LIONEL MESSI
BY: JOSHUA BOLLA
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fter many years of hurt and disappointment, Argentina striker and captain Lionel Messi finally won a trophy with the national team in the just concluded Copa America. The Argentine captain had been the subject of mockery and constant derision by his critics, who pointed at his barren trophy spell with the national team to discredit him. The Argentina captain had won every possible trophy at club level. But on the international stage, he had nothing to show. The question: ‘what has Messi won for Argentina?’ always accompanied arguments regarding who the greatest player is. Pele, Maradona and Cristiano Ronaldo had won international trophies, but Messi had none. More than ever, the Argentine captain was desperate to get his hands on the one trophy that had eluded him in his glorious career heading into the 2020 Copa America. Even his most loyal fans had taken the matter of Messi winning an international trophy personal, and were willing to sacrifice personal sentiment to see that he won with Argentina. For example, in Brazil, there were widespread reports that many of the Brazilian fans were set to cheer for Messi in the final ahead of their national team. Such was the desperation of his fans to win the trophy that they were willing to drop national interests to support Messi. However, everything changed this year for Messi. Luck was on his side while the many failures he has experienced in the past served as a lesson for him and his Argentina colleagues. Although he did not score in the final—he did not have to as it was time for others to step up—he has now ticked that box, and in so doing, solidified his claim as the best ever. The fact that he won the trophy was arguably the most spectacular event of the 2020 Copa America. This can be seen in the
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fter what appeared to be years of trying to decide if it will hold, the 2020/21 Copa America finally appeared and ended with a bang. From 13th of June to 10th of July 2021, ten of the best teams in CONMEBOL competed for the most significant South American national football team prize. The 2021 tournament was the 47th edition of the competition and was held in Brazil after CONMEBOL denied Colombia and Argentina hosting rights due to political and COVID-19 issues. Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay were the ten teams who participated in the tournament. Qatar and Australia were
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SOCCER360 SEPTEMBER • OCTOBER 2021
LEFT: Lionel Messi celebrates after winning his first ever International Trophy, Copa America 2021 BELOW: Messi carries his Player of the Tournament trophy
invited to participate in the tournament, which was originally scheduled to hold in 2020. But because of the Covid-19 outbreak, they could not join. Despite the many discouragements and pre-tournament drama, the tournament was worth the wait as it served Argentina and exBarcelona’s greatest player, Lionel Messi, the opportunity to win his first major international trophy. THE STATS 65 goals were scored in the 28 matches with Argentina emerging champions. They also finished as top scorers, registering 12 goals (excluding penalty shootouts)—one more than Brazil. Six red cards and 114 yellow cards were issued; with Colombia topping the discipline table with 19 yellow cards and one red card. Argentina’s Eminialo Martinez won the best keeper award after keeping four clean sheets in six matches including in the final against Brazil. Lionel Messi was voted the best player in the tournament and he also shared the top scorer gong with Luis Diaz of Colombia.
PRE-TOURNAMENT PROJECTIONS Host nation Brazil seen as the tournament favourites with their obvious quality and strong showing leading up to the tournament. They were also defending champions and were playing on home turf. Meanwhile, the state of the Argentine national team heading into the tournament inspired little confidence in fans and pundits that they could win it. With a new and largely inexperienced coach, as well as their brushes with COVID-19, Argentina was expected to make it to the semis but not much further. But La Albiceleste, led by Messi surprised everyone to win their first Copa America since 1993 and their 15th in total. The trophy was the Argentine’s first for Argentina in the senior team set-up and will go a long way in establishing his status as an Argentina legend. SHOWING NEYMAR SHOWING Apart from Messi, another player who had a strong showing in the 2020 Copa America was Neymar. The Brazilian was up until the semifinal round the best player in the tournament and was the main reason Brazil were
