The current world best player has been impressive for his club side FC Barcelona over the past few years but his work-rate, goals, influence and ability when he dons his shirt for the Albiceleste is woefully inadequate. Bookmakers tipped the little Argentine to grab the topscorer award at the Copa but he turned out as a top non-scorer (top player who did not score). He was involved in three of the five goals Argentina scored at the Copa and was named man of the match in a low profile game against a lame Costa Rica side. I take a look at why Lionel Messi cannot replicate his club form for his country….
1. TEAM TACTICS: I will use the 2011 Copa America as a case study here. Argentina’s disappointing run during the Copa America went a long way to reveal a lot of things. Lionel Messi was toothless in that first game against Bolivia and lot of criticisms should be leveled at manager, Sergio Batista. The tactician played a 4-3-3 formation (reportedly to suit Messi) with three defensive minded midfielders in Ever Banenga, Esteban Cambiasso and Javier Mascherano and a striking triumvirate consisting of Ezequiel Lavezzi, Carlos Tevez and Lionel Messi. Here, there was no creativity in the middle of the park and so Messi had to drop deep to claim the ball so as to create an attacking move. At Barca, it is not so. Supporting cast, Iniesta and Xavi are responsible for creating the attack and Messi finishes them off with relish. This only means one thing…that Messi cannot perform in a team bereft of a Xavi or Iniesta prototype…this also shows that Xavi and Iniesta should be given more recognition. The answer to this problem was quite easy. One of the three defensive midfielders, (probably Cambiasso) should have been dropped for a more creative player (Javier Pastore). Some pundits argue that the telepathy between Messi and his team mates is the reason why he does not perform but I am glad to reveal it is just a fallacy. Messi has played with most of his current team mates at different levels (youth levels). For example, in the 2008 Summer Olympics in which Argentina claimed Gold (this same Sergio Batista was the manager), Messi played alongside players like Ezequiel Garay, Pablo Zabaleta, Fernando Gago, Ever Banga, Ezequiel Lavezzi, Angel Di Maria, Javier Mascherano and Sergio Romero. At the under 20 World Cup in which Argentina again won and Messi himself voted the Best Player and topscorer of the tourney, he played alongside Pablo Zabaleta, Sergio Aguero and Fernando Gago. Therefore, that Chemistry with majority of his team mates is already there but the results desired is not forth coming due to bad team tactics. Argentina should play as Argentina, not try to alter their system to suit Messi.
2. THE TAG OF NEXT MARADONA: I don’t know if anyone else has realized this parallelism that exists between Maradona and Messi. First of all, Maradona won the U-20 World Cup with Argentina in 1979. He was voted the best player. Lionel Messi also won the U-20 World Cup with Argentina in 2005 where he was also voted best player and topscorer. Secondly, Maradona played for Newell’s Old Boys (1993-1994) and FC Barcelona (1982-1984). Lionel Messi’s youth career kick started at Newell’s Old Boys (1995-2000) whilst he’s currently ruling the world of football as he sits on his Barcelona throne in Catalunya. Penultimately, Diego Maradona made his full international debut for Argentina against Hungary in 1977 at the age of just 16 years. Lionel Messi also debuted for Argentina against Hungary albeit it ended in cataclycsm as Messi was sent off just two minutes after he was brought on as a substitute. Lastly, Messi has replicated some of Maradona’s flamboyant and infamous goals. I’ll give two examples. Maradona scored with his hand against England in a crunch quarter final game in the 1986 World Cup. Again in that same game against England, Maradona scored the greatest goal in the history of the World Cup when he took the ball from his own half and mazed through five English players before making goalkeeper Peter Shilton look ordinary and then slotted the ball home. Messi has replicated these two goals. In the 2006/2007 La Liga season, Messi replicated Maradona’s ‘hand of God’ goal against local rivals, Espanyol. In that same season against Getafe he scored another Maradona-esque goal. Messi claimed the ball from his own half and jinked through five Getafe outfield players. The goalkeeper was also not spared as Messi went past him before cooly finishing. Sid Lowe of the Daily Telegraph (London) was quoted as saying “He ran about the same distance, 62 metres (203 ft), beat the same number of players (six, including the goalkeeper), scored from a very similar position, and ran towards the corner flag just as Maradona did in Mexico 21 years before”. Obviously, Diego Maradona had similar playing style as Lionel Messi. Both of them are quite short (in fact, Messi is just 0.04 m taller than Maradona) and their physique is such that, they both have a low centre of gravity meaning they are less likely to fall down when impeded and they both play almost the same position BUT the only difference is that Diego Maradona has done something worthy of note for his country; winning the world cup whilst Messi has not. This has heightened the pressure on Lionel Messi to perform for his country. I’ve been of the opinion that the 2014 World Cup belongs to Brazil and so the only realistic chance Messi has of winning the World Cup will be in 2018. By then, the Barcelona maestro would be approaching 31 years of age…he might have lost some of his quality by then but if he does not win the World Cup in 2018, then it should be adios for Lionel Messi’s international career and then we can safely say he has failed as an international.
