One wish only: Messi celebrates 35 and aims to lift the World Cup in Qatar

Only Miroslav Klose and Dino Zoff have won the World Cup after this age, and ahead of his fifth appearance in the tournament, the Argentine has only one goal left in his sporting career: to achieve the title that will remove all doubts about him.

Michael Yochin

24/06/2022

Friday, June 24, 2022, 1:30 p.m.

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Summary: Argentina defeated Italy 0: 3 in the final game (Sport 1)

How many players won the World Cup after marking their 35th birthday?

The answer is one, if only field players are considered.

Miroslav Klose did so at the age of 36 in Brazil 2014, and was even a very dominant star in the German national team and became on the road the all-time World Cup top scorer.

If goalkeepers are also considered, we will reach two in total.

The legendary Dino Zoff, who lifted the trophy as captain of Italy at the age of 40, has remained at the top for 40 years - already 80 years old.

These statistics illustrate how huge and historic Lionel Messi's mission will be this coming December.

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Disappointments he knew quite a bit in the World Cup.

Messi and Sabella after the 2014 final (Photo: GettyImages)

Today the Argentine is celebrating 35, and his main sporting task - the only one, in fact - in the coming year is to lift the trophy in Qatar.

He is used to marking birthdays during the World Cup every four years.

In 2006, he was 19 exactly on the day he came on as a substitute in the quarter-final against Mexico and saw up close Maxi Rodriguez scoring the spectacular winning goal in overtime - a kind of perfect gift.

The team then lost on penalties to Germany in the quarterfinals, but Messi was still very young and everything was ahead of him.

In 2010, he celebrated 23 days after Argentina secured a perfect balance in the home stage in South Africa.

She went on to beat Mexico again, but was defeated by the Germans in the quarterfinals and Diego Maradona's adventure on the lines ended in a jarring chord.

Messi, already a superstar in Barcelona in those days, had to wait another four years.

There was an expectation that with a real coach the chances of success would be higher, and indeed - in 2014 Argentina reached the final in Marcana under the guidance of the late Anaandro Sabella.

Messi celebrated 27 three days after subduing Iran at the time of the day’s injuries before scoring a double to the Nigeria net to ensure the Albiceleste would once again finish the home stage with just wins.

Flea was at his peak of fitness, after historic and marvelous seasons at Camp Nou, and by all accounts it was supposed to be his tournament.

Maybe if Angel Di Maria had not been injured in the quarterfinals it really would have happened, but Germany - she is again!

- ruined the dream.

Gonzalo Higuain missed too much, and Argentina are angry to this day at the referee who did not whistle for Manuel Neuer's foul on Pipita in the final, but the bottom line is clear.

Messi, who excelled in almost every parameter and was crowned the outstanding player of the tournament, received the award with a sad face after Mario Getze's goal in overtime.

In 2018, the phenomenon had already celebrated its 31st birthday three days after the 3-0 defeat to Croatia at Nizhny Novgorod, and a week after Pendel missed a 1-1 draw against Iceland in Moscow.

Although Messi scored again against Nigeria, and the dramatic victory lifted Argentina to the quarter-finals, but it was a weak tournament for him personally, and some took care to eulogize him in the international arena.

Messi has already announced his retirement from the national team after the loss to Cella on penalties in the Copa America final in 2016, two days after his 29th birthday.

He was persuaded to return, but this return did not contribute to his reputation - quite the contrary.

Somehow, the national consciousness has taken root in the stigma that he invests and strives more in a Barcelona uniform than in a light blue and white striped shirt, and the attempts to refute the claim have been rather futile.

So when Argentina were eliminated in the quarter-finals of the 2018 World Cup after a 4-3 loss to France in Kazan, some saw it as the end of the verse.

Because you do not win the World Cup at the age of 35.

And here you are, we are in 2022, and the picture has been turned 180 degrees.

The events of the past year have completely changed Messi's image in all aspects - and for a start, he won the Copa America a year ago.

Flea celebrated his 34th birthday in Brazil, in a bizarre tournament held in empty stadiums - but perhaps that actually helped Argentina break the long drought that has lasted since 1993. When goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, one of the big heroes of the win, declared how happy he was for Messi and how much Made a special effort to help him win the title, he spoke on behalf of the entire faculty.

The captain's tears were sincere - that was the moment the loser's label was removed from him.

This was the moment when the belief that one could also win the World Cup intensified greatly.

Winning the Copa America turned the picture around (Photo: Reuters)

A month later the biggest drama of his life took place when he was forced to leave Barcelona.

The hidden rabbi over the visible in this puzzling affair, especially in light of the extensive financial moves the Catalans made when shortly before they could not seemingly afford to extend the Argentine's contract under the conditions set by the Spanish league, but the bottom line career became much less significant for Messi at club level.

Joining Paris Saint-Germain, where he does not even serve as the main star but plays a second violin for Killian Ambape, caused him to downshift.

He did not have to make an effort to win the French championship, and it was difficult to see sparks in his eyes in the Champions League as well, especially when the team succumbed to a sensational scenario for Real Madrid in the quarter-finals.

There is no doubt that PSG is not his top priority at the moment.

This is a temporary employment, and the fact that the club is owned by Qatari only emphasizes the real goal of the move - the World Cup.

Messi does not concern himself with the moral aspects of all this saga, or the source of the millions that flow into his bank account.

He wants to win the World Cup at the very last chance he was given.

This will be his fifth World Cup, in which he will equal the record that so far belongs to only three players - German Luther Mathews and the two Mexicans - Antonio Carvajal and Rafa Marquez.

Along with him will also participate in the fifth World Cup Cristiano Ronaldo, two years older than him, who dreams of breaking Klose's record.

This rivalry, which was so fierce at the level of the teams when they faced each other in the Clásico, is now moving in its entirety to the national team arena, even if there is unlikely to be a direct confrontation between Argentina and Portugal.

Last season ended with a dismal balance for Messi in the PSG uniform - only 6 league goals and 11 conquests in all settings, but it does not really matter, because in the team he gave the maximum.

Earlier this month he delivered a superb 0-3 win over Italy at Wembley, in a battle between the South American and European champions.

The flea danced on the field, cooked twice and also deserved his own goal.

Four days later, he took part in an unnecessary match against Estonia and it seemed that the meeting was organized only in his honor: Messi scored a five for the weak rival network, and all the Argentine media went out of their way to praise him.

The commentators who have loved to mock him for so many years now stand by his side and cheer - and the whole country is already deep in the mental preparation process for the World Cup.

Paris Saint-Germain is not his top priority (Photo: GettyImages, Quality Sport Images)

Coach Lionel Scaloni is also trying to take part in the commotion around the star.

"He's improved now compared to the past. He understands the game better," the man said on the lines - and that statement is no less delusional.

Messi understood the game better than others even when he was 23 or 29. However, in one sense he is probably much more experienced these days - Messi knows his body better, and knows how to distribute the forces better.

Therefore, he will devote the next few months to optimal preparation for him towards the real thing.

In a normal world, Messi was supposed to celebrate his birthday again during the World Cup, but FIFA's corruption forced a different reality - and he should take advantage of it. Do not expect him to play good football in the French league in August and September. This is completely irrelevant to him. The fact that he no longer plays for Barcelona, ​​but belongs to an artificial public relations project, clearly works in his favor

. His cake, Messi will have only one wish - to lift the trophy at the World Cup.If that happens, all doubts that have accompanied his career so far will be removed, no?

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• Lionel Messi

• Argentina national team

• 2022 World Cup