13-game unbeaten run with nothing to show for it but a runners-up place.
In the end, there was going to be one winner. And the contrasting fortunes between these South American football giants on the day could not be any starker, especially for their superstars Messi and Neymar. Argentina’s first triumph since 1993 was ecstatic for Messi but missing out for Neymar was pure pain.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
