Messi

by Luca Caioli

  This time, the Flea commands all the attention from the media as well as from fans from all over the world. Even the Cuban leader Fidel Castro, who has not appeared in public for four years due to serious illness, weighs in on Lionel’s genius. In an article entitled ‘On the Threshold of Tragedy’ – dedicated to denouncing imperialist scandals in the United States – he writes that the Argentine striker ‘is as quick as a bolt of lightning and fires the ball with incredible speed, with both his feet and his head’.

  In Argentina, Lionel scores points in the eternal comparison with Maradona, despite the fact that many of his compatriots’ hearts still beat for Diego. If Messi could be explosive for Argentina and lift the cup the fans have been dreaming about since 1986, then perhaps he would escape the Pelusa’s shadow once and for all. Maradona-Messi, Messi-Maradona … the relationship appears to have found stability after all the back and forth, all the criticism and contradictory statements, and all the references to the Oedipus complex.

  Since Diego’s arrival in the Albiceleste dugout, Lionel has played eleven games and has only scored three goals. His worst moment with the team is on 14 October 2009, when he is accused of not celebrating Mario Bolatti’s goal against Uruguay which seals Argentina’s place in South Africa. His mother, Celia, has to intervene to defend her son. ‘He is extremely hurt when people speak badly about him. Why are they always out to get him? It really affects him and he finds it difficult to get over.’

  And Lionel does not deal well with crises, as his Barcelona teammates are well aware. But he gets no support from Maradona. Fed up, he calls the selector to tell him that he doesn’t want to play for the Albiceleste anymore. Realising the gravity of the situation, Diego heads over to Barcelona. There, the two of them speak openly for the first time. The coach tells him not to worry, that things will be different from here onwards. And in that moment, the relationship between Leo and Diego is transformed.

  Diego starts to indulge his protégé, and before the final pre-World Cup friendly against Canada, on Argentine soil, he affirms: ‘I don’t know what people think of Leo, but I can tell you what I think of him. I think he is the best in the world. And he’s Argentine. I’ve already told the boys: “If Leo gets the ball, we’ll have plenty of chances.” I’m trying to get it into their heads that they’re a team. And that we need Messi to play the way he does at Barça. Messi knows that his teammates want him to be the cherry on the cake. He needs to lead them. We don’t want him there as a soloist – not in training and not on the pitch. When we’re playing, they can’t pass it to me anymore … so if they don’t pass it to Messi, then we’re getting it wrong.’

  The Pelusa looks out for him, he vouches for him, he confides in him, but at the same time he is cautious, in light of his own experiences. ‘Messi has a lot more support than I had before the Mexico World Cup in 1986,’ explains Maradona. ‘But you just have to play the game. In Mexico I was on the attack, I was taking control of the ball and the team. I got things going and my teammates followed me. I’ve explained it to Leo so that he can do the same in South Africa, and he gets it. We’ve talked about it a lot and I try to make sure he’s okay.’

  At the start of the training camp, he tells the group leaders to ‘make Messi feel like the best’. And to ensure he is well taken care of, he puts him in a room with ‘La Brujita’ Verón – who was Lionel’s mentor in the 2007 Copa América. The two players get on well. ‘I keep an eye on them,’ concedes Maradona in an interview with Argentine newspaper Clarín. ‘La Brujita is a football buff – he knows a lot more than Leo. But they get engrossed in conversation and the Gaucho is enchanted, it’s lovely to see.’

  When Lionel speaks, it’s clear that he is calm and content, ready to play and ready to make waves. And the first group match against Nigeria is fast approaching. At the pre-match press conference, Maradona gifts the media the following day’s headline: ‘Argentina is still a Rolls-Royce – but now it’s driven by Messi.’ And, as if it were no big deal, he tells him to be a fantastic leader and the best player of all time.

  On Saturday 12 June at Johannesburg’s Ellis Park, Lionel is the subject of a flurry of attention and compliments. He is the best in Argentina. He lights up the Albiceleste’s game, he understands the needs of the team and he is the most active member of the Argentine attack. He does everything: he plays in the hole, he’s on the wing, he’s a striker, he puts in crosses. He creates the most chances in front of goal (wasted by Tévez and Higuaín), he is the most enthusiastic, and he takes the most shots at goal – eight. Four are on target, but the goals are denied by Nigeria’s miracle-worker goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama, who also plays for Lille Olympic Sporting Club in France. His outstanding performance will later earn him man of the match.

