There is that saying: "Too much of a good thing."
This applies to Lionel Messi. One of the great football players the game has ever seen. A record winner of Ballon D'ors and someone who people argue IS the greatest player of all time. To a sense, it would be hard to argue with that when you see some of the goals and just general football he has achieved with Barcelona over the years. He's done some extraordinary things on the patch of green.
But there is that dark cloud that has continually hung over him, and it's what many don't want to bring up or talk about. Argentina. Why has he not been able to be as good for his country as he is for Barca? He just hasn't been the same player for the national team, and the reason why that has not been viewed as that big of an issue, is because of the incredible success and awards he has gained when playing for Barcelona. That right there is the reason why we may never see Messi make the immortal leap to give Argentina a major trophy...more specifically...the World Cup.
When Messi first came onto the scene, you could see the hunger in him. With long dark hair that you would see in a grunge band or in the WWF, a lot was being made about him and Henry even commented how he and the other senior players put pressure on Rijkaard to put him into the first team. Even though he was not the same level of player back then, there was that youthful desire he had that came fresh from being South American. No awards, no sponsorship deals, no fans bowing before him; he had to prove that all on the pitch and it was all about the football for him. It goes the same for any kind of sportsperson. When you have to prove yourself, you play with a lot more desire and fervor.
This is where things get a bit tricky. Messi DOES deserve most of the awards he's won. The Ballon D'Or he got after the 2010 World Cup really should have gone to Sneijder. What Wesley did for Inter AND Holland in 2010 was definitely enough for him to be named the best individual player of that year. No question, and no doubt. With the win that Messi picked up which surprised everyone, it was then that we began to see evidence of FIFA manufacturing this notion that Messi is the greatest player of all time. After all, to their rather naive way of thinking, he who wins that award so many times has to be the best player ever. Far worse, there are many of those who claim to be football fans who follow this very flawed piece of logic. Unfortunately, football is not that simple and it takes more than just a piece of metal paved in gold to be a yardstick of someone's talent.
Let us further investigate this pretty simple logic, again that has been created by FIFA, the media and the "fans."
If a player is said to be the "greatest football of all time" then he surely must be able to lead and inspire a very good Argentina to glory. That has to be the logical conclusion. When he isn't able to do that, myself and the millions of Argentines are right to wonder just what he hell is going on. As Messi tries and tries his hardest to replicate his Barcelona form for his country, and fails, then that frustrations continues to mount and could reach possible breaking point where Messi doesn't want to play for his country anymore if he's going to get that kind of criticism.
Too much success...too early.
Have to go back to the comment I made of too much of a good thing. With Messi breaking so many records and people already putting him up on the mountain ahead of every other legend, with a World Cup medal, then how much desire can he really have? Of course, he naturally wants to win for his country and bring joy to them. I completely believe that, but Messi is fighting a battle he can't win. No matter how much he wants to win for Argentina, with every year that now passes, that desire will continue to wane. He's pretty much a demi-god in the game with people bowing at his feet, you just can't have that desired hunger to sweat blood to bring home the major pie which is the World Cup when you have that in your life. It's like already making it up to the mountain-top after several hard months, and being told to climb another mountain-top. In your mind, you have already completed your mission.
I put the blame on FIFA, the media, and fans.
If I could turn back time, I would have spread the Ballon D'Or wins around more evenly. For the years that the voting was close, I would have rigged it and given it to another player. That would really have helped Messi and maintained his desire for the national team. I would have also stifled talk of him being the "greatest" or "best ever" in media outlets. Again, by removing this notion from his mind, he would have known that there is still something to prove by going out and getting it done for Argentina.
That question still remains, and it's of whether he can win a major trophy for Argentina. I will go one further and to wonder whether he can play a major part in Argentina winning a title by playing throughout the tournament from start to finish and performing in a final. I just don't know. But when you hear the Argentine basketball star Ginobili have to come to his defense amidst the criticism and even say that Lionel may stop playing nationally altogether, you fear about that breaking point. Because at the end of the day, this is only a sport where we try and get a round thing inside a fishnet...it's not life and death. If Messi is truly unhappy playing for Argentina, then he will just give it up.
I just imagine a world where you could have the desire and hunger of that unproven young Messi under Rijkaard, but with the ability that he has now. THAT is the player who could win a World Cup for Argentina and could then probably be called "the greatest player ever."
