The year Messi stopped sitting on the porch

No longer a stranger or an alien, but human and connected to the people.

Precisely in the year when he was forced to leave home in Barcelona in tears, Leo Messi penetrated hearts and made the whole of Argentina cry with him with joy.

It had bigger football years, but not as shaky and unpredictable as 2021. The year of the upheaval

Tomer Yitzhak

31/12/2021

Friday, December 31, 2021, 1:00 p.m.

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"They see him as a stranger. They say 'Messi is not Argentine at all', because for them he gives everything in Barcelona, ​​showed everything he has in Europe, and in the national team it did not happen," Luca Cayoli wrote in his book "Messi - the boy who became a legend" published In 2013. "Messi has a problem with the Argentines, or rather: the Argentines have a problem with Messi. Leo is aware of this and bothers him that they claim he does not care about the team. And there is nothing that angers him more than saying he is not Argentine."

The year 2021 also silenced the last ones who still dared to repeat this statement.

Messi had tremendous years, certainly bigger in terms of personal performance on the turf.

He has never had such a shaky and unexpected year.

This is the year in which the perfect helping team in the team was built around him and helped him connect with the people and receive the love he deserves even in the country where he was born, and on the other hand this is the year he was forced to leave the comfort zone in Barcelona and wear another club uniform.

And above all, this is the year that gave a seal to the feeling that began to seep in already with his return to the team in March 2019: Messi enjoys the team more than the team.

The upheaval is complete.

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To the full article

Who would dare say now that he is not Argentine?

Lionel Messi dances with trophy after winning Copa America (Photo: GettyImages, Gustavo Pagano)

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Leo Messi has been in the top spot since the day he made his debut in Catalonia's derby against Espanyol on October 16, 2004, and has been considered the best player in the world (or at least one of the two) since 2009.

At the end of that year, after Barcelona won every possible title and tiki-taka won The world, the Golden Olympics Award (Athlete of the Year in Argentina) was awarded in general to tennis player Juan Martin del Potro who achieved the first and only Grand Slam of his career.

Messi waited another two years to earn this honor in his homeland, after leading Barcelona to five more titles in 2011, picking up the Golden Ball award for the third time in his career and becoming the team captain.

Once and for all, despite more than a decade at the top of the industry.

Up to now.

In 2021, Messi also received national recognition in the form of the same gilded figurine.

And as with the explanations that accompanied the seventh (and most controversial) victory in the Golden Ball, here too his exploits in Barcelona were a marginal contribution to the decision.

With all due respect to the Spanish Cup and the top scorers in La Liga before the break in the summer, Messi was chosen as the captain who led Argentina to a first title since 1993. He did so as the outstanding player of Copa America 2021, the king of goals and the king of cooks, and more on Brazilian soil.

Including a victory over the bitter rival in the final in Marcana.

He made Argentina cry with him, only this time it was tears of happiness.

"I'm willing to die for him."

Emiliano Martinez with Lionel Messi (Photo: GettyImages, Gustavo Pagano)

Equally called Messi an "alien" or friend from another planet because of his miraculous abilities on the lawn and the many highs he has set over the years, he was treated as an exception following such and such reactions (or non-reactions). On the one hand superhuman, on the other hand not ours. In Argentina they analyzed every gesture of his, checked the movements of the lips every time the anthem was played, claimed that he vomited because of the stress (and not necessarily because of the changes in diet) and many waited for him in the corner. The losses in the World Cup final and three times in the Copa final only deepened the rift. And with Diego Maradona's shadow hovering overhead, the climax just didn't seem to happen.

But it was precisely from the breaking point of the team, after the mess in the World Cup in Russia with Jorge Sampaoli, that redemption was born. Lionel Scaloni was first appointed as a temporary coach and then as a regular, Messi returned to the squad 250 days after the World Cup and within the team an extraordinary harmony was created. Quite a few young millionaires, footballers from the world's top leagues, have teamed up and were not ashamed to declare that their overarching goal is to help Messi lead Argentina to the title. Sharp and smooth.

Christian Romero and Emiliano Martinez said even before the box office that it is more important to them that Messi wins the World Cup with the team than they themselves will do. After excelling on the way to winning the tournament in Brazil and winning much praise from Messi, the goalkeeper repeated the mantra and clarified: "I am willing to die for him. I would rather he takes the pot than I would do without him. That is the truth. I believe every Argentine thinks so."

This rare and egoless commitment within the staff, also spread towards the fans and the media and thus created a unique fabric around the team.

Not necessarily in her most talented or exciting lineup during the Messi era, but most unified.

And how symbolic that the first degree since 1993 came in the first year without Maradona.

"It's for you and for Diego, who must have supported us wherever he went," Messi wrote after the win, concluding: "Thank God for everything you gave me and thank you for making me an Argentine."

Is he really the decisive man in Barcelona?

Lionel Messi cries at farewell event (Photo: Reuters)

Less than a month after tears of happiness in Marcana, Messi could not stop crying at the Camp Nou, at the press conference where he was forced to say goodbye to Barcelona. He was convinced that he would return home after the short vacation he received at the end of the Copa America, reach an agreement with the club heads and sign a new contract that would ensure his stay until the end of his career. It did not happen.

Over the last few years it has been said that he is the only one who sets in Barcelona. The almighty ruler. And here, in the moment of truth, Messi did not get what he wanted. He wanted to stay, the management did not find a solution (or did not try enough) and the place that was home for him from the age of 13 sent him on his way. Suddenly he found himself part of the transfer window - an experience that 99 percent of footballers go through at least once during their careers. Even if in his case the festival was unusual, the whole situation further punished him.

The temporary home he found is in Paris.

From there he may continue to the US and at the end of his career he will surely return to live in Barcelona. But 2021 has put him right - on a royal red carpet - into the original and real home: Argentina.

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• Argentina national team

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• Paris Saint-Germain