  ‘I have to thank God and Messi for this trophy, because my saves were the work of God,’ Enyeama says afterwards. ‘I believe in God and despite studying Messi’s Liga goals extensively, I wouldn’t have been able to do anything without God’s help. Secondly, I have to say that if I hadn’t come face to face with the best player in the world, then I would not have received this recognition.’

  At the end of the match, won by a header from Gabriel Heinze, Maradona rushes over to Messi and lifts him up in his arms. He squeezes him tight against his Tarantino-worthy suit and tie, and kisses him energetically. The Pelusa is the only manager in World Cup history to kiss his players after every game and every substitution, but his two kisses to Messi are a tribute, in recognition of what he has done for the whole team.

  ‘Messi was on the ball all day. When he has the ball he has fun, and while he’s having fun he entertains us all,’ Diego remarks at the press conference later, while munching on an apple. The Pelusa is not the only one singing the Flea’s praises. The Argentine and Spanish press are unanimous: Lionel has played better than the rest of the team and he has led his team to victory – a victory which should have been greater. The consensus is that the position in the hole behind the forwards that Maradona has created for the Rosarino is working well, and it is closer to the ideal formation used in Diego’s own heyday. The problems in defence and midfield have not gone unnoticed by the pundits – and nor have the changes made by the selector, which created difficulties for the team in the final minutes. But at least they are through to the second round thanks to the victory – and Messi.

  Argentina wakes up happy the following day. And on 13 June, accompanied by Gonzalo Higuaín, Lionel enters the press room in the Argentine camp in Pretoria with the same calm demeanour as always. ‘It was a good match. I had a lot of freedom of movement and I was really well supported­ by my team mates. I had a lot more touches. I was shooting from slightly further back than before, and I preferred that because I still had the option of going forward.’

  The press ask him about the possible ‘Messidependence’ of the Argentine team. He replies: ‘This team doesn’t depend on me. On the contrary, I’m the one who depends on the midfielders getting me the ball.’ As always, not a hint of superstar attitude. ‘I’m just one member of the team,’ he says, and it’s clear that in this particular team he feels happy. ‘I feel as comfortable here as I do in Barcelona,’ he confirms, adding: ‘I knew that without the pressure of qualifiers we would play better. I really enjoyed myself against Nigeria.’

  Things have certainly changed, and the past is far behind now, as he explains to TyC Sports: ‘In the national team I hadn’t been myself. I wasn’t playing the way I was at Barcelona, and it was noticeable. But I always had Diego’s support and everything changed thanks to my teammates’ belief in me. I put the qualifiers out of my mind and I knew that we could start afresh at the World Cup. I had to take advantage of that. Now that I’m here I’m going to show everyone what I’m made of and I just have to keep doing that. I would love for everyone in Argentina to feel about me the way they do in Barcelona. I have to keep proving myself, but thank God I’m on the right track.’

  So much so that even after the whole squad has had a chance
to shine, it’s clear that the Barcelona player is still the most valuable. No one has played better than the Flea. And the show continues. Against South Korea he excels in the hole, up front, and as general playmaker. Maradona positions him in front of Mascherano, the sweeper in midfield, and behind the battalion: Maxi, Tévez, Higuaín and di María.

  The Flea organises the game, he gets the ball moving, he takes the free kicks and corners, and he gifts stunning passes to the strikers. He has a hand in each of Argentina’s four goals. He takes the free kick which Park Chu-Young puts in his own net; he crosses for ‘Pipita’ Higuaín’s first goal; then he zigzags between the Korean defenders, shoots, Jung blocks the goal with his foot, his second attempt is just wide of the post but Pipita picks it up for his second goal. And to finish it off, he sets up the perfect assist for Kun, who then gives Pipita his hat-trick – scored right in front of the tournament organisers. Argentina goes from being condemned to ridicule to being one of the favourites.

