As evening slowly falls in Kansas City, the rondo in the corner of Arrowhead Stadium is the prelude to all the great things to come. At 7.23pm local time, Lionel Messi has entered the pitch for the warm-up, with spectators crowding above the players’ tunnel to take a photo. On the field he swings to one long side – then to the other. The stands are full of Argentine fans for their first World Cup match against Algeria on Tuesday.
Here he begins what will likely be his last dance on the global stage. The position game – ‘rondo’ in jargon – is a demonstration in itself. The lightning-fast foot movements, the heel balls, the light taps – although sometimes a ball jumps away from him. But he doesn’t have to be in the middle, he doesn’t have to chase the ball. Cheers are heard when he aims a free kick hard at the intersection.
For a career that can be seen as perfect after the world title in Qatar in 2022, this World Cup in North America is an encore. His relationship with the Argentina national team has not been easy – at least until 2022. There was always the comparison with Diego Maradona who led the country to the world title in 1986. Messi was burdened by high expectations, to such an extent that he decided to quit the national team after losing the World Cup final in 2014 and losing in the finals of the Copa América in 2015 and 2016. But that didn’t last long.
After a goal was disallowed due to offside, the goal was scored after 17 minutes: Messi scored from a long shot.
ANP/EPA
The World Cup in Qatar provided redemption – after an amazing final against France (3-3, win via penalties). It seemed like the perfect end to his international career, the world title that could undoubtedly not be missed given the greatness of his career. To top that moment – it seemed unthinkable.
Fit just in time
But a week before his 39th birthday he is back at it. In the country where Messi, at Inter Miami, has built a second life after two decades of FC Barcelona. Apparently he can’t live without football yet – and vice versa. There was doubt whether he would go to the World Cup, he suffered from muscle fatigue. He was fit just in time.
“The most important thing for him is not to have expectations,” said national coach Lionel Scaloni in the run-up. “He just needs to play and have fun.” The team, just like in Qatar, is built around him as captain. It is also largely the same team, with good friends of his.
Messi is immediately alert. After two minutes he defends all the way back and wins the ball. Cheers sound. On his first chance, after five minutes, he finishes impeccably in the short corner. But the goal is disallowed for offside. He laughs a bit mischievously, the tension has apparently gone away for him after 2022.
Argentinian fans celebrate the good start of the tournament.
REUTERS, AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann
It is the prelude that is typical for Messi. First he isolates himself, after more than fifteen minutes. He walks alone, about ten meters behind the last line of Algeria. To then drop all the way back to his own defense.
It’s his play with space, with his guards. Basic football principles such as ‘lines’ do not seem to exist for Messi. He is most dangerous at times like this, when he apparently makes himself invisible.
Then he sneaks forward. The pass through Rodrigo de Paul’s axis is tight, cutting past two Algerians. Just tailor-made for Messi. And he’s gone, with just a few meters of space. It can’t be called a dribble, with four or five taps on the ball. He shoots from about twenty meters, controlled with the inside of his foot, high into the corner.
It is a fairly opportunistic attempt – although that is not a characterization that you can easily apply to Messi. The reality is that he is lucky. Goalkeeper Luca Zidane, son of French legend Zinédine Zidane, watching from the stands, misses: 1-0. Passionate roar sounds. Due to the acoustics – the open structure is comparable to FC Barcelona’s old Nou Camp – Kansas has one of the loudest stadiums in the US.
Messi from his heyday
Sometimes it is as if he is the Messi from his heyday again. How he sets up an attack from behind, with sudden acceleration, the passing. The subtle markers, the short balls, the brilliant timing of it all. How he tries to surprise the goalkeeper with a free kick.
Algerian goalkeeper Luca Zidane, son of French legend Zinedine Zidane, tries to stop Messi at 2-0.
Juan Mabromata / AFP
Less nice is his kick on the calf of Algerian captain Aïssa Mandi. He could have gotten a yellow card for that – it doesn’t happen, as he has often gotten away with fouls in his career. His special status is also unmistakable during a tactical discussion of Scaloni during the water break, when Messi is quietly talking to a teammate.
The best is yet to come. A shot from Alexis Mac Allister is poorly handled by goalkeeper Zidane, Messi taps in the rebound with his right hand, calmly on the inside of his foot. Although fortunate again, he is still in the right place. 2-0 after sixty minutes – and an Argentinian celebration in the stands.
The Argentinian team celebrates the victory, with Lionel Messi in the foreground.
Getty Images via AFP
Time and again, Messi is wanted by his teammates. As if they are pushing him to become the World Cup top scorer of all time. Nicolás González comes through on the left flank, serves Messi in the axis. He gets a lot of space, but the finish is technically so perfect, swinging fully with the inside of his left foot: 3-0. His first hat trick at a World Cup. And more importantly: with sixteen World Cup goals, he is now joint top scorer of all time with former German international Miroslav Klose.
His hair is sweaty through and through while celebrating after that goal. The pure pleasure so clearly visible. When Messi is substituted ten minutes before the end, applause from the Argentinian news can be heard in the press room high up in the Arrowhead Stadium. He still has it in him, these kinds of magical evenings. The audience honors him with their arms floating in the air.