It’s quite weird! Messi is one of the best players of the past two decades and Argentina is one of the greatest footballing nations par excellence, and yet not much has come of this combination. In the senior field it was the Copa America, but somehow you should have expected more. There was probably always too much public pressure and expectation as many thought Messi would almost single-handedly lead Argentina to titles. He still has a chance of winning the World Cup, but somehow I don’t think Argentina has a chance this time. But who knows, maybe the team and Messi can cope better with the underdog role and still be able to play for the title.
One thing that I had almost forgotten, I only became aware of again through this article. Messi has deservedly won many individual titles, but why he was named Player of the Tournament in 2014 is anyone’s guess. It was probably a consolation because of the lost final, I didn’t think this award was deserved at the time.
Argentina has no chance this time?
You’re just mentioning it as if it’s Argentina’s weakest in years, when it’s actually the other way around.
Argentina was never that strong during Messi’s career, not even close, not even at the 2014 World Cup in my opinion.
Argentina is actually the best-formed team in the world at the moment, so you can count them among the narrow circle of favourites.
Your post also had several things that made you shake your head:
-No one knows why Messi became player of the tournament?
-Not much has happened during Messi’s international career?
-And Argentina has no chance this time?
Everyone has their own opinion, but I think the opinion is very one-sided against Messi.
Unfortunately you seem to be taking things the wrong way! Where do I write that Argentina has no chance? On the contrary! I write that Argentina/Messi still have a chance. Personally, I just don’t believe in an Argentine title because I think other teams are stronger, I personally only see Argentina as an outsider. But I never questioned the chance itself.
Messi and Player of the Tournament 2014? I really can’t understand this decision! The user Walloschke has just summarized this very well in a comment, there is nothing more for me to say about it.
The sentence that I could have phrased differently is the one with “not got around much”. Of course Messi has already achieved something with Argentina, but what I wanted to say is this: one of the best players in one of the best teams promises many titles. There were a few finals, but in the end only the winner counts, especially in football. You can of course discuss whether that’s so good, but unfortunately second and third places are not as valuable in football as in other sports. More titles could have been possible at the Copa, especially when you consider that the Copa takes place much more often than a European Championship and that the field of participants is also a bit weaker on average. In that sense, I think Messi’s record in the NM has fallen short of expectations with just one Copa title so far. Of course he can still change this.
Is my opinion biased against Messi? I don’t think so! I’ve written that I see him as one of the best, and I’ve written about his many deservedly won titles. So it’s actually clear that I value him as a player. But I also tried to look at both sides of the coin, like his NM career in general, or the 2014 World Championships in particular. So I don’t find my comment one-sided at all, but rather very balanced. But of course that’s just my opinion.
Which nations do you see as more favorites?
So the statement “outsider role” surprises me very much.
Especially when you consider that no European heavyweight knows how to convince and Argentina’s form curve is pointing extremely upwards.
Brazil is also in very good form, but otherwise the top European nations in particular don’t seem as solid as usual.
Not too long ago Argentina won the Copa against Brazil in the final and sent the finalists home with a score of 3-0.
In addition, they haven’t lost a game in over 30 games and the squad looks pretty coherent and balanced compared to the last few years, when only the offensive was really good.
And I really wouldn’t say if Messi is underachieved.
He made it to the final 4 times out of the 6 tournaments and 2 times he was really unlucky in a penalty shoot-out.
Leaving aside the 2007 tournament when Messi was just a 19-year-old chick, he has won the Copa as many times as Brazil in the same period, exactly once and reaching the final multiple times. And he was also once in the World Cup final during this period, Brazil noted 0 times and you have to say the Brazilian team was peppered with talented players and had a relatively stronger squad than the Argentine team.
Top nation or not, world class or not…
It is and will always be a team sport and you don’t win the Copa by passing. If it were that easy Brazil would have to dominate, but South American football is underestimated. It can be said that Messi has always played a central role in almost all tournaments and has stood out with his performance.
He also has the Olympics in the bag and if you want to treat him, this funny final against Italy haha and let’s see what can happen at his last World Cup
For me personally, Brazil and Argentina are the biggest favorites at the moment. I’m curious to see who else you have in your favorites list and rank higher.
And about the Player of the Tournament award:
Realistically it was Neuer, but he was already separately awarded goalkeeper of the tournament.
Then it would really just be him and James.
The goals speak for James, but you also have to note that he was kicked out in the quarter-finals and Messi also performed very convincingly in games where he wasn’t a goalscorer and also played very well as a playmaker, generally a lot of dribbling key passes etc.
And it was not for nothing that he had the best ratings overall and even ahead of Neuer, the most Man of the Match ratings. So you have to say overall you can absolutely justify this decision due to James’ early departure or many, myself included, also see that this award was deserved, even if he can’t buy anything with it at the end of the day.
Of course, one can also represent the opinion that just zb. the James would have deserved this award. But to pretend that this award came out of the blue for Messi is absolute nonsense and just not true considering his performance.