  According to Spanish newspaper El País, Messi is becoming ‘another Xavi’. He hasn’t hit the jackpot in terms of goals, but everyone is convinced that it will happen eventually, or rather, he’ll get fed up with the status quo. The one who is most sure is Maradona. He is hoping that in the Greece match in Polokwane on 22 June he will see a similar performance to his own against the Greeks in the United States in 1994 – his last Albiceleste game before being sent home from the World Cup for failing a drug test. With the last sixteen almost within reach, Diego sends out his reserve team. But Leo is still playing because, explains the selector, ‘to have a player of his level and to leave him on the bench would be a sin … a sin against the team, against the crowd and against ourselves’.

  The Pelusa has a big surprise in store for his number 10, which he tells him the day before in his room. Messi is overjoyed. He will be wearing the captain’s armband for the first time. After a tough match hampered by the cold at the Peter Mokaba stadium in Polokwane, Argentina beat Greece 2-0 and claim their place in the last sixteen with three group-stage victories. The captain has endured the close marking of Papastathopoulos. The number 19 has stuck to Messi like glue the entire game. And whenever Lionel has managed to dodge away from him, he finds himself­ surrounded by another three white shirts. From the dugout, Maradona is pained to see them continually fouling his student – he hates seeing him so held back. Only after Demichelis’s goal, Lionel manages to burst free, find some space and show what he is made of. He leaves two men behind him and takes a fierce left-footed shot which hits the post. In the 88th minute he goes to the right, plays a one-two with di María and shoots towards the far post. Tzorvas blocks it, and veteran old-timer Martín Palermo takes advantage of the rebound to seal the game and make Maradona extremely happy.

  On 24 June, it is Lionel’s 23rd birthday. ‘I have got to where I am today because of everything Diego has taught me,’ he declares. ‘I am flattered,’ replies Maradona, ‘but Leo is where he is today because he wants to be. You can see how happy he is. He’s enjoying himself. He wants to play. To everyone who complained that Messi wasn’t singing along and that he looked sad – who likes to lose? We lost in the knockout stages. Now everything has turned around and making Messi happy is something everyone is proud to do. Not least his teammates.’ He continues to sing his praises: ‘At this World Cup, there is no one worth even 30 per cent of what Leo is worth. No one can match him.’

  The last sixteen. Argentina versus Mexico, 27 June, Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg. Messi loses his bet with Maradona – he doesn’t score a single goal. ‘I have to score two against Germany or that’s it,’ jokes the number 10 at the end of the match. Argentina beat Javier Aguirre’s men 3-1 with minimal effort, after Tévez opens with a goal which looks offside. ‘I thought they were going to disallow it because they were looking at the replay, but luckily they ruled it as a goal,’ says Messi, who set up the pass which the ‘Apache’ Tévez headed into the net.

  It is not an easy game for Lionel. He looks uncomfortable. He is obliged to keep going back to the centre circle to get into the game. The Albiceleste midfield is not working well and the Flea has to take charge, running too far away from the area where he could be doing the most damage. It once again sparks debate about the number 10’s position, the midfielders, and Maradona’s choice of formation. ‘The national team has reached the quarter finals, but their best player is having difficulty shining just as he did in the first group match. Is he playing where he can make the best impact? Does he have enough support?’ asks Clarín. The Argentine newspaper calls for changes in the midfield to free up Messi so that he doesn’t have to run so far from the goal, because they certainly can’t bench the best player in the world.

  The Germany game is next. The German national team has beaten Fabio Capello’s English team. Led by Joachim Löw, they are a well-oiled machine with a signature style of fresh and entertaining football, thanks to technical players like Müeller, Özil, Khedira and Cross. It’s a team which evokes good and bad memories for the Argentines. The 3-2 win in the final of the 1986 Mexico World Cup, Maradona’s tears after losing the 1990 final in Italy, and the defeat on penalties in the quarter finals in 2006. This time, there will only be bad memories. Germany crushes the Argentines’ hopes with a definitive win, demonstrating fantastic teamwork. It is a collective triumph led by Schweinsteiger against Albiceleste individuals who have little more than dreams, enthusiasm and tactical disorder to show for themselves.

