#NoTeVayasLio
Okay, so this is going to be a little different. No review today, I don’t think I could honestly, but I do need to get this off my chest.
So it’s been a pretty sucky three days in the world of soccer for me. Going into the quarterfinals of the Copa America, I had no illusions that the USMNT would pull out a win against Argentina. I had hoped, maybe, but that’s a tough ask, even when you have all your available starters and Argentina is having a bit of a rough day. But Argentina cruised by them and then the US fell to Colombia. I rooted for Argentina last night.
It was a repeat of last year. Except Messi missed his penalty and Argentina lost the Copa (again, in penalties) and then decided to retire from the national team.
I’m not going to lie, I cried a little bit. I cried for him and with him because it was the most distraught I had ever seen him after a game and I remember watching him collect his medal after falling to Germany in 2014, looking like the world had just ended. For him, last night, I honestly think it did.
I get it. I really do. I understand why he wants to leave. He thinks that everyone wants him to leave, because he’s tried and tried and tried again to win titles with Argentina and somehow can’t. He’s got this tremendous pressure put on him to perform because he’s arguably the best player in the world, possibly of all time (I will fight people on this), and, suddenly, playing soccer is not the simple game he had loved as a child. It’s a chore and it’s not fun. Especially when you get near crucified by your own country for every mistake.
I’m not saying that everyone does it. That’s not the case at all. But the criticism is there, the constant comparisons to Maradona are there, and then there’s the case of him fighting to these finals and then no one--him, Higuain, Di Maria, and so on and so forth--can finish worth a damn. That’s something that’s got to weigh on a man and this could be him lashing out with all the pain that he’s feeling in the heat of the moment.
But it also might not be. This could be real. I hope it’s not because Leo Messi is one of the reasons why I became so interested and so enamored with the game of soccer. I was so taken by the story of the boy in Rosario who couldn’t grow, the man who wasn’t very big but was mighty, and, having had my growth stunted as well (I was premature and it had been known by doctors that I would likely never reach the height of five feet tall and I didn’t), I had related to him. Granted, I’m not athletic but the principle of being able to do anything you set your mind to no matter what physical barriers (or otherwise) you encounter is still applicable. I remember the 2014 World Cup and my father and I watching Argentina play during the group and later stages of the tournament. I remember my father yelling something to the effect of “THAT MAGICAL MIDGET” when he picked the perfect pass and Di Maria or Lavezzi or whoever the hell it was finished it with the sweetest of touches. I remember him singing with the fans after the successful penalty shootout against the Netherlands. I remember the charity games, the endless goals with Barcelona. So many goals. The Cruyff penalty that sent Ray Hudson into a paroxysm of utter glee. That goal against Athletic Bilboa, a bit reminiscent of the one he scored against Getafe. The physics defying free kicks. The nutmegs (my personal favorite is the one against James Milner) and the dribbles and the way four players swarm him when he receives the ball. The way he gets kicked and kicked and he tries to keep the play going.
I also remember the stricken look he wore last night after missing his penalty. The way he crouched on the pitch and put his head in the grass and cried. I don’t want that to be the last moment he has with Argentina, although I understand why if that’s the case.
But still. No te vayas, Lio.
(To clarify, I am a staunch USA supporter but I am also a Messi fan and I needed to get that off my chest because it’s been spinning around my head since last night. I feel for him, I feel for the rest of the team, especially for those who may be following him if this exit is the truth. I just don’t want to see him go. And definitely not like this.)
