Add the Gazzetta del Sud as a source
Messiah. Allow us, it’s not blasphemy. The football gods have definitively elected their guide, the one who for the next millennia (most of his records are unlikely to be broken before…) will indicate the direction. It was December 18, 2022 – the day after Argentina’s victory at the last World Cup – when we wrote “Now Messi is the greatest ever”. That night, after the magical final with France, the futbol saints had finally found peace. Because Leo had gotten justice. From Rosario, he couldn’t finish without the most glittering trophy, without a World Cup sewn on his shirt, without the best player award. At 35 years old (then) he was on his last call for infinite glory after the seven Golden Balls (today there are eight). The planets seemed to have finally aligned. The last dance, the most beautiful. Right so.
The last dance, we thought and the world thought. But we had underestimated him, like the Sphinx with Oedipus. That winged monster with the face of a woman and the body of a lion who terrified travelers by asking them the famous question: “Which animal walks on four legs in the morning, two at midday and three in the evening?”. Too complicated for everyone, not for Oedipus. Not for those who recognized themselves in that riddle by answering: man. Like Messi, the god of football who cries after beating Egypt with a comeback (from 0-2 to 3-2 from the 80th minute onwards) which ranks among the most beautiful stories in world sport. The god of football who turns out to be a fragile man. He who thought about that missed penalty for 60 minutes felt the weight of a people’s failure on his shoulders. He cries with joy because the Egyptian sphinx is defeated, he cries because crying is liberating and it is – as mythology tells us – the moment of transformation, purification, the closest bond between the divine and the human. Exactly like Messi. He who broke the spell with an assist and a goal. He who is still the strongest of all despite his “retirement” in America, with Inter Miami. He who shattered the records. Between 2004 and 2021 he won 34 titles and 8 Ballon d’Ors with Barcelona. He won trophies in France with Paris Saint-Germain. With Argentina he won the Copa América and the 2022 World Cup. Twenty-two years of triumphs. Twenty-two.
Those who love Maradona, another god of football who, however, lasted too little, should not be offended. And the greatness of a god is not measured only by blows but also by the ability to reproduce without dispersing. Those who love Ronaldo, the phenomenon, too tormented by bad luck, need not be offended. And those who loved Pele don’t need it, other football, other speed, other physicality. Even if he remains the only one to have won three World Cups. Ronaldo CR7 (the player with the most career goals: 970) marked an era with Messi, but the gods seem to have chosen: all in 24 hours. Cristiano impalpable with his Portugal, Leo enlightened with the Albiceleste, still with the highest speed of thought and execution. A sign, a signal. Leo is now definitely the god of football, the greatest ever.
The flea who appeared at the World Cup for the first time in 2006 in Germany, playing 16 minutes as a substitute, and also as a predestined player, scoring in the 6-0 group stage win against Serbia-Montenegro, and becoming Argentina’s youngest goalscorer at 18 years and 357 days. And today he is the player in history with the highest number of appearances at a World Cup (31) and goals (21, with nine goals in a row).
He is in the quarterfinals of the American World Cup. In front of him is another Sphinx riddle: six Europeans (including the France of the other phenomenon Mbappè), an African and Leo. This time it really is the last puzzle for Messi, the god of football.
The quarters
France-Morocco (Thursday 9th, 10pm)
Spain-Belgium (Friday 10th, 9pm)
Norway-England (Saturday 11th, 11pm)
Argentina-Switzerland (Sunday 12th, 3am)