As Lionel Messi’s penalty sailed high into the New Jersey sky, there was a sense of Déjà vu among the Argentinian players.
The sense that they would lose a fifth final in a row and the third in three years. This collection of mesmerising and incredible parts has failed to fuel into the aesthetically run machine it was supposed to. It may very well be the end.
It is startling to think that La Albiceleste have been in three finals in three consecutive years and have lost them all. Make no mistake, their talent in forward positions has been unmatched in world football for a while , yet they have failed to score in 453 minutes of finals football. As the men from Buenos Aires succumbed to yet another defeat on penalties to Chile in the final of the Copa Centenario, it must have been truly exasperating.
The stark reality, however, is clearer. Not only have Argentina failed to maximise their exceptional talent, they have also failed in administrative terms. The ramifications of this has led to continuous unrest around the camp and has clearly left many infuriated. It is the only reason to explain why Messi, who had lambasted the nation’s FA’s many shortcomings during the tournament already, so nonchalantly retired after the defeat seemingly because he had had enough. Sergio Aguero and Javier Mascherano, who has played in all five finals have also retired. Gonzalo Higuain, Angel Di Maria, Lucas Biglia and Ezequiel Lavezzi may soon follow. All are players who have failed to consistently gel as a team. The 2006 World Cup side that so admirably performed, is probably the closest thing Messi and company have come to cohesion.
That very word is the epitome of what Chile are, it has helped them steal two titles away from their so-called more distinguished South American neighbours. The game was eerily reminiscent of the Copa America final last year, with an intense and attritional affair yielding no goals. Yet again, however, they failed to take their chances. Messi was not exactly playing his best game. Higuain, so often the scapegoat for the national team, due to his high-profile misses, was made one here again with another set of chances wasted. For a player who so easily breaks scoring records for Napoli in Serie A, his form for Argentina is repugnant.
It is truly depressing seeing a generation being lost in front of our eyes, it is very unlikely that they will be given the credit they deserve. Messi, Argentina’s top scorer of all-time with 55 goals, will not be revered as he should and that is genuinely deflating. After all the phenomenon, has won everything there is to win in football bar with the national side. What persists with ‘the Little Master’ though, is his alarming inability to perform when it really matters for Argentina in similar fashion to the stratospheric levels which he regularly displays for Barcelona. It would be hyperbole to suggest that Messi was anonymous in the showpiece, but it is not like he was involved as much as we have become accustomed.
It is a testament to Chile who have managed to shackle him in both Copa finals. Manuel Neuer and Germany were not exactly troubled by Messi in the World Cup Final either. Certainly there is sympathy for Argentina’s No.10, as losing four finals is not something identified with a player who has claims to being the greatest ever. How serious he is about retiring is still uncertain and it could be an overreaction to a bad defeat (even though teammates claimed to have never seen him so distraught).
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Make no mistake, La Albiceleste would be in immense problems if it turned out to be true. There remains the feeling that for all their individual talent, the little Magician is still the player who galvanises and elevates them and has brought them to an admittedly now debatable, number one spot on the FIFA Rankings. Add to that the notoriously hard job of qualifying for the World Cup from CONMEBOL and things could get sticky, especially were more players to announce their retirements.
Messi is arguably the greatest footballer of all-time, however, he may not end up being his country’s finest.
All in all, it may be a tribute to international football. Although it has inevitably fallen behind the level of the European club game, it has an incomparable ability to make people feel symbolic. On Sunday the pressure of that responsibility got to Messi.
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