Last night Lionel Messi broke the all time scoring record at Barcelona at the tender age of 24. The question is, if he can do it so well for the best side in world football, why can’t he do it for his country?
In his short career he has set the footballing world alight, and in the past four years especially under Pep Guardiola, he has taken football to another level.
Those who call him the best ever are not being flippant, this man is on a different level to everyone else. He has won everything you can possibly want; Champions Leagues, La liga titles, World Club Cup's and has won the FIFA World player of the year three times in a row. He has played 313 games for Barcelona, scoring a staggering 234 goals and assisting 93. These statistics are mind boggling, he has literally contributed more than a goal every game he plays.
When you watch Messi you know you are witnessing something very special. His speed and skill are fantastic, yet so is his attitude, his drive, level headedness and confidence is simply amazing. His ability to come up with the goods when necessary is testament to his mental strength. His apparent rival to the world's best Cristiano Ronaldo has been criticised for his lack of influence in the big games, this cannot be directed at Messi. Goals in both Champions League finals gave Barcelona their third and fourth European title. Against Real Madrid he has scored thirteen times in his career showing that he performs on the big stage, when it really matters. One of Messi's best games came when he did not even score, in the 5-0 win against Madrid in Nov 2010 everything went through him, he simply was the conductor to the most splendid of orchestras.
And yet, there are still doubters of his ability because he has not “done it” on the international level with Argentina. They believe that until he wins a World Cup he cannot be considered a contender for best ever. Are they right?
Lionel Messi scored his first hat trick for Argentina against Switzerland in February, leaving many to ponder if Messi is finally ready to take Argentina to the heights of international football. In sixty seven games for his country Messi has twenty two goals, a return of one in three is not too shabby for many players, yet this is not your average player, this is the world’s best player, one who many regard as better than Maradona, Pele, Cryuff and Zidane.
The question is, if he can do it so well for the best side in world football, why can’t he do it for his country?
There has been many stories regarding Messi not being a true Argentinian, after being taken to Spain at a young age he has spent his adolescence in the Basque region, learning the culture of Catalonia and the style of Barcelona. It has led people to question his desire to play for the country of his birth, believing his often abject performances for his national team reflect a sort of reluctance to play for them.
Time magazine ran a piece about Messi in their January issue which covered the issue of Messi and Argentina. In an interview with Messi he stated his love for his country. Even now he still speaks in his regional dialect of Rosario even though he has spent half his life in Catalonia. He values his family more than anything and his girlfriend is Argentinian. He is clearly not a man who has thrown away his roots.
Yet too often the crowd have turned on Argentina, on the "stranger" Messi, wearing the captain armband. In the Copa America last year Argentina could only draw with Colombia and the fans decided to boo the team and Messi, the captain, off the pitch. Fans were complaining loudly about not seeing anything of his usual attacking spark.
There was an apparent altercation between Burdisso and Messi because there was a belief that Messi wasn’t working hard enough defensively. After Burdisso used some choice words in Messi's direction, his father, Jorge, spoke on his son's behalf. "Leo is having a really tough time," he said. "The people can think what they like but what hurts most is what the media say. They are throwing oil on the fire," He said that his son was mortified to hear the home fans boo the side off after their 0-0 draw with Colombia.
Did it effect Messi, of course, "It hurt, it bothered me,” he told Time Magazine, “because they said things that weren't true - that I didn't care as much about wearing the [Argentina] shirt. I didn't feel that, I didn't think that. And now, I think what people need to understand is that this is a team game, and that I try to play the same way there as I do in Barcelona, and always do the best I can.”
“I've never stopped being Argentine and I've never wanted to,” he declared. “I feel very proud of being Argentine, even though I left there. I've been clear about this since I was very young, and I never wanted to change. Barcelona is my home because both the club and the people here have given me everything, but I won't stop being Argentine.”
The pressure on this man's shoulders is huge, on one side the fans expect him to win them every game, every tournament, yet they also do not feel a connection with him as he left so young. It appears he cannot win with them, because the side is just not as good as Barcelona is. Too say he doesn't try for his country is utterly ridiculous, the issues of Argentina's problems go deeper than Messi. However, when you possess the best player in world football, people will expect things from him and the team. There is enormous pressure put on Messi’s shoulders.
The weight of the world
The last time Argentina won a major trophy was the Copa America in 1993 and they have not made it to a World Cup final since 1990. It would appear that the problems lie deeper than with just Leo Messi.
