Lionel Messi is known for his superb goals, creative vision, and magical passes. With Barcelona, his presence is hailed by supporters all over the world, but with Argentina, Messi seems to receive more criticism than praise.
Argentina has yet to qualify for the upcoming 2018 World Cup and fans are pointing fingers at Lionel Messi. Jorge Sampaoli’s men are fifth on the CONMEBOL table with 24 points, after two consecutive draws against Uruguay and Venezuela. Many argue Barcelona’s star player fails to be a leader for his national side and only whips out his genius self with the Catalan club. True? False.
Messi continues to be his extraordinary self with the same intensity and passion, if not more with La Albiceleste. However, his teammates are the ones at fault. They are deserting Messi as if he is the only Argentine man on the pitch. Although there is star power in the Argentine squad, only Messi has performed as expected.
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Football is definitely not a one man team. However, it seems as if the world’s greatest player is carrying Argentina on his back. None of his squad members are contributing the way they should, leaving his world class passes and dribbles going unnoticed.
Argentina plays with Messi while Barcelona plays for Messi. That is the main difference to why his presence in the blue and white jersey goes unrecognized but is applauded and honored with the Blaugranas.
If only Messi could pass to himself, Argentina would have bagged the 2014 World Cup and would have already qualified for Russia’s World Cup campaign. Despite his greatness, Messi’s magic is being masked by his Argentine teammates and it’s been like that for years.
Although that’s the case with Argentine, things are different in Catalunya. Messi is surrounded by creative athletes like Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, Luis Suarez, etc. who understand and cherish his game. His breathtaking skills always make headlines in Barcelona because of the players around him.
Even though the Rosario-born genius has nothing to show for his outstanding plays with Argentina, it is extremely unfair to label Messi as a failure with his national side. He has given and will continue to give his all for the country he was born and raised in and people must acknowledge that.
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If it wasn’t for Lionel Messi, Argentina would have never reached three consecutive international finals. Despite making those finals as a team, the 2014 World Cup, 2015 and 2016 Copa America finals featured Argentina because of number 10. It is not Messi who needs to improve, it’s the players around him who need to.