God saved it for me

today 13:35
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Lionel Messi finally won the big trophy in Argentina’s jersey. Sixteen years after his debut on the national team, he raised the trophy for the winner of the South American Football Championship. In four big finals, he left the field with his head bowed, the fifth had a sweet taste for him – in the Copa America final, his team conquered Brazil’s biggest rival on the iconic Maracana 1: 0.

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“I have a feeling that God has saved this moment for me – he came in the final against Brazil and on her pitch. I already needed to get this thorn out of me and finally win something big with Argentina. I was sad about it so far, but I knew it would happen one day. It worked and it’s still unbelievable to me. I can’t even describe the happiness I’m experiencing now. Thank you, God, we’re champions! “ after the final triumph, 34-year-old Messi, who together with the Brazilian Neymar were declared the best players of the championship, was looking forward to it. He helped Argentina triumph in the tournament with four goals and five assists. After the final whistle, he fell to his knees, covering his face with his palm and tears streaming down his eyes.

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When he turned off his premiere in the most valuable jersey at the age of 18 in August 2005, he had no idea that he would have to wait so long for the big trophy. With Barcelona, he won the Champions League four times, La League ten times, but he could not repeat the club’s success in the national team. Messi’s curse in the national team jersey began in 2007, when Argentina lost in the Copy final to Brazil. At the 2014 World Cup in the country of five-time world champions, the Argentines lost in a decisive duel to Germany 0: 1 after extra time.

In 2015, they lost to Santiago from Chile 1: 4 after shots from the white point mark. The eleven shootout became fatal for them in July 2016 in a special edition of the tournament to celebrate the centenary in the USA, when they again succumbed to the Chileans. At that time, Messi did not change his attempt in a shootout and frustrated announced the end of the national team. “It’s not for me. I’ve tried everything, but it just doesn’t work.” declared. He eventually returned to the national team, at the urging of many, including the country’s president.

So far, the six-time Golden Ball winner has only had a triumph with the U20 World Championships in 2005 and Argentina’s Olympic gold from Beijing three years later, but he still lacked the triumph of the best-tournament tournament. “This is what I wanted most in the world. It was my dream to dedicate it to Messi. He deserved it most of all.” said Argentine goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez immediately after winning the trophy. After the match, the teammates threw Messi into the air and made it clear to whom they played the entire tournament.

During this year’s Copa America tournament, Messi surpassed Javier Mascheran’s (147) record in the number of national team starts for Argentina, now he has 151. He scored 76 goals in them and is only one lag behind the Brazilian legend in the historical table of shooters in international doubles Pelém. Thanks to him, Argentina ended a 28-year wait to win the trophy.

“If the Argentines got to know him better, as we and his teammates would love him even more,” says Argentine coach Lionel Scaloni, who said Messi had muscle problems before the finals and if it weren’t for the final and against Brazil, he would probably he didn’t even intervene. “He deserves this trophy. He’s the greatest player of all time,” declared Scaloni.

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