My heart will go on- Lionel Messi’s sad swansong for Argentina

The talisman could still be around in time for Qatar 2022, but he will not be the same player he is today.

There was this moment in the Argentina Vs Croatia game where Ivan Rakitic and Mario Mandzukic were passing the ball to each other and trying to decide who would be best suited to tap the ball inside the net. Lionel Messi was rooted right outside the box, watching his team being torn apart by a much less-fancied side, head down. If there was one image to sum up the sorry state of affairs with the La Albiceleste right now, that would probably be it.

Ahead of the World Cup, Paolo Dybala, widely regarded as the one who could be the heir to Messi’s glittering throne admitted that at the national team, the nature of each and every player is to just pass the ball to Messi. Manager Jorge Sampaoli and defensive midfielder Javier Mascherano have also admitted the same.

Messi is too good for the team and as such, he is the solo act in the 11-man show that is football. He was the solo act that dragged Argentina to the 2014 World Cup final and the two successive Copa America finals in the years that followed. He was the reason why the 2-time world champions made it through to the finals this year after a horrific qualifying campaign.

That is not to say that the Barcelona superstar is to be blamed for the miserable mess his team finds themselves in. If the mentality of a side that is filled with several reputed and high-calibre players like Angel di Maria, Sergio Aguero, Gonzalo Higuain, Ever Banega and so on is to never take up responsibility, one can only be acutely aware of how they might end up playing.

Argentina Vs Iceland - Match Highlights

That is exactly what has happened in the World Cup: the South Americans look like a bunch of headless chickens with no chemistry, understanding or tactical astuteness; a Sunday League team look better than them. The 5-time Ballon d’Or winner’s other-worldly ability has made him a liability because his teammates have learnt to use him as the perfect shield to hide their flaws and not push for a result.  It is, after all, easier to hide on the pitch and play the blame-game with the media than to try and be crucified for failing.

That is also not to say that the players are solely to blame here. Sampaoli, who made his reputation at Chile and Sevilla for playing free-flowing, expressive football, has made some truly mysterious calls with regards to team selection and personnel.

Argentina Vs Croatia - Match Highlights

He dropped Mauro Icardi, the Inter Milan striker who has 29 goals in the Serie A this season and preferred to stick with Higuain and the unproven Meza instead. He has also not finalized a starting XI yet, and has fielded six different sides in the last 6 games. His tactics are not well-formulated either and widely rotate between a 4-2-3-1, 4-4-2 or a 3-4-2-1.

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The Argentine FA have failed to stick by a manager ( Sampaoli being the fourth one is as many years) and have been littered with allegations of mismanagement, corruption and money-laundering. It is hard to succeed when chaos reigns supreme and the country’s repeated failure to deliver when it matters has shown us just that.

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It was truly tragic to see the 30-year-old in that manner on Friday. He is as close as it comes to being a football prince, but his reputation has been dragged through the mud too many times and his commitment has been questioned repeatedly, through no fault of his own, other than being “too good” and choosing to play for his country despite having being eligible to feature for Spain.

With Nigeria winning their game, there is still a chance for the Men in Blue and White to qualify to the knockout stages, but it seems that Messi’s swansong, at least at the international stage has already begun. One hopes he is afforded the chance to quit on a high, but given the utter mess that his side find themselves in, it is extremely unlikely that such a scenario will transpire.