Messi’s last dance, the most perfect way to block the gods.

Yu Ze / Northwest viewing stand
Before the start of the World Cup, Argentina had a high voice among the favourites to win the championship, which was actually a very special thing.
The team only ranks seventh in the top 32, and has a gap of more than 200 million less than Germany, which is basically half that of England at the top. In addition, not only the 26 people who went to the World Cup, all Argentine players did not make the 30-person shortlist for this year’s Golden Globes, which dates back to the time when Messi made his debut.
So where did the cry come from? On the one hand, they may have won the Copa America last year, and their tactical balance and player cohesion have been widely praised. On the other hand, expectations may be greater than confidence in strength, after all, the Argentine is very committed to the World Cup and heroism, and this should be Messi’s last World Cup.
Many people are beginning to believe that maybe there is providence in some way. Even many players and coaches who have crossed each other have made comments that “if we don’t win the World Cup, I hope Argentina will win the World Cup.”
The will of the people is naturally a good thing, but it often means that. A lot of pressure.
01 Argentina expects heroes
Argentina has won the World Cup twice before, in 1978 and 1986. In these two cup matches, many stories have taken place both inside and outside the court of Argentina, and their influence on their domestic society is far greater than the scope of football.
In 1978, coach Menotti abandoned Maradona, who was promoted by himself, and chose to build the team around veteran Kempes. He is not only the center in front, but also the core of the attack to retreat and break forward. Adhering to the philosophy that a goal is nothing more than passing the ball into the net, Argentina played a smooth and fast attack and finally won the championship at home.
When the final whistle sounded, Kempes and his teammates became national heroes. Many fans rushed into the field to celebrate with their heroes and give them a big hug.
Among them, one fan attracted the attention of photographers.
He is disabled, with empty sleeves and no arms, and still rushes to the players who are already hugging each other. After a short pause, he leaned up with a happy smile on his face.
The scene, later known as the “hug of the soul”, caused a huge response in Argentina and even many other South American countries after the World Cup. At that time, the South American continent was in the midst of a serious economic crisis, and Argentine people were forced to accept extremely exaggerated inflation, and the quality of life was getting worse and worse.
Football can’t save Argentina. The victory failed to play a key turning point in the domestic economy, but the World Cup, Kempes and the “embrace of the soul” have become the light of many people in their plight. They say the light symbolizes persistence and hope.
Then came the magical 1986, which was called the “one-man World Cup”. Maradona played a solo performance unique in the history of the game, with every game dribbling forward, being knocked down, standing up, passing people, sending assists or goals. The best was the game against England, the hand of God and the goal of the Century.
In the world of football, no matter how much hype the hand of God puts it, it is only a foul that fooled the referee and got an ignominious goal. But outside the world of football, it was the king of the ball and Maradona, the symbol of resistance, who did it, and it was the Englishman who won the Falklands War a few years ago.
You can imagine how much carnival there will be in Argentina and how much special significance they will extend to that year’s World Cup champion.
The significance of football in Argentina has long gone beyond football itself. What Argentines want to see most is the next Kempes, or even the next Maradona, to lead this team to defeat all the strong enemies in Europe and the United States and to reach the highest peak in the world on the Greenfield.
Then they waited for Macy.
Before the World Cup in Qatar, Argentina filmed a popular advertisement for “national superstition” about finding common ground between 2022 and 1986. It rained in Buenos Aires last Christmas and Jupiter will be in Pisces on the day of both finals. In the last scene, someone pointed to the sky and said, “We had the best in the world in’86.” everyone thought a little, looked at each other, smiled and said, “it is now,” and then the whole bar began to boil.
That’s what Lionel Messi means to Argentina.
Since his debut, the world has been comparing him to Maradona. Even though Lionel Messi has had a brilliant career and won club events and personal honors, Argentines can’t help but keep this idea in their hearts.
“the great Lionel Messi, I hope you can do the same thing for us as the great Maradona.”
02 is so close and so far away
It has not been a year or two since Lionel Messi was recognized as the best in the world by Argentines. But his previous attempts to hit the World Cup never came to fruition.
In 2006, he was just a genius, scoring goals and assists, but still sat on the bench watching Argentina eliminated. In 2010, he failed to score a goal and the team was mercilessly crushed by the German chariot. In 2014, Argentina finally made it all the way to the final, but was defeated by the German Golden Ball, leaving the picture of Lionel Messi looking at the Hercules Cup. In 2018, the wheel of the times rolls forward, and the protagonist is Mbappe’s invincible youth.
The most unfortunate of all is undoubtedly 2014.
Before the World Cup in Brazil, Messi rarely spoke directly about the champion in an interview: “I don’t know why, but I feel like God will give me a World Cup.” This is the dream of me and a lot of people, we are working for it, this team will have great achievements. ”
In the group stage, he almost managed to score a goal to carry Argentina into the knockout stage. Next, the team showed a strong defense, let Messi concentrate on passing the ball, and then help Higuain score a goal. But in the final, Messi, Higuain and others missed some opportunities and were beaten by Gotzer in extra time.
In that year, the golden boy Gertze was 22 years old and still had a good time. Lionel Messi, 27, who is basically the best golden age for the World Cup, missed the Hercules Cup in the nearest distance.
