Let down by teammates
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Football is a team sport that is brightened up by individual performances. To let Messi shoulder the entire blame would be a foolhardy endeavour, especially considering the absolute glut of riches that Argentina have as a squad.
Going forward, they have some of the best attacking talent this generation of football has ever seen, with the likes of Aguero, Higuain, Di Maria and Lavezzi all having the ability to change the game in an instant. But for some reason, they are just not able to click when it comes to the final challenge.
Higuain has been blamed for missing good chances in finals and he missed yet another great chance yesterday, making it an unwanted hat-trick for him after the chances he missed in the finals of the 2014 World Cup Final and 2015 Copa America Final.
As mentioned before, history is written by the winners and not by those who finish second best. Argentinian generations ahead of now will never really know how good a team this current one was owing to their finals failures.
Messi has announced his retirement from International football, much to the chagrin of many who still believe he has a lot to offer. If the decision is concrete, then he would have retired with only one trophy – the Olympic Gold in 2008 for Argentina – but otherwise nothing major for them to cheer about.
For a team that can instill fear into the hearts of their opponents, Argentina are officially the unluckiest also-rans in the history of the sport, easily comparable with the Dutch team of the ‘70s captained by another Barcelona legend – Johan Cruyff.
However good a tournament or tournaments Messi has had, he has failed to deliver in four finals now. Condemning him for that is unnecessary but it is also unforgivable by those who watch the game closely with an eye to nitpick errors. His legacy with the national squad will be reflected by his Argentinian all-time top scorer title, but he would gladly swap that for a title for the National Team in the blink of an eye.
With that performance and that post-match speech, for all his talent and ability, Lionel Messi will sadly be regarded as one of the greatest chokers in international football.
