“Maradona is not just any person”, began an old song from Andres Calamaro. One of the many songs that were written to Diego. As far as I know, Messi still doesn’t have a song that honors him in the world of Rock.
The thing is Lionel Messi maybe it is a random person. Although he is the player who broke all the records on the field, outside he is someone who does not present himself with attitudes of star and we know little or nothing about his private life.
At the age of 35, each day closer to his retirement, after having won everything, Messi finally obtained the world Cup. The one that in ’86, Maradona got at age 25. It is not my interest to do psychology of the character, but a general reflection on what those years of difference could imply.
In our society, young people talk about “hitting it” to refer to immediate success. Soccer is a privileged field for boys, who sometimes come from families with few resources, to become millionaires in a very short time.
We don’t know anything about Messi’s personality, but we do hear him talk in this period (after the defeat in the 2014 World Cup) about how having everything is no guarantee of anything. Messi did not behave obstinately, he did not victimize himself, but he demonstrated something that is very difficult for Argentines: commitment to a long-term goal and responsibility for his public image towards those who admire him.
On one occasion, Maradona replied that he did not have to be an example for anyone, that that is what parents were for. In a culture like ours, of unauthorized parents and children in a gang, Messi said the opposite: that he knew that if he lowered his arms it was not a good message for the youngest.
“Get up, try again, is the message to the kids who like to see me. That is life, tripping and getting up again”, were Messi’s words.
It is that Maradona was an idol, that is, a semi-God, a hero in which other human beings project their desires for transgression and an exceptional condition; Ultimately, a tragic figure, the perfect complement for a culture –like Argentina– that can make suffering a necessary passion.
Messi chose to be an example, not an idol. An example, not in the sense of an ideal, but as someone who passes on his experience as a source of inspiration to others. Messi is an example, not someone exemplary –because he does not aspire to be more than any other person.
Could it be that this is a moment in which Argentina can bet more on the example than on the need for an idol? In a gimmicky world, it is not bad to remember that what comes quickly can also be the anticipation of a collapse; that in addition to success, it takes the maturity to endure it.
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by Lucien Lutereau*