In an interview last season, Seba Veron stated that Messi “was a timid and withdrawn kid" when he entered the national side. This was a player who many believed was the second coming of Maradona, yet Messi lacked the persoanlity of Diego. Messi was shy and reserved, compared to Maradona who was very outspoken.
When people close to Messi talk of him they speak of a shy and withdrawn character who loves to play football yet has taken time to adapt the stardom that his talent his produced. He now appears comfortable in this environment, yet his focus on the pitch has not faltered. His level of consistency is what separates him from the rest and after scoring his first hat trick for Argentina and being the regular captain then perhaps he is beginning to deal with the weight of expectation on him.
Forever in Maradona’s shadow
Messi's potential has been talked about since he was a little boy and the expectations that have been created in his country from the media and the fans is enormous. Because of his early departure from his home country it would appear that Messi feels the need to impress on his nations fans more because they consider him not one of them. However much he professes his love for the country, one poor game and he is used as the scapegoat. Does this happen at Barcelona? No.
He knows what the fans expect of him yet he has the unconditional support of the coaches, players and most importantly the supporters. This allows him to express himself fully, whereas with the expectations and short fuses of the Argentinian fans, Messi has been clearly weighed down by the pressure.
It has not helped him when his idol, Maradona has sought not to diffuse pressure on him but increase it. “Messi is better than me at World Cup '86. He's the best player in the world and better by far compared to others. In 86, in Mexico, I did it with the ball, I grew up and my team-mates followed. Now I have explained the same to Leo to do it in South Africa and he has understood," he said. “He has to be the leader of the ball. When we play football and the ball does not pass through Messi, then ball goes through me but I cannot move so then we are going wrong." Messi probably is better than he was however in the World Cup it did not help for a young player to have so much responsibility on him.
Maradona constantly compares Messi to himself in 1986, when he led Argentina to the trophy. Unfortunately for Messi it has been like the Maradona of '82; a 21-year-old Maradona was unable to live up to the huge weight of expectation that rested on his shoulders, and his team were knocked out in the second round.
Maradona made many mistakes in the World Cup, most notably making Messi captain in the game against Greece; an honour no doubt for the young man but what he needed was not the extra pressure on him but the freedom to roam and play like he does so naturally.
Tactically Maradona also made the mistake of trying to force the play always through Messi, resulting Messi dropping deeper than usual and trying to do too much too often. The instructions were clear, give Messi the ball. However he was often double or treble teamed and this resulted in a disjointed team performance and a struggle for young Messi.
Surely, with the talent around Messi, Maradona should have done more to get them the ball and used Messi as a decoy, that way being more effective in the games. It happened at World Cup 2006 with Brasil when Ronaldinho was often doubled up on, this gave Kaka more room to play. At Barcelona when Messi is restricted from playing, he is allowing others to get into spaces that he creates. By giving him the ball all the time, it restricted Argentina’s balance and effectiveness and made Messi look poor.
People have speculated whether Maradona jeopardised Messi’s tournament to restrict him becoming a World Cup winner. Yet regardless, Messi will never be regarded as highly in Argentina as Maradona has been. Maradona is a god in his home nation, a man who can do no wrong in their eyes. In Buenos Aires his face is everywhere, no more so than in the region around Boca Juniors. And in the nation's capital it is Tevez and Aguero who fans adore, they are the boys from their teams, who grew up in their streets. Messi will never be like them, he will never receive the love that their home boys get. Yet he will always be expected to perform, what pressure.
Even in Rosario, where Messi was brought up, there is a stand named after Maradona from his time there. Messi will always be viewed as an outsider, perhaps not a traitor, however if in his career he never plays senior club football in Argentina then fans will believe that he does not hold his country in as high esteem as that of his adopted nation Spain. This is clearly ridiculous, European football is of much higher quality to South American, especially Argentina. Messi was fortunate to have Barcelona take a chance and pay his medical bills when no one else would. He owes them his career today yet feels like he is in debt to his country more. He believes that if he doesn’t win the World Cup for his country then he has failed them, the problem is, they believe that too.
The problem with all this is that Argentina are actually not that good. They possess excellent footballers, great individuals, yet they lack the team work needed for success. It may pain those loyal fans who believe they are always the best, yet the reason they have not won anything since 1993 and have not won the World Cup since 1986 is because do not have the right balance in their side to go all the way.
