today it's about the dark side of World Cup hero Lionel Messi.
Blame Donald Trump.
And a meaningful school visit by the Federal Chancellor.
Messi is not Maradona
The big winners of this weekend are clearly
Lionel Messi
and his colleagues from Argentina national team.
Arguably the most
thrilling final in World Cup history
took place yesterday - and Messi scored two goals and some fine moves in
Argentina's victory over France
.
The commitment and finesse that the 35-year-old showed in this tournament was really outstanding.
With the almost total Messi fixation of people and media, however, his teammates get a lot too little.
Argentina had an excellent team in all parts at this tournament.
The
maudlin Messi tale
told during and after the finale, about the oh-so-likable Argentinian boy who finally got what he deserved, is frankly limited to me.
I'm really sorry: But when Messi does magic on the ball, I always see the
most money-hungry or completely uninformed man
who seems to find it completely normal to take money from countries that trample on human rights.
Who unabashedly acts as a poster boy for dictators.
Messi, who was linked to FC Barcelona for years, once wept at the outrageous injustice that he had to leave his beloved club because they could no longer afford him.
Since then, he has
unsentimentally allowed his
gigantic salary to be paid by Paris Saint-Germain, a club owned by the rulers of Qatar and whose rightly battered image is supposed to be embellished with attractive football.
On top of that, Messi can also be paid by Saudi Arabia – Messi is on duty as a tourism ambassador for the country of the bone saw prince.
Now he has finally risen to the spheres of Diego Armando Maradona, many said yesterday about Messi.
I think it takes more than goals and titles to become a big personality.
With a special robe for the award ceremony: How Qatar made Messi's moment his
You can find more news and background information about the World Cup here:
The final of the century:
Lionel Messi led Argentina to the World Cup despite a playful 2-0 lead and three goals from France's Kylian Mbappé.
In a final of crazy turns, a penalty thriller brought the decision.
The hope, the doubts - and now the completion!
The final was Lionel Messi's 26th and final World Cup game.
The world champion crowning came at the end.
How he became the idol and player he is today - and how difficult it was.
A story in 26 acts.
Mbappé wins the Golden Boot for the top scorer - Messi Player of the Tournament:
France's superstar Kylian Mbappé scored three of his eight World Cup goals in the World Cup final.
But that wasn't enough for the title.
Lionel Messi is the best player of the tournament, two of his teammates were also honored.
»We have waited 36 years.
Three generations«:
The international press pays homage to superstar Lionel Messi after Argentina's title win.
The overview.
Storming of Mar-a-Lago
The final public hearing of the investigative committee into the storming of the US Capitol
takes place in Washington today
.
For a year and a half, more than a thousand witnesses were questioned and more than a million documents viewed.
The final report will be presented on Wednesday.
Most members of the committee believe Trump is primarily responsible for the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol that killed five and wounded 140 police officers.
The storm was
"the culmination of an attempted coup
," said committee chair Bennie Thompson.
The US Department of Justice has not yet taken criminal action against the ex-president.
That could soon change with a recommendation from the committee.
Donald Trump, on the other hand, made a “big announcement” (Trump) last week.
Its content: There are now digital exchange cards with various motifs from him that you can buy on the Internet for 99 dollars each.
Trump can be seen as Superman on two cards, and on one as a fighter with a gun in his hand.
The others also show him in some jerk pose.
If you buy 45 tickets, you are guaranteed to attend a dinner with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
Perhaps it would be better to take place quite soon.
Not that it has yet to go to jail.
Ex-president in crisis mode: will Donald Trump abolish himself?
Happy Hanukkah!
Yesterday began the Jewish Feast of Hanukkah
, an eight-day festival of lights commemorating the rededication of the Second Jewish Temple in Jerusalem in the Jewish year 3597 (164 BC).
77 years after the Holocaust, it is nothing less than a disgrace that Jews in Germany cannot celebrate this festival carefree.
The number of anti-Semitic crimes is increasing and
Jewish life in Germany is under massive threat
.
Last year, the police registered 3,027 anti-Semitic crimes nationwide.
Jews are also confronted with unbelievable hatred online: "The number of hate postings on the Internet has long since exploded," according to a report.
In response to this, the federal cabinet recently presented the first
»National Strategy Against Anti-Semitism and for Jewish Life«
.
