The greatness of Lionel Messi has never been in doubt. But after Sunday’s breathtaking World Cup final, the 35-year-old secured his place as an eternal Argentine icon.
Yet over the past month it has had a shared goal: seeing Messi lift the World Cup.
Messi doesn’t fit the traditional image of the “pibe,” a word Argentines use for their soccer stars, who so often overcome tough upbringings to bring beauty to the soccer field while still displaying the smarts and brashness of the streets. “Through it all, Lionel Messi has defied the machismo in Argentine football in his own gentle way,” Brenda Elsey, a professor of history at Hofstra University and author of a book about sports in Latin America,The love for Messi, now an icon in Argentina, may even rival the god-like reverence for Maradona, another mercurial attacker who wore the famous No. 10 jersey for his national team. And just like Maradona, Messi transcends national boundaries.
“It’s just sheer brilliance. The way he plays, I don’t see it in any other player. That’s why I support Messi.”At times standing still or strolling, Messi can change the course of a game in a heartbeat with a pass no one else saw coming, or a slaloming run that baffles viewers and opposing defenders alike.
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