Before the start of the men’s world championship in Qatar on Sunday afternoon German time, there is a sporting question that is being discussed everywhere: Can Lionel Messi win the only major title he still lacks in his probably last attempt? The seven-time world footballer is more in the spotlight than Argentina itself and, from Lionel Scaloni’s point of view, these spotlights are just too many.
“When he walks into a dining room, all eyes are on him—the eyes of the chef, the kit man, everyone, and they’re all people who know him! Imagine that with people who don’t know him.” , said the coach of the Argentina national team Suddeutsche Zeitung. It is therefore all the more extraordinary that Messi is not detached, but “the most earthly of all”, as Scaloni says. “I don’t think it’s fair that Leo can’t have a life like the rest of us.” Even with Paris Saint-Germain’s expensive star ensemble, the global star still stands out.
“Slightly down by winning the Copa America”
Of course, this can also have positive effects for Argentina, as we saw last year in the America’s Cup. The team seemed to play mostly for Messi to finally relieve him of the imperfection of being without a title with the national team. “What can be said for sure, and what he said himself, is that when he won the America’s Cup, something fell over him. With him and with this whole generation that had lost two Cups and a World Cup,” he said staircases. .
“He got older, more mature”
However, it is difficult to imagine that Argentina will then come under less pressure to succeed with them in Qatar. Instead, the Gauchos enter the tournament as heavy favorites after nearly three and a half years without a loss. And this, of course, largely thanks to Messi, who is having an amazing season at PSG. “He has become bigger, more mature. Before he would remove five or six players from the game with a dribble and score by himself. Now he needs the team more, he helps them more, he lets the team play,” says Scaloni. The 44-year-old took charge following the 2018 World Cup when Argentina lost to eventual champions France in the round of 16.
