Lionel Messi: Mission Incomplete

Incomplete. A word not often associated with the Argentinian wizard, however, after seemingly dragging his home nation by the scruff of the neck to the World Cup semi-final, the legacy is just that – incomplete. With constant reference to his lack of international success, the only hard evidence that exists in the Lionel Messi debate remains a valid one, we all sensed the talk may come to a halt by 11pm last night, but it just wasn’t meant to be.

With the stage set for the best player in world football to erase all who had preceded him and etch his name in permanent marker as the greatest human being to ever kick a ball, we were all excited and some of us slightly anxious to have his status confirmed. Following what some would call a “bad” season for Lionel Messi, this summer provided the perfect opportunity for the 27 year-old to make the transition from legend to God. With four goals in Brazil, and the kinds of performances we have all become accustomed to from the Barcelona star, everything seemed to be lining up in perfect synchronicity, for history to be made.

As the teams finished their respective national anthems and the captains Lionel Messi and Philipp Lahm met in the centre circle for the traditional pre-game handshake, the stature of the 5’7” Argentinian was put into beautiful symmetry with the German skipper of the same height, and served as a stark reminder of how far the game’s respect for technical skill has come. It’s really incredible that these players are as influential and integral to their respective teams as they are, as just 10 years prior they would have been disregarded by even the most progressive of English league academies for something as clearly trivial as their height.

The unfortunate truth of Lionel Messi’s Argentina falling just short of glory, is that the argument rages on. Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal fell well short of the final, and the Real Madrid man’s performances over the summer came under real scrutiny, a fantastic dichotomy of the incredible tournament enjoyed by Messi and Argentina. But by the time the semi-finals rolled around, little Leo was found wanting, and across 240 minutes, you would be hard pressed to convince anybody that the best who ever did it played at World Cup 2014.

The adidas star, who donned his very own branded boots from the battle pack collection, perfectly embodied the slogan that dominated the final of this World Cup, it was #allin or nothing and unfortunately, Leo goes home with just that.

There is a sick and selfish comfort in Messi’s failure though. Like the drop of the spinning top at the end of the movie Inception, when we see Messi doing what Messi does best and still not quite succeeding, we know it’s real life and not a horrible dream. How the so-called Golden Ball winner responds to last night’s disappointment will surely become the making of him, and while it’s unfair that he’s the only player in the world to play under such incredible pressures, here’s to Russia 2018. Maybe next time, Leo.