Mid-Day Opinion: Don’t cry for him, Argentina!

Argentine legend Lionel Messirsquos decision to retire from international football was more or less on expected lines though there has been an understandable outpouring of emotion from his multitude of fans worldwide Messi announced his international retirement on August 31 ending a 21year Argentina career with 207 appearances and 125 goalsPersonally for me Messirsquos journey came full circle four years ago when I watched him lift the FIFA World Cup at a packed Lusail Stadium in Qatar This was exactly 14 years after I had watched him for the first time as he dazzled at Beijing 2008 to help Argentina win Olympic gold under skipper Juan Riquelme It was a glimpse of a superstar in the makingInterestingly Sergio Aguero was a massive Argentine star in Beijing not only because he had won the U20 World Cup in the preceding year but more so because he was dating the legendary Diego Maradonarsquos daughter at the time But it was Messirsquos magic on the pitch that ultimately helped Argentina attain supremacy The then 21yearold Messi provided the perfect assist in the 58th minute for Angel Di Maria who chipped the ball over Nigerian goalkeeper Ambruse Vanzekin to seal a 10 winIt has been 21 years since Messi first wore an Argentina jersey mdash during his dramatic debut in a 21 friendly win over Hungary at the Puskas Stadium in Budapest Dramatic because within a minute of coming on as a substitute in the 63rd minute 18yearold Messi was shown a straight red card following a physical duel with Hungarian defender Vilmos Vanczak who was tugging on his shirt It was remarkable because that would be one of only two red cards Messi received during his international career Videos of the incident clearly show his then Argentina teammate Lionel Scaloni vehemently arguing with the referee to take back the red card Seventeen years later Scaloni was the team manager when Messi helped Argentina win the 2022 World Cup Messirsquos talent and humility invariably attracted such loyal friendships throughout his international career India saw this firsthand when Argentina midfielder Rodrigo De Paul happily assumed bodyguardlike duties during Messirsquos historic India visit last December Messirsquos second red card came much later in the 2019 Copa America thirdplace match following a confrontation with Chilersquos Gary MedelSome critics claim Messi was unfairly favoured and protected by referees and even FIFA because of his superstar status While some instances may suggest so for much of his international journey Messi was arguably the most heavily tackled player on the pitchFormer India captain Sunil Chhetri rightly told this newspaper recently that besides Messirsquos unmatchable speed deceptive dribbles and superintelligent passes itrsquos his ability to absorb contact from defenders who are physically much bigger and stronger than him and still emerge with the ball at his feet thatrsquos remarkable To do that consistently for more than 20 years while collecting a record eight Ballon drsquoOr awards is superhumanSo the eternal question is Will international football ever see another MessiChhetri has an apt answer ldquoWho knows There could be a young kid somewhere in the world right now kicking a ball around with this incredible Godgiven talent and the potential to become the best player in the world Will there be another Messi Personally I think maybe not Players like him come around once in a lifetime But could there be another player who gives us that same kind of excitement joy and feeling of watching something truly special Why not Football always finds a way to surprise usrdquoMeanwhile some diehard fans still hope Messi will put on his No 10 Argentina shirt again He has done it before On June 26 2016 after missing a penalty in Argentinarsquos Copa America final defeat to Chile in New Jersey Messi quit international football in a huff The accumulated disappointment probably took its toll considering Argentina had also lost the 2014 FIFA World Cup final to Germany and the 2015 Copa America final to hosts Chile But Messi returned to the Argentine blue just 67 days later His fans would want history to repeat itself just as Messi tirelessly repeated his dribbles assists and goals for Argentina over the yearsmiddayrsquos Sports Editor Ashwin Ferro loves to play ball fair and square and everywhereHe tweets ashwinferroSend your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper