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A shirtless Lionel Messi sang and danced with his teammates after midnight until Sunday after he led Argentina to an emotionally charged victory over Mexico that revived his dream of first place. Globalism Cup title.
The party scenes in the dressing room – Messi bouncing his arms in the air, goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez dancing on the table – showed just how important this tournament was to Argentina and their captain on his fifth and final chance to lift the trophy.
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Argentina have one of the most talented teams in Qatar, but they are under more pressure than most and are struggling to reproduce the fluid form of their three-year, 36-match unbeaten run before the tournament.
So it was understandable to see tensions cool off after they beat Mexico 2-0 to reignite the tournament after a shock opening defeat to Saudi Arabia. Although they really struggled in the first half against a mediocre Mexican team, they celebrated as if they had won the World Cup itself.
“It’s a heavy burden on our shoulder,” said the 35-year-old Messi, for whom this tournament is now the be-all and end-all of his dazzling career for club and country.
After scoring the first goal against Mexico, his second of three for Argentina in the tournament, Messi rushed towards the crowd screaming with joy. Assistant coach Pablo Aimar, who was Messi’s childhood idol, fought back tears on the bench.
Messi and Maradona are one
The Argentines sometimes struggled for warmth towards their young genius, in part because he didn’t hand out the biggest prize of all, but also because his shy, low-key demeanor compared to the flamboyant buffoonery of their beloved former golden boy Diego Maradona.
Such inconsistency now seems firmly in the past, however, and Messi has shown time and again just how committed he is to the jersey, not least when he broke down in tears last year after leading the team to the Copa América title to end their 28-year trophy drought.
Finally, there are more flags and banners bearing his name and face than the late great former No. 10. In fact, many of them show the two of them together, arm in arm or Maradona comically looking at Messi from the sky.
If Messi goes all the way, he will of course face Maradona directly, who famously led Argentina to the 1986 World Cup victory including the famous ‘Hand of God’ and the tournament’s best ever goals against England on his way.
However, if he falters, he will remain in Maradona’s shadow, but it seems that in any case he will still be respected by the Argentines, who have come to appreciate the passion and pain he really felt in the blue and white.
“Did you see how he ran to us and celebrated with us? That’s Messi. Now he’s also Maradona. They are one!” said Argentine fan Rodrigo Castro, 34, jubilantly celebrating outside Lusail Stadium in the early hours of Monday morning.
Coach Lionel Scaloni was delighted to see his players enjoying the moment in the dressing room, but he knows that the weight of expectations constrains his players. Even Messi looked sluggish and made key mistakes before scoring against Mexico and relaxing into the player everyone knows.
“It’s hard to get people to understand that the sun will rise tomorrow whether you lose or win,” said Scaloni, trying to make sense of the circus going on around his team.
“Happiness only lasts for a few minutes. We need to find that emotional balance, whether we win or lose.”
Once passions subside, Scaloni should prepare for Poland in the final group match in Argentina, as only a win will guarantee them access to the knockout stages and move one step closer to fulfilling Messi’s dream.
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