How far can Lionel Messi go?
Index
Last night, March 23, 2023, Lionel Messi scored the 800th goal of his career with a masterful free-kick in a friendly match between Argentina and Panama.
The night in Buenos Aires
Preliminarily, it is necessary to understand the moment in the history of football that we are going through. It is simply an honor for all admirers of the most beloved sport in the world to be able to follow the little Argentine, Lionel Messi.
Being little, for Messi has only relation with his stature, because on and off the pitch he is a giant.
From the start of his career, it was notable that he would go down in football history forever, but did he exceed our expectations?
For clubs, Lionel has already started his career in an overwhelming and victorious way. Today he has four Champions League under his belt and countless national titles, combining his passages through Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain.
The indefatigable record breaker can add another important mark to his list after yesterday. He reached the 800th official goal of his career with a masterful free-kick.
Such an achievement could not be more stylish. A shot that shows his category, in a practically commemorative game for the Argentines, inside their traditional home, receiving the heroes of the conquest of the dreamed world title.
The Monumental de Nuñez was completely sold out and the reaction of the Argentine fans to Messi’s goal manages to represent absolutely everything he is to his people.
Argentina has been suffering from a severe economic depression for some time now. The country that was once the most powerful in Latin America is now experiencing a very different situation, with hyperinflation and the need to adjust prices on an almost daily basis. But moments like this are perfect for the appearance of an idol so that the tensions of everyday and real life can be relieved, even if for 90 minutes plus extra time.
The Argentine national team has a foul marked a few meters from the box. Lionel Messi adjusts the ball and with a touch of pure class manages to put it in the back of the Panamanian goalkeeper’s net. Then, the explosion. The spectators at the Monumental, as well as Messi and his teammates, all felt the impact of the achievement together. All Argentine athletes jumped over La Pulga to celebrate the event.
The fans, on the other hand, were divided. Some let out the cry of goal from the bottom of their hearts. Others looked on in disbelief at what had just happened. So many others revered the ace, bowing before such genius and identification.
Messi and identification with the Argentina national team
The Argentine national team, until 2021, was not going through a good moment. It even went through a historic title drought.
The last title won by the Hermanos was in 1993. From there until 2021, the Argentines saw their archrival, Brazil, win no less than 2 World Cups, 4 Confederations Cups and 5 America Cups, even surpassing Argentina with ease in some of the finals and semifinals of these competitions.
With that, an inexplicable weight fell on Messi. He had long ago been elected as the successor to Diego Armando Maradona. The one who would take Argentines back to their glory days again. However, things were not easy until it got to this point. There were three defeats in the Copa America final and one in the World Cup. But the Argentines did not give up on Messi, on the contrary.
Finally, the Argentine script took an absolute turn. In the middle of Maracanã, Argentina beat Brazil 1-0 and became champion of the Copa América, overcoming a 28-year drought.
With that, the “Lioneis” team, Messi and Scaloni, adopted an extremely concise way of playing, always around their star. A team organized to work and worship the genius.
In addition, he led Argentina to the title of the Finalissíma, beating Italy, champion of the European Championship, by 3-0.
It was under this system that Messi, already idolized, earned the respect of even the most critical Argentine fan and became champion of the 2022 World Cup.
For these reasons, the images of Messi’s victory in the last game are so remarkable. A mutual adoration and trust was established between Argentines and Messi that can never be broken.
Check out the images of this unique moment in our Instagram.
Follow us on social networks to stay updated on the latest foreign football news: Instagram, Facebook e Twitter.
Written by Vitor F L Miller
