So there will be no Messi at the World Cup in Russia.
It is heartbreaking news for the 29-year-old’s millions of fans. They — in fact, the entire footballing world — must be hoping that the little magician from Argentina has a change of heart and plays in the white-and-blue shirt again. He might as, after all, the decision to quit must have been taken more with his heart than head. He would have been feeling extremely low after the Copa America final loss to Chile. Missing the penalty in the shootout must have made his misery greater.
Arguably, the greatest player of his generation is leaving international football without even one trophy that truly matters. He would rather have a World Cup or the Copa America than all those the World Player of the Year Awards, the glories he brought for Barcelona and those numerous goals that had written genius written all over.
The best chance to make Argentina the World champion came to him in Brazil two years ago. He was in sublime form, scored two of the best goals of the tournament and was the Man-of-the-Match on four occasions. Yet, his team could only be second-best to a fantastic German side that had 11 brilliant and effective players.
Those Germans reminded us that football at the end of the day was a team game. If it wasn’t, Northern Ireland’s George Best and Welshman Ian Rush would have been at least able to play at the World Cup; closer home, I.M. Vijayan and Baichung Bhutia would not have been part of an Indian team with ridiculously low ranking for a country with a population of more than a billion.
There is a limit to what even a genius can achieve. Messi has been reminded about his failure to guide Argentina to a triumph at the World Cup or the Copa, far too often, by former stars, including fellow-countryman Diego Maradona, the media as well as sections of football fans, especially those who swear by Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar.
One could argue that a genius like Messi should have been able to make Argentina the world champion. Didn’t Maradona do it in 1986? If you take Maradona out, that Argentine side wasn’t exactly a German side of 2014 or a Spain of 2010.
But, even Maradona needed a slice of luck — the ‘Hand of God’. Maybe it was the hand of Destiny. Maradona was destined to make Argentina the World champion. And boy, didn’t he do that in style? How could you ever forget that second goal he scored in that very quarterfinal match against England?
That World Cup confirmed that Maradona was the second best player of all time. For all the loud protestations by Maradona himself and the polls, featuring voters who have little clue about players from earlier generations, Pele has to be the best.
What Maradona did in Mexico in 1986, Imran Khan would do at the cricket World Cup in Australia six years later. The charismatic all-rounder made Pakistan the World champion with inspiring leadership.
But, we should not forget that he had a Wasim Akram at the top of his game. And yes, cricket is not as much a team game as football: remember Kapil Dev’s 175 not out against Zimbabwe at the 1983 World Cup?
So one could accuse Messi of not making Argentina the World champion, despite coming close enough at the Maracana Stadium six years ago, also in July. He would have not turned 31 by the time the final of the next World Cup kicks off in Moscow in 2018. And he might not be too old to play in Qatar, another four years later.
So, Messi could have got the opportunity to answer his critics. And who knows, he just might reconsider his decision. 29 is no age to retire!