An Unbalanced team
Argentina had a real chance of winning the World Cup in 2006; they were leading Germany 1-0 with twenty minutes left in the quarter finals. Then the coach, Pekerman decided that he wanted to protect the lead and took off arguably the player of tournament so far, Riquelme, and put on Cambiasso to secure the victory. However, Germany levelled and ended up winning the tie on penalties. Argentina would have had Italy in the semi final and had a real chance of success.
In 2010, Maradona, with no experience of coaching, was given the reigns to one of the most talented teams in the tournament. Apart from Spain, Argentina possessed some of the best attacking talent in the world. Yet this was their downfall, or more so Maradona’s, who attempted to fit in all his players to a formation which clearly was vulnerable defensively. Maradona's 4-3-3 allowed Gonzalo Higuaín, Carlos Tevez and Leo Messi to play together, supported by Angel di María, but it also led to the switching one of his favourites, Gutiérrez, from left wing to right-back.
In the tournament Gutiérrez repeatedly got sucked in towards his centre-halves, was nervous in the tackle, never got forward but Maradona refused to address Gutiérrez's performance directly afterwards, instead claiming: "This is the system we need."
There was a sense that Argentina could lose to the first well-organised team they met, unless their attacking armoury starts firing at full throttle, which duly happened against the excellent counter attacking Germans who destroyed Argentina’s defence and came out 4-1 winners.
The attack, attack, attack instinct of Maradona, at times as thrilling as it was basic, could not in the end take Argentina far. But Maradona at least knew that offense, and definitely not defense, was what is in the soul of his players.
Last years Copa America, held in Argentina was a poor tournament by all accounts. Argentina were desperate to win it, Messi was captain and the hopes of the nation were on him again. However, they scraped through the group with two draws and a win and then lost to the eventual winners Uruguay in the quarters. Sergio Batista had tried to work his magic and get the best out of Messi, even trying to replicate the formation of Barcelona and use Messi as the false nine. Yet they failed, again.
These examples sum up the coaching of the national side, a team blessed with so much talent yet requiring a man needed with strength, discipline and a tactical nous to take them on. Argentina have lacked this necessity in the past two decades. And all these examples are not Messi’s fault.
The fault lies with the coaching and the development of the type of players needed for the national team to be successful. Blame can probably be placed with Diego. Why? Because he is so important in the psyche of the country; when you look at the world class players being produced from Argentina; Messi, Aguero, Di Maria, Tevez and Lavezzi they all resemble Maradona; small, quick, skilful and forwards. As individuals they have all made their club sides better, no question. However, the struggle has been to implement them into a winning national side. All their clubs have players who provide for them; Xavi, Silva, Inler, Alonso, Ozil. None of these are Argentinian and this is the biggest problem plaguing Argentina.
The need for the playmaker
Before the 2010 World Cup much was being made of the relationship between Messi and Veron, on and off the pitch, with the media believing that Veron was the man who could unlock the talent of Messi like Xavi does for Barcelona. He possessed the patience and experience to calm down his often more exuberant younger teammates and had shown he could bring out the best of Messi. However Veron’s best days were behind him, and he lined up as a defensive midfielder, either beside or slightly ahead of Javier Mascherano. His job required him not only be to play through the likes of Messi but to defend and to interrupt opposition attacks. It was an awfully big ask for his ageing legs to cope with.
The question must be, why did Argentina require Veron, was there no-one else to fill his boots? This is where the issue of Argentina's woes come.
In the past fifteen years there have been some outstanding talent for Argentina, especially donning the number ten shirt. Creative playmakers like Veron, Riquelme and Aimar are the classic No 10, the man who romanticises the game with his skill, poise, flair and expression. These are the type of players who move freely around in attacking areas, offering up an array of inspired through passes, flicks, tricks, dribbles and often spectacular goals.
However there’s a feeling around Argentinian football, and world football in general, that traditional playmakers are becoming a very rare breed. The decline of the number 10, though, is cause for much hand-wringing in Argentina, where the trequartista (three-quarter) and enganche (hook, or anchor) as they are respectively known, have always been a vital element to those countries’ systems of play. However, the game has changed, tactics altered and the classic 10 has been replaced by a new breed of player. The game has gone deeper, playmakers operate in midfield, in deep lying roles, dictating play. And forwards now drop to become "false nines". Today we think of Xavi, Silva, Sneijder as the playmakers of modern football. So who is the next player that Argentina require?