  Maradona’s tactical gamble, which had been hailed as revolutionary, fails Messi again and again, just when it matters most. It is fifteen minutes before he even touches the ball. He tries to organise and direct the play, but apart from a few runs which go nowhere, the odd tackle, and a couple of misguided shots, there is very little of note, except to say that Schweinsteiger and his teammates have managed to stop him without having to foul him once. Stuck far away from the goal, Lionel loses the ball twelve times and doesn’t manage to get it back. He is despairing the fact that on the few occasions when he does manage to break free from the Germans, his teammates don’t manage to feed him the ball. He is left in no man’s land, foundering fast.

  His World Cup score sheet is dismal. He has played five matches, he has taken more shots than anyone – 30 times, twelve on target and two off the post – but he has had no luck. And that’s not the worst part. Since the first match against Nigeria, his status has taken a beating bit by bit. Everyone had been making him out to be Superman, capable of anything, but against Germany he is just another footballer. Who or what is to blame for this disaster? Is it the players who didn’t know how to respond and create a memorable game? Or was it the position behind the strikers that Maradona created which left Messi too far from the box? Or perhaps it was Diego’s 4-1-5 formation in general – a daring move but useless against the Germans. In the end the lack of central midfielder gets the blame, as this would have created the best playing conditions for Lionel.

  The following day, the headlines in the Argentine press tell the story:

  ‘World Cup humiliation for the national team. The worst tour since 1974’ – Clarín

  ‘Germany crushes Argentina’ – La Nación

  ‘No goals or glory for Messi’ – Olé

  ‘Tears for Messi and Argentina’ – Perfil

  After the match, Maradona calls it ‘the hardest moment in my life, a real blow’. But Messi says nothing, he can only shed tears. A few days later, a few lines appear on a Mandarin blog called Tencent apparently quoting Messi: ‘I feel really awful, I want to go home. We played badly, we failed to live up to everyone’s expectations, and now we have to start all over again.’

  When Barça teammate Andrés Iniesta scores the goal which clinches Spain’s first World Cup victory, Lionel is far away from South Africa. He is photographed by the paparazzi on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro with his girlfriend, not far from where the 2014 World Cup will be held. When it rolls around Lionel will be 26, the same age Maradona was in 1986 when
he became king. Who knows … perhaps that’s when he will finally get his crown.

  Chapter 38

  Surprise

  10 January 2011

  Pep Guardiola’s face is an open book. His expressions illustrate a moment in time better than a thousand words. Emotion, surprise or, who knows, perhaps the disappointment of one man or an entire country. The Barcelona coach is charged with opening the envelope to reveal the winner, despite the fact that France Football wanted Johan Cruyff to do it and FIFA’s first choice was David Beckham. He pauses, then starts by saying ‘Ladies and gentlemen’ … then he eschews protocol and switches into Catalan. ‘El guanyador de la FIFA Pilota d’Or es …’ He repeats it in Spanish: ‘El ganador del Balón de Oro es …’ and then finally in English: ‘The winner is …’

  The cameras focus in on the three home-grown candidates – Andrés Iniesta, Lionel Messi and Xavi Hernández. An unprecedented trifecta in Blaugrana history, testament to the club’s style and teaching traditions. Such a whitewash has not been seen since the late 1980s when Arrigo Sacchi’s AC Milan did it twice in a row. In 1988 with Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit and Frank Rjikaard, and in 1989 with van Basten winning again, alongside Franco Baresi and with Rjikaard again in third place.

  Guardiola tears open the envelope, revealing the card. It is facing towards the audience, inadvertently allowing everyone to see the name. A moment of confusion ensues while the gaffer turns it over, before finally announcing: ‘Lionel Messi’. Days later, when the journalists ask about the rumours which had Andrés Iniesta tipped as the winner, Pep Guardiola replies: ‘I think Leo is the best.’

  On stage at the Zurich Palace of Congress everyone is surprised. No one was expecting it – least of all Lionel. Dazed and confused, the boy from Rosario gets up from his seat, buttons the jacket of his Dolce & Gabbana suit, adjusts his tie, sticks out his tongue like Michael Jordan after a great basket, and goes up on stage. Pep shakes his hand, gives him the trophy and a pat on the back and directs him over to FIFA president Joseph Blatter. Meanwhile, the cameras pan the audience for Lionel’s parents Celia and Jorge, who are holding hands, as well as a smiling Sandro Rossell, Barcelona FC’s president. The moment has arrived for the winner’s speech.