The news shook the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey to its foundations and went global within seconds: Lionel Messi has played his last game for Argentina.
“It’s hard for me to assess things right now. The first thing that came to my head – and it’s something I thought about in the dressing room – was that it’s over, that the national team is finished for me,” said La Pulga in the mixed zone following Argentina’s penalty shoot-out defeat to Chile in Sunday’s Copa America Centenario final. “I’ve lost four finals... That’s how I feel. It’s all very sad.”
Visibly downcast, Messi looked as if he had given the decision some thought: “To make matters worse I went and missed my penalty. It was vital that I scored to put us ahead, but I missed it. I think this is the best thing for everyone. That’s it. I’ve done all I can. I’m going without having won a title with the [senior] national team.”
Time will tell if the shoot-out defeat to La Roja really is Messi’s last game with LaAlbiceleste. What is clear, however, is that USA 2016 has been a watershed in his international career.
A fateful miss
The now-former Argentinian captain’s announcement overshadowed the match that had preceded it, 120 minutes of football in which Argentina tried everything they could to break Chile down. Yet, as was the case in the 2015 Copa America final, they were unable to do so, despite creating the odd opportunity.
The big difference on this occasion was that Messi, unlike last year, failed with his spot-kick, a miss made all the more telling by the fact that it came moments after Sergio Romero had denied Chile’s first penalty-taker, Arturo Vidal. It was an unexpected blow his team-mates seemed unable to recover from.
No-one was more surprised to hear of Messi’s retirement from international football than Chile keeper Claudio Bravo, the captain of the two-time Copa America champions and the Argentinian’s club-mate at Barcelona.
Recovering from the initial shock, which was clear to see for all those in the mixed zone, Bravo gave his reaction: “To my mind he’s the best in the world. We all know his qualities as a player and, above all, as a person. I hope he carries on playing for Argentina for many more years to come. You don’t win or lose games like this because of just one player.”
A career in blue and white
Three of the four finals Messi has lost have come in the Copa America, in 2007, 2015 and this year, and the other at the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™, where he had the consolation of winning the adidas Golden Ball. La Pulga also represented his country at Germany 2006 and South Africa 2010.
He has, however, won Olympic gold with Argentina – at Beijing 2008 – as well as a youth world title, inspiring them to victory at the FIFA U-20 World Cup Netherlands 2005, where he also collected the adidas Golden Boot and the adidas Golden Ball.
Messi made his senior international appearance in a friendly against Hungary on 17 August 2005. Aged 18 at the time, he was on the pitch for just 47 seconds before being sent off. He has since played 112 times for his country and lies fourth on the list of most-capped Albiceleste players.
La Pulga scored his 55th goal in Argentina colours with an exquisite free-kick against USA on 21 June, moving past Gabriel Batistuta in the process as the country’s leading all-time scorer. Speaking later that day, he said winning the title was all that mattered to him: “I hope we don’t let it slip. We’re all hoping and dreaming that we finally win it. We deserve it for all the work we’ve put in over the last few years.”
At some stage, Messi will explain how much the failure to achieve that objective impacted on his decision, and how much other factors have played a part, such as the criticism he has been subjected to in Argentina and the endless comparisons with Diego Maradona. He may even reveal if there is any chance of him going back on his decision, though it remains to be seen if anyone can make him reconsider.
The fact is that one of the greatest players in the history of the game, a five-time FIFA Ballon d’Or winner, has decided to step aside from international football. Only time will tell what his place in the history of La Albiceleste will be and the legacy he bequeaths to it.