Messi remains Club King
Messi remains Club King
Too near, yet too far. Lionel Messi came so close to what was required to surpass Diego Maradona, the football god of his country. But the World Cup, tragically for the Albiceleste, remains elusive for a player considered one of the greatest of all time.
Little Leo could have done it this time in his third World Cup appearance. He could have emulated his country's legend by winning the Cup for Argentina, a feat that is needed for his critics to place him in the same bracket with Pele and Maradona.
The stage was all set for the little magician, who has won every possible glory for his club Barcelona. And there was no better place than the Maracana Stadium, the footballing Mecca of his country’s greatest rival, to make it happen. The script was ready. The four-time Fifa player-of-the-year brought Argentina to the final almost single-handedly with some extraordinary football throughout a compelling month in Brazil. It was time for the final act. The Club King was in line to be crowned the World King. At 27, he was at the perfect age and at the peak of his powers to embrace ultimate glory. The goal-scoring machine was just one shot away.
But not all stories end the way they should. Only God knows why the final chapter of the Messi story has been written differently. The Argentina captain could not put his signature on the final chapter last night. He had the opportunity, only to see it slip away.
Argentina played their best game of the tournament even though midfield playmaker Angel Di Maria had to sit out the match -- billed as Messi versus the Machine -- through injury. To the surprise of many, Argentina in fact went on to subdue what most thought would be superior opposition. They would have gone 1-0 up early in the first half had Gonzalo Higuain not muffed up a one-on-one chance produced by a rare defence blunder by Germany. In for Higuain during extra time, Palacio also spoiled an easy chance.
Before that Messi could not seize glory when the defining chance came early in the second half. Mobbed by defenders a foot taller than him, Messi ran down a through ball from Lucas Biglia for a possession that had goal written all over it. It was the kind of opportunity from which he is used to scoring without blinking for Barcelona. In a fluid motion, the fleet-footed forward has in the past sent so many such chances past goalkeepers into the top corner or the near post. But it was not to be last night, the night he would have exchanged all glories gone before for that one slice of success. Messi dragged his shot across the goal and wide.
He had free-kick opportunities too, including the most tantalising from just outside the box with seconds left on the clock -- had he netted that, he would have been untouchable in the football pantheon, but when he sent it flying over the post the world was reminded that Messi too was human. That is what will haunt the best player in the world. His Golden Ball will remind him of how agonisingly close he was to lifting the Cup. He will be 31 when the next World Cup takes place in Russia, so he still has a chance for another go at the elusive Cup. But he has just lost his best chance in Brazil.
The Brazuca comes to a halt with the final result: the best team, not the best player, won the World Cup.