Lionel Messi’s unfinished dream of winning the World Cup has finally come true. A dream that the whole world saw with him and prayed for its fulfillment. From Kerala to Kashmir across India and to every corner of the world, this final painted the whole world in the colors of Messi. There is a rare player over the years whose impact is visible on and off the field to such an extent. The impact on the field is such that after the defeat at the first step, the morale of the entire team is boosted in such a way that it dies only after winning the last front.
Perhaps after Pele and Diego Maradona, he is the first footballer whose magic has been spoken by the whole world. How much this trophy meant to him was proved by the fact that when his name was called out to collect the Golden Ball award, he first stopped and kissed the trophy. His charisma off the field was such that his dream became the dream of every football lover. With the situation of the match changing every moment, the heartbeat of the spectators also kept on increasing. There were fireworks in cities miles away from Argentina as Messi celebrated each goal and won the title. Messi’s journey from battling growth hormone deficiency (GHD) at the age of just 11 to becoming one of the greatest footballers in the world is a unique tale of passion, tenacity and spirit, and he won the title on Sunday in the final. He has become a living legend in the history of India.
Now the debate will also come to an end as to who is the greatest between Maradona and Messi. Messi’s every wound of not winning the title for the country also got ointment. Ballon d’Or seven times, European Golden Shoes record six times, record 35 titles with Barcelona, 474 goals in La Liga, 672 goals for one club (Barcelona) Messi always had the pain of not winning the World Cup.
He knew it was his last chance and perhaps blindly repeated the same vow before scoring a penalty in the 23rd minute. When Argentina won the World Cup for the last time in 1986, Maradona became a god for the country, although he did not score in the final. Messi was the only one who came close to him, but not winning the World Cup kept fingers pointing at his greatness. The finger was also raised when Germany beat Argentina by a single goal in the 2014 final.
Questions also arose when Saudi Arabia registered an unexpected victory over Messi’s team in the very first match of this World Cup. As if that defeat worked as a lifeline for Argentina and Messi. Match by match, both of them improved their performance and they reached the final of football’s biggest summer after defeating the previous runners-up Croatia in a one-sided semi-final match. Messi was also the architect of this victory, who scored the first goal in the 34th minute on a penalty and then played the role of facilitator in both the goals of Julier Alcarez.
Messi became the messiah for his countrymen struggling with economic instability and got the whole of Argentina drenched in victory celebrations. Messi’s World Cup journey started in 2006 and so far he has played the most 26 matches. Has scored 13 goals, the most for Argentina in the history of the World Cup. Defying age, he has won three ‘Most Valuable Player’ awards by scoring seven goals in this World Cup.
Born into a football-loving family in Rosario in 1987, when Messi first played football with his brothers in the courtyard of the house, no one would have imagined that one day he would be named among the greatest players in the world. The Paris Saint-Germain star striker, who has won almost every title for Barcelona, began his club career with Barcelona in 2004 at the age of 17. He won his first Ballon d’Or at the age of 22. Before leaving Barcelona in August 2021, he held almost all club football records.
Messi made his World Cup debut in Germany in 2006 in a group match against Serbia and Montenegro, which Maradona was also present to watch. Messi, 18, came on the field as a substitute in the 75th minute. When Argentina won the gold medal in football at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, expectations rose from Messi in the 2010 World Cup. Argentina were defeated by Germany in the quarter-finals and Messi could not score a single goal in five matches. Messi, who single-handedly led the team to the final in Brazil four years later, could not hold back tears as his side lost by a single goal.
After this, in the first knockout match in Russia in 2018, France beat Argentina 4. Defeated 3 and two of the three goals were to Messi’s name. In the last four years, this great player had only one dream… to win the World Cup. After the victory in the quarter-finals, Messi himself said, “Diego is watching us from the sky and motivating us to win the World Cup.” Hopefully, he will continue to do so till the last match.” Undoubtedly, Maradona’s blessing was with Messi in this match.
