Lionel Messi is set to turn 35 years old later this month, which means he has now been representing his home country Argentina in senior international football for nearly half his life.
And during his 17 years of service, Messi has put together a truly incredible international resume – despite the amount of silverware he has won La Albiceleste somewhat lacking.
Read on below as SBOTOP looks back at Leo Messi’s 17-year stint with La Albiceleste and what might still be to come.
Such early promise
Messi made his debut for La Albiceleste in August 2005 at the age of 18. Although, it was a debut to forget as he was sent off just two minutes after his introduction against Hungary.
But the teenager’s quality was never truly in doubt. He quickly won his way into the 2006 World Cup squad and eventually became the youngest Argentina player to appear in the tournament.
While Argentina were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Germany, Messi acquitted himself quite well as he showed his immense potential on the big stage.
And Messi only furthered the belief that he was the successor to the great Diego Maradona and was set to lead Argentina to another golden age as he became a pivotal player in their run to the Copa America final in 2008, where they lost to Brazil.
But Messi and co. got their revenge by beating the Samba Boys in the semi-finals of the 2008 Olympics. Messi then supplied the assist for the only goal in the final against Nigeria as Argentina went on to win the gold medal, which seemed like the first of several accolades he would win wearing his country’s colours. Unfortunately, though, that did not turn out to be the case.
GOAT, but not quite good enough
Despite Messi blossoming into arguably the best player in the world – and possibly of all time – at Barcelona, he was not quite able to reach that sort of superb form for his country. In fact, he had gone two and a half years without a goal for Argentina.
With Messi struggling to recreate his club performances at the international level, La Albiceleste kept faltering on the big stage. They again fell to Germany in the World Cup quarter-finals in 2010, this time suffering a 4-0 beating. And they followed that up with a shock quarter-final exit in the 2011 Copa America.
Such was the amount of pressure and expectation that was on Messi’s shoulders at such a young age that Argentine fans actually booed him for his supposed shortcomings.
But Messi finally turned the corner under coach Alejandro Sabella in 2011. Given a freer role in the side, Messi scored 25 times in 32 appearances during a three-year span.
Argentina as a result grew quite reliant on Messi, who was still good enough to carry them into the World Cup final in 2014, where they faced Germany. Sadly, Messi and co. fell agonisingly short again as Germany won 1-0 after extra-time.
Then came the back-to-back Copa America disappointments against Chile in 2015 and 2016, both of which Argentina lost in a penalty shoot-out. Messi was again criticised for his performance in both, even though he was named the Most Valuable Player in the first of those two tournaments.
After three consecutive final defeats, Messi made the massive announcement that he would retire from international football at age 29. Luckily, Messi’s retirement did not prove to be permanent as he returned to action for Argentina just a few months later.
Although, La Albiceleste once again weren’t quite good enough as they lost in the 2018 World Cup in the round of 16 to eventual champions France.
After another third-place finish in the 2019 Copa America and Messi entering his 30s, the possibility that Messi would go his entire career without winning a senior title with Argentina actually looked like it might become a reality.
The breakthrough and a bright future
However, Messi and Argentina finally found the breakthrough in the 2021 Copa America. With Messi still pulling the strings, Argentina again made it to the final, where they would face old rivals Brazil. An Angel Di Maria goal decided the final as Messi finally delivered the long-awaited first senior title for Argentina.
While still very much in the middle of Argentina’s system, Messi finally seemed to be surrounded by a squad that struck the right balance on both ends of the pitch. Unlike in 2018, Argentina breezed through World Cup qualifying, with Messi supplying several international football 2022 highlights along the way.
At 34 years of age, Messi has racked up international records and awards that are too many to count. He is Argentina’s record-holder for both most caps (162) and goals (86) by a wide margin, and it seems he is still far from over.
Although he has had his share of ups and downs with the national team, there is no doubt that Messi is already among the country’s all-time greats. Even with the relative lack of titles, the level of sustained excellence he has provided over close to two decades has been remarkable.
And there’s still time for Messi to add to his already legendary legacy at the World Cup. The international football 2022 odds still give La Albiceleste a decent shot to win the title, and that will be especially true if Messi can remain at the top of his game.
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