Lionel Messi broke argentine hearts in July when he announced his retirement and then remoulded them by deciding to come out of retirement in less than a month. The Barcelona forward was denied a first international trophy by Chile in the Copa America final for the second consecutive time.
Messi has now lost three major finals in the space of 3 years. First,it was the World Cup final in 2014 when Argentina lost to Germany in Extra Teme. Next, they lost the 2015 Copa America to Chile in penalties and it Deja Vu all over again this summer as well in the Copa Centenario.
In an interview just after the match, the 5 time Ballon d’ Or winner was in tears as he said he couldn’t take it anymore and that it was the end of his International career. But new coach Edgardo Bauza got on a plane and flew to Barcelona to have a chat with Messi.
And predictably enough the Argentine changed his mind, deciding to don the blue and white of Argentina once again. In an interview with La Nacion , Bauza revealed what he said to the superstar that got him to make the dramatic U-Turn.
“I went [to speak to Messi] not to convince, I went to talk football. We were almost two hours talking about football and naturally it came out [from him] that he would be on the list. I told him that in Argentina there are 100 idiots, who speak and criticise, but I told him that people want much, and
If you are still heeding the words of 100 idiots who criticise, you would go crazy. Then came this statement, which I found very natural, and that tells you about his desire to be in the selection and win something with the national team.
Having the best in the world does not guarantee you’ll win the game, but you are guaranteed a great threat to the opponent. We need to better take advantage of Messi. I imagine him in two or three positions. something we already talked about with him, but let’s see.
It depends on the team. He has that pressure naturally by who he is. And he knows it. And we all know that when the ball goes through him, he can make something different happen. But we need help from the team.”
Very convincing and powerful words indeed from the coach. The team are very lucky to have both Messi and Mascherano back in the squad and hopefully the 2018 World Cup will finally be the one they win.