“I don’t want to see that picture,” Messi said. “We were really close to holding it, but I was just passing by.” It’s a really bad feeling. ” However, to make matters worse, after Argentina lost the Copa America final in succession, Messi was never able to lead the national team to the honor, and many people began to say that Messi was great, but he still could not be Maradona.
So after the 2016 Copa America, there was a lot of pressure, a flood of censure, and the ruins of the Football Association. Messi announced his withdrawal from the national team in a fit of anger.
It is difficult for ordinary people to understand Messi’s pressure at that time.
In fact, just one or two seasons before the 2014 World Cup, Messi has been photographed several times without a fight against sudden vomiting on the court. The Argentine doctor combined with the best hospital in Spain to give him a detailed examination, and the conclusion was either physical or psychological pressure. When he came to Brazil, he was photographed retching twice in the group stage and the final.
The Argentines want to see the hero of the World Cup so much, and Messi wants to be that hero too. But he didn’t do it, because it’s really not something a person can do with 100% or even 200% of his efforts.
As Enzo Fernandez, then 15, wrote in a long poem dedicated to Messi: “We never have your 1% pressure, but there are 40 million people who want you to do the perfect thing.” We don’t understand that even if you are the best player on earth, you are only a person. ”
Two months later, Messi returned to the national team amid persistent calls for retention and wanted to do more for Argentina. But after the baptism of years and failures, this time the state of mind is much more peaceful.
Interviewed again before the World Cup in Qatar, Messi’s thinking is completely different from that of eight years ago: “I don’t know what will happen to the World Cup or what will happen after the World Cup.” I didn’t think about it, what will happen will happen naturally, let nature take its course. ”
However, Lionel Messi may be the only one who can decompress himself in this way.
03 this damn pressure, this beautiful inheritance
Those who said “We can’t win the title and want Messi to win it” before the start of the game also included the outgoing Spanish coach Enrique. In a live broadcast after his team was eliminated, he was once again asked by the audience what he thought of Argentina. Enrique replied: “I think the whole Argentine team is too nervous, more nervous than all European teams, they should learn to enjoy football.”
But it’s not easy.
It is not a first-line lineup, but it carries a reputation of being superior to the first line. Argentines are more obsessed with the national team and the World Cup than any other country, and this is Messi’s last World Cup. The original main force Roselso and Gonzalez were injured and absent, Romero and others did not fully recover. Carry a heavy load every step of the way.
In the first game, he fell into an offside trap in the first half and was counterattacked by Saudi Arabia in the second half. In the second game, the stadium was cut into scorched earth by Mexico, and the situation was not opened until Messi’s long-range shot. Aimar on the bench burst into tears, and de Paul also knelt down and burst into tears after the game.
In this World Cup, goal ecstasy is not uncommon. But apart from Argentina, who else have you seen to win such a “fiasco”?
It seemed easy to play Poland in the last round of the group stage, but there was also the dignified and anxious Lionel Messi after missing a penalty in the first half. When the top 16 met Australia, the opponent was tough enough and he was still nervous, and it was Messi who sparkled in the penalty area in the 35th minute, turning Otamendi’s stop into an assist, and the rest of the game became open.
In the final 8, Argentina and the Netherlands went from civil war to off-court, Lautaro completed his self-redemption in a penalty shootout, and his teammates cried alone while celebrating. Messi came forward decisively, responded to all taunts with a rare bully, scored a penalty in the semi-final and made a fantastic assist by surpassing the game’s best defender Guevaniol.
Argentina is back on the final stage after eight years, and Messi has become the spiritual force of the team in the most Maradona way. In such a tumultuous final, he scored two goals and hit in the first round of the penalty shootout, and. It’s much more than that.
When the regular time entered injury time, Messi went all the way back to defend and headed the ball out of the bottom line. The broadcast camera captured him with a relaxed smile.
When Lim Bappe equalized again in extra time, Messi immediately began to encourage his teammates after a brief loss. When the kick-off resumed the game, there was no trace of frustration on his face.
No player never makes mistakes, even Lionel Messi, who is almost perfect in this World Cup, has missed penalties in the group stage and lost points in the final. Anything can happen in a football match, and the more critical it is, the more you see how you face it.
Messi, on the other hand, gave the best answer. Just like along the way, he relieved himself of the long-standing pressure by playing skills, ordinary mind and leadership, as well as a heavy psychological burden for the whole team. Even if this is his last dance in the World Cup, even if this game will determine the success of his career.
He is still enjoying football.
For the vast majority of fans today, Pele may just be a legendary name. Maradona’s story is more familiar, but the only video I’ve actually seen is the World Cup in 1986.
As for Messi, we watched him rise from fledgling to fame, from peak and trough to transformation. The history books record not only the goals he scored for Barcelona, Paris and Argentina, the championships he won, and countless personal honors, but also the road he climbed upward from a player who was already great enough.
This section of the road, there are old friends Di Maria hand in hand to realize the dream, big Martin and de Paul to defend to the death, Enzo, McAllister, Alvarez and idol side by side, but also accompanied by countless fans.
Finally, there is a magnificent final as a coronation.
Lionel Messi, ascended the throne today.
Yu Ze / Northwest viewing stand