Many in Argentina believe that Ever Banega could be the one to unlock Messi's potential. At 23 he is growing into that role for Valencia, however Banega, flanked by the defense-minded Mascherano and Esteban Cambiasso, has a long way to go to be in that class of previous playmakers and when comparing him to the qualities of Iniesta, Xavi and Ozil, then he is not at the level required to control and dominate international football.
Perhaps then hopes rest on Javier Pastore; fans of Seria A will know him from last season as he shone brightly, enough so to get a £30 million move to PSG. Pastore has been most often compared to Kaka, his movement and physical appearance (tall and elegant), rather than style of play. True, Pastore is quick and skilful with the ball at his feet, but in reality his visionary passing, ball retention and deft touches are more akin to Riquelme’s style, albeit at a faster tempo. In short, his is perfect for the role of playmaker. Has his time at PSG improved him, would have a move to a bigger European club helped his development further? Perhaps, yet what he certainly has is the ability and possesses the qualities that a modern playmaker needs. He moves into the channels more so than a classic 10 who often stayed central, possibly allowing Messi to drop into his desired "false nine" position.
It is the lack of talent in the past several years in midfield that has been why can’t Messi replicate his performances for Argentina, simply he lacks the players around him who provide him with the ball. Last night Dani Alves set up two of his goals, this is the right back playing as a creative midfielder. The talent in Barcelona is phenomenal and Guardiola has said that Messi is so great because he is surrounded by great players around him. Do Argentina have a dearth of great creative players? No.
The Brazil right-back said that the Argentina midfielder struggles with his national team because he doesn't receive the same support that he gets at his club. "I think that the reason Messi has difficulties with Argentina is because there is no comparison between Barcelona and Argentina," Alves said. "With all respect to the players in Argentina, there is no comparison between the two. At Barcelona, he has players of his level. There is no comparison between the players in Argentina and the players in Barcelona."
Messi has Xavi, Iniesta, Fabregas and even Alves to provide passes and create goals. Argentina has no one comparable. Xavi is the pivotal point of his club, and of the Spanish national eleven, because his eye, his brain and his feet can so precisely measure the passes that fantastic forwards need to make their runs. Without one of those, all the forward running of Messi & co. is wasted.
Can’t match Barca
Messi has certainly benefited from the exceptional passing and dribbling skills of Xavi and Iniesta. Meanwhile, Argentina has lacked a quality central midfielder for years, and it shows in the lack of chances Messi and other Argentine forwards have to get good looks at the goal.
Batista tried to replicate the style of Barcelona last year, yet failed. This is because at Barcelona the style of play is almost impossible to replicate. No club in the world plays with such fluidity than Barcelona, the squad are all on the same page, as they efficiently pass to one another with such precise timing.
In Argentina there appears to be a lack of cohesion and failure to understand the strengths and weaknesses of their teammates that leads to ineffective performances. At Camp Nou the players work in symmetry, orchestrated from the side by Guardiola and led on the pitch by Xavi. It has taken years to perfect this style. Argentina need to develop their own brand of football necessary to bring out the qualities of it's excellent individuals.
What the future holds
The Lionel Messi experiment in Argentina proceeds despite poor results, but Argentina has no other recourse than to trust Messi to break out of his slump and find a way to overcome his obstacles and produce like the superstar player he has proven to be with Barcelona.
Argentina have been a shambles for years and the pressure on Messi now is massive. Yet he will not be to blame if success is not forthcoming; football is a team game and success comes from the team. Spain and Barcelona are a team in the fullest sense, their understanding, style and importantly balance between attack and defence has been the reason for their successes.
If Messi never wins the World Cup for his nation it will not be for want of trying, however it may be for the lack of quality in the team. He is unquestionably the best player in the world, and has shown that in club football he has dominated the game like no other player before.
However, if he wants to succeed with Argentina then they need to do more to develop world class defenders and evolve their development programmes to fit in with the modern game. Riquelme and Veron were beautiful players to watch, controlling games with poise and skill, however that type of luxury player is not built for the modern game, perhaps Pastore can give Argentina what they have lacked. There is an impressive array of talent in the Argentina squad, yet it lacks balance, if they manage to improve their coaching and tactics and thus find a way to use the forward talents effectively, then perhaps success is not that far away.
