World Cup 2018: 5 reasons why Lionel Messi has been average for Argentina 

After losing his third final with Argentina in a row, Lionel Messi decided to retire from the national team despite only just hitting 30. The crushing defeats in a consecutive fashion were too much for the Argentina captain to handle.

And so he did the unthinkable – he hung up his boots for Argentina.

At this point, the world was in shock as to whether 2014 was the last time when they saw Messi playing in the World Cup. A player of his magnitude not playing another World Cup was too much of a disappointment for anyone to handle.

For Argentina, things just got worse.

After his retirement, Argentina sank further into the abyss as their World Cup qualification was becoming a disaster. Watching Argentina not qualify for the World Cup was becoming a reality as they were on the brink of missing out from playing in the grandest competition of them all.

And then the sun rose and the flowers blossomed.

Lionel Messi decided to come back and play again for the national team. His presence instantly lifted Argentina and his hattrick against Ecuador confirmed Argentina’s flight to Russia for the World Cup.

However, once in Russia for the tournament, Messi hasn’t been at his best self. The magician that we are so accustomed to watching on the pitch is nowhere to be seen, despite the fact that he scored a great goal against Nigeria.

And here are 5 reasons as to why that has been the case thus far…

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#5 Too much expectation

After shooting his nation to the World Cup, the whole of Argentina expected – and still do – Lionel Messi to be at his best and make the Albiceleste complete what they couldn’t in the 2014 World Cup.

Despite the fact that Argentina are not anywhere near the best teams in the competition, Argentines still expect a miracle from the team because of the fact that Lionel Messi plays for the team.

And how can you blame them?

This is a man who is capable of winning games all by himself, so it is only natural for his fans to put so much faith in him.

However, what they perhaps don’t realize is that these expectations are also putting…

#4 Too much pressure on him

So much pressure

Argentina is a country known for being mad about football. Diego Maradona instilled a craze that will forever live on and with Lionel Messi, the love for football just goes to a different level for the Argentines.

But this also has a downside as Messi feels accountable for every loss that Argentina face when he is on the pitch. In the first two games – especially against Croatia – Messi gave the impression that he wanted the earth to swallow him and take him away from the limelight.

The stress was clear on his face – he was carrying the weight of the nation that is dying to see the trophy come back for the first time since 1986. They came close in 2014 but just fell short.

And the pressure from that loss perhaps still plays in his head.

#3 Average team

Not entirely a great bunch

Argentina, unlike their archrivals Brazil, don’t have a great team. This has almost always been the case for La Albiceleste. While this is a country that has produced some of the best attackers of all time, Argentina have never consistently produced quality midfielders and defenders.

Now let’s look at Brazil. The land of Joga Bonito have always had great players in every area of the pitch in almost every generation. From Cafu and Roberto Carlos to Dani Alves and Marcelo; from Ronaldinho to Kaka to Coutinho; from Ronaldo to Neymar – Brazil have always produced some of the best players to ever grace the pitch.

Messi, while he might have some great attacking team-mates, doesn’t boast the same quality of players in midfield and defence.

As a result, there could be a lack of confidence in Messi regarding his team-mates – which in turn is hampering is own performance.

#2 Barcelona

Messi is great for Barca

This is a point that might irk many people but bear with me on this one. Barcelona made Messi the player that he is today. All the trophies and the Ballon d’Ors… everything that Messi has right now, he owes a bit of it to the Catalans.

However, it is his very allegiance with the Camp Nou outfit that has caused him to fail a number of times with Argentina.

Messi has been at Barcelona since he was 13. At Barcelona, from the youth levels, the Argentine has played in the same system all throughout his life. As a result, it becomes increasingly difficult for him to adjust in a system that is remotely different to that of Barcelona.

This is why he struggled a bit during the initial years of his Argentina career. He might have grown into the Argentina style of play – or, rather, Argentina might have come close to becoming what Messi wants of them – but this World Cup, things have been harder because of…

#1 Sampaoli

Sampaoli failed

When Jorge Sampaoli took over the reins of the Argentina national team, many hoped that he would be able to replicate what he did with Chile. The Chileans won back-to-back Copa Americas – beating Argentina in the finals both the times – and it was with the Argentine at the helm.

Sampaoli is an innovative manager who is known to create well-drilled teams that are super fast on the counter while being able to absorb the pressure provided by the opponents.

At Argentina, however, instead of making a team, he tried to make a unit that solely worked on getting the best out of Lionel Messi. Admirable as it may sound, Argentina simply don’t have the players that could make this possible.

As a result, all he managed to do was make a lopsided team bereft of any tactical balance and cohesion. This is the worst Argentina have played in this decade, so much that Messi had to seize control from the coach.

The result? They won against Nigeria to qualify for the next round with Lionel Messi playing his best game at the World Cup.