It aims to combat hatred of Jews and make all facets of Jewish life more visible.
At the start of the Hanukkah festival, Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz will visit the elementary school of the Jewish community in Berlin today.
Scholz is to attend a ceremony with the President of the Central Council of Jews, Josef Schuster, and the Chairman of the Jewish Community in Berlin, Gideon Joffe.
Such a visit does not change the actual situation.
But he is at least an important sign.
New strategy in the fight against anti-Semitism: the federal government wants to take more targeted action against hatred of Jews
You can find news and background information on the war in Ukraine here:
Recent developments:
The Ukrainian capital is under renewed attack.
Russian soldiers are to take part in a military exercise in Belarus.
And: Putin is meeting the ruler Lukashenko in Minsk today.
The overview.
We counted the seconds between launch and impact of the projectiles:
I was in Donbass when the first rockets landed.
Two days later in Kyiv I experienced a capital in a state of emergency.
And yet I should be wrong about the course of Putin's war of aggression.
A personal look back at the beginning of the war by Christian Esch.
People of the Year – Oleksandr Usyk: The world boxing champion dreams of a farewell fight in liberated Ukraine.
He volunteered for military service, won the ring for his fellow Ukrainians and is involved in President Zelenskyy's fundraising project.
Now the heavyweight champion has new plans.
The message of peace that was not sent:
A Christmas tree in Kiev and a speech by Zelensky should bring hope.
But Ukraine is being bombarded by Russian missiles every day - and there is no sign of a truce over the holidays.
The video.
Experts warn of an increase in child poverty in Germany:
Child poverty in the country has been increasing for years, says the President of the Child Protection Association.
And in 2023 it will be even worse.
Here is the current quiz of the day
The starting question today: Who became the first female Prime Minister of Estonia in January 2021?
Winner of the day...
... is the ruling clique of Qatar alongside the Argentines
.
One can only congratulate the Emir and his boys.
The roughly $200 billion that Qatar spent on the World Cup (plus bribes) was money well spent.
You got what you hoped for.
Until recently, Qatar was a pariah state even in the Arab world.
Suddenly the sheikh stands there as a celebrated host that people like to visit.
Large parts of the world actually only wanted to see the big show, the gigantic architecture (for which many guest workers had to die) and the really exciting football games at this World Cup.
All of this outshines human rights violations by far.
The calculation worked.
The belief that money can buy anything has also won: a world championship.
A kicking advertising pillar like Paris Saint-Germain with football stars like Messi, Mbappé or Neymar.
Or propaganda speaking dolls in the European Parliament.
Anyone who seriously believed that this World Cup would bring about lasting changes to freedom and human rights in Qatar also believes in the Immaculate Conception.
The sheiks will laugh up their sleeves.
The latest news from the night
Elon Musk has his resignation as Twitter boss voted on:
According to his own statements, he wants to stick to the result of the survey.
Black ice leads to accidents with injuries - numerous schools closed:
For many regions of the country, the weather service today advises staying indoors.
If you still have to drive your car, you should take blankets and warm drinks with you.
Lessons are canceled at several schools.
Lückenkemper, Kaul and Eintracht Frankfurt were the best in 2022:
Germany's best athletes were honored when they were voted "Sportsman of the Year 2022".
The SPIEGEL + recommendations for today
Let's get away:
The socialist island is experiencing the worst economic crisis since the 1959 revolution, there is a lack of foreign exchange and food and the tourists are staying away.
Hundreds of thousands of Cubans see only one way out: the airport.
»People had the feeling of being part of a great future project«:
why did so many Germans follow their »leader« to his downfall?
The historian Michael Wildt on the power of emotions, Hitler's appeal - and the aftermath of National Socialism to this day.
Just don't become an old white man:
In September 2021, Lena Werner surprisingly moved into the Bundestag.
The 28-year-old wanted to do a lot of things differently there – younger, more modern.
Is that possible?
SPIEGEL followed her through her first year in politics.
Moon Lake novel about small-town America
: The Texan Stephen King?
Hardly anyone in Germany knows Joe R. Lansdale.
Unfortunately!
His new spooky novel paints an unvarnished picture of the southern states.
I wish you a happy Monday.
Your Markus Feldenkirchen