Chile faces Argentina in Sunday’s Copa America final for the right to call itself South America’s dominant team, but perhaps an even bigger question for football fans the world over is whether Lionel Messi can finally win a major international title.
The Barcelona forward has won every trophy possible with the Spanish club but he has lost three finals with Argentina, including the 2014 World Cup final and the Copa America last year.
The game here gives Messi a chance to end both his personal hoodoo and that of Argentina, which has not won a major title since lifting the Copa America in Ecuador in 1993.
ADVERTISEMENT
Argentina lost to Chile on penalties in the final last year and Messi said the squad was better prepared this time around.
“You learn all the time,” said Messi, who turned 29 on Friday. “We have been working together for another year, we are stronger as a group and we’ve really grown in a lot of ways.”
ADVERTISEMENT
The five-time World Player-of-the-year has been outstanding at the Centenary Copa America, even though he played the first three games as a substitute after injuring his back in a warm-up game.
His sublime free-kick in the 4-0 win over the United States took him to 55 goals and above Gabriel Batistuta as Argentina’s all-time leading goal-scorer. Messi called the performance against the U.S. “perfect” and he will not have forgotten that Argentina beat Chile 2-1 in their opening match on June 6.
Frenetic pace However, the Chileans have improved since, beating Bolivia and Panama before hammering Mexico 7-0 in what was undoubtedly the performance of the tournament.
Coach Juan Antonio Pizzi has Chile playing the high-paced pressing game and super-fast counterattacks that make it such an exciting team to watch.
“This team has created an identity,” the Argentina-born Pizzi said after the semifinal.