Lionel Messi is one of football’s greats, there’s no doubt about it. He will lead Argentina into the Maracanã for the World Cup final showdown on Sunday, with a chance to forever etch his name atop greats for both club and country.
BY NISAR KHAN
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| One big chance beckons in Rio. GETTY |
Let’s be clear – Lionel Messi is the best player in the World right now and barring a few patches scattered here and there, it’s been like that for some four years or so. International football though has proved a vexatious obstacle for the magician to really reach the pinnacle of everyone’s rankings.
Four straight years of Ballan d’Or wins was no surprise – he really is that good. We have had our glimpses of Messi’s sublimity making an appearance in the blue-and-white stripe, but not his renowned, prolific self that we see in the La Liga and Europe.
Despite his four consecutive man-of-the-match awards in Argentina’s game, there was still something missing. One piece of footballing wizardry can turn the game around – that is what makes him so special and an incomparable talent.
Argentina haven’t exactly blitzed through to the final either – slender wins in the knockout stage have made many-a-fan question the credibility of La Albiceleste against the ruthless German wrecking machine.
All eyes will be on Messi in the Maracanã. Possibly the greatest stadium in the continent, Rio de Janiero’s footballing palace is the perfect moment for Messi to etch a legacy that will never be forgotten.
It’s a given that Messi will forever be a Barcelona legend – he made that clear around three years ago. Still though, his slow-burning country presence has catalysed the criticism – and trust me, it’s very hard to criticise Messi.
Messi is up there with the all-time greats – but for him to take that step further leading his country to an unprecedented World Cup triumph in Brazil will be phenomenal – that alone, would class him as a great. The late, great Alfredo Di Stefano may be an example – he never braced the World Cup, yet was defined a great. Messi can eclipse this with his World Cup victory.
The magnitude is magnified on Messi in the Maracana. Whereas Germany have a feast of top-class talent with numerous scoring and assist outputs, Lionel Messi is miles ahead as Argentina’s key man, prompting calls of a “One man team” for four-time Ballan d’Or winner.
The stage is set. The World awaits. Lionel Messi’s chance to be named the greatest player of all time hangs in the balance. Should he thwart the incredible Germans, he’ll be more than deserving of the accolade.
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