DBasia.news – Lionel Messi’s status as the main star of the Argentine national team in the last decade is undeniable. But La Pulga himself never felt special in Team Tango.
Messi is dubbed as the incarnation of Diego Maradona. The Argentine public believes the Barcelona star can help Argentina triumph like the era of the legend.
Expectations are getting higher after Messi performed impressively with Barcelona. He was able to present various titles for the Blaugrana which made him be awarded with six Ballon d’Or.
But in reality, Messi failed to transmit that success to the Argentine national team. Albiceleste has not even brought him a prestigious title.
No wonder the series of failures has made Messi decide to withdraw from the Argentine national team. The Newell’s Old Boys academy dropout seemed unable to bear the burden of his country’s public expectations.
Even so, Messi never felt that way. He assessed that the performance of a team is determined by all players, not just one of them.
“The national team never depended on me. We always try to have a strong group,” Messi told Ole.
“We always said that if we weren’t a strong team, winning and achieving our goals would be difficult.”
It’s unfair to call Argentina too dependent on Messi. That’s because they also have many other quality players like Angel Di Maria, Sergio Aguero, to Lautaro Martinez.
Messi seems to realize that the main problem for the Argentine national team is to unite all the potential players into a strong team. He wants it to be realized in the 2021 Copa America.
“I think we became strong as a group because most of the players have worked together for a long time. We have played in the Copa America, so we have the experience that has been given to you.”
“We are still in training and I think we are on the right track.”
Messi and Argentina does have a high curiosity regarding the Copa America. They were in the final three times, and also had to go home with their heads down.
The 2021 Copa America could be Messi’s last participation in this tournament. The 33 year old player is certainly ambitious to end it with a trophy.