3. MORE OF A CATALAN THAN AN ARGENTINE: Not entirely his fault but Messi has spent the best part of his life in Spain. Lionel Messi was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency at the tender age of just eleven years. FC Barcelona opted to take care of his medical bills...some years later the Barca ace has opted to take care of opposition defenders on the pitch. Lionel Messi rarely sings the national anthem and the fact that he’s the only member of the Argentine national team who never played in the Argentine league means that he’s not a fan favourite. Carlos Tevez is the poster boy of the national team…a fan’s favourite and even if he has a bad day on the pitch, the fans urge him on whilst they hurl insults and insinuations at the Barca kid even when he’s giving his all for the team. These criticisims have got to Messi as he recently made it point blank that nothing (criticisms) was going to stop him from playing for the national team. The Argentine FA President, Julio Grondona indicated that Lionel Messi would not play for the national team again if the criticisms from the press and fans persisted. We all know that tension between a player and his fans does not normally auger well for the player and that’s another reason why Lionel Messi is seemingly not performing for his national side.
Lionel Messi is the best footballer on earth, no doubt but he needs to prove it with his national team. All the greatest players we can think of have proved their worth with their national teams; Diego Maradona, world Pele, Franz Beckenbaeur, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo de Lima, Fabio Cannavarro, Ronaldinho et al. Football purists are concerned about his erratic form for his country and the credibility of the FIFA Ballon d’or committee is at stake because their star man can only perform for his club, Barca. The Copa America is over but fortunately, Messi’s international career is not over. He may go down as the greatest player in the history of FC Barcelona but not the greatest player in world football if he does not succeed with Argentina….
I leave you with how goal.com rated Lionel Messi in each of his games at the Copa America.
Messi against Bolivia
“Had a few magical runs and solid through balls but looked nothing like the Barcelona version. Rarely tested the Bolivia goalkeeper”
Messi against Colombia
“Created Argentina’s best chance of the game when he released Lavezzi in an excellent position in the 33rd minute. Tried hard to drive his team to victory but looked a bit intimidated by the Colombians passionate play. Spent most of the time shaking his head, instead of using it.”
Messi against Costa Rica
“Tonight witnessed the reappearances of the mesmeric Messi who terrorizes defences in Barca colours. Provided assists for Aguero and di Maria with delightful passes. Also presented Higuain with a hatful of chances, but the Real Madrid forward failed to take them.”
Messi against Uruguay
“Had a few fantastic 25 min spell in the first 45 in which he was untouchable. Curled over a stunning cross for Higuain to head home and restore parity. Repeated the trick with a freekick, but Higuain’s goal was ruled out for offside. Not quite as mesmerizing in the second half and extra time.”
My own quote: “Nobody remembers that Maradona won the U-20 World Cup but everyone remembers he won the senior World Cup in 1986. Lionel Messi may have won the 2005 U-20 World Cup but he needs to win the senior World Cup to engrave his name in the history books of football.”
I want your take on this issue. Why do you think Lionel Messi ‘underperforms’ for his country?
By Emmanuel Ampiah (ampiahee@yahoo.com)
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