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The FIFA World Cup 2018 kicks off in less than ten days and excitement is high all across the globe. Football fans are getting ready to support their countries and players of all the 32 nations that are going to participate in the grand sporting extravaganza are already feeling the pressure.
But no other player must be feeling the heat right now, as much as Lionel Messi. His trophy cabinet lacks a major international trophy and winning the FIFA World Cup could very well immortalize him.
Besides that, Messi is already 31 years of age and could be past his prime by the next World Cup. This year, he has a golden opportunity and he would be desperate to prove himself.
But why does Messi need to win the World Cup so badly?
#1 A not-so-selfish player anymore
Lionel Messi is an outright genius when it comes to playing the game. His ability to tear defenses apart with amazing runs into the box has been evident for a long time now. His vision is almost impossible to keep up with because you never know when he will squeeze the ball between multiple defenders by a deft-through pass.
The young prodigy who scored that miraculous goal in the Copa Del Rey final against Getafe in 2007, has matured into one of the finest players in the history of football unlike anyone has ever seen.
The young Messi was accused of not passing the ball much and dribbling past opposition defenders to score goals. His annual goal tally in his early years (53 goals in 2010-11, 73 goals in 2011-2012) clearly speaks volumes of his talent. Messi also admitted that he is much less of a selfish player now and tries to create more.
This could be Messi's year to dominate. Will it be?
#2 A trophy-laden career
Apart from personal accolades, Messi has won the UEFA Champions League four times, nine La Liga titles, three FIFA Club World Cup trophies and many more accolades with Barcelona. His record with his club FC Barcelona is nothing short of legendary; Messi has won the prestigious Ballon d'Or award a record five times in his career, four European Golden Shoes for scoring the maximum number of goals in all competitions in a season and five Pichichi trophies for scoring the maximum number of goals in a single La Liga season.
But for a person of his stature who scores goals for fun and breaks records every other match, his trophy cabinet misses a major international trophy even though he has multiple accolades to his name.
He had multiple opportunities to win an international trophy for his country but he failed to do so. Three Copa Americas and a World Cup has already slipped out of his hands. Can he do so this time?
#3 A not-so-stellar international career
The way Messi led his team all the way to winning the Olympic Gold for Argentina in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, few doubted that Messi will be a major trendsetter in world football, at both the club and international levels.
Unfortunately, Messi hasn't been able to help the Albiceleste to major trophies and that has raised the question mark over his greatness. He has lost three Copa America finals - 2007, 2015 and 2016 and that has greatly shifted Argentina's South American domination to Brazil and other nations.
The closest he came to winning a World Cup was in 2014, when he captained a spirited Argentina team and they went all the way to the finals. In the final against Germany, Argentina lost by a very narrow margin of 1-0, courtesy of a wonderful goal by Mario Gotze in stoppage time. Messi was awarded the Golden Ball of WC2014 for being the best player of the tournament, but that couldn't match the joy of World Cup Glory.
#4 The Messi vs Maradona saga
Messi has been compared to Diego Maradona more often than any other player in the history of the game. Both are Argentinean by birth, both dribble past opponents with ease and both are easily the best creative players of their generation.
Maradona is, however, a 'God' in Argentina because he won them a World Cup in 1986 and Messi does not enjoy the same status back home, however good he may be. A statue was erected in 2016 as a tribute to his goal-scoring heroics for Argentina, to persuade him to come out of retirement.
The statue has been vandalized twice by miscreants ever since and he is not very much of a sensation back in his hometown, Rosario. That is why he needs to win the World Cup more than anyone else.
#5 Argentina's savior
Messi announced his retirement from the national team in 2016 after losing the Copa America Centenario final to Chile, in which he missed a crucial penalty in the penalty shootout. It was heart-breaking for him to play four international finals and return home empty-handed each time.
However, he did come up to rejoin the national team after the countrymen appealed to him and is one of the major reasons why Argentina are going to play in Russia ten days late. Argentina's performance in the COMNEBOL Qualifiers was dismal because of Messi's absence due to injury and they were about to miss the plane to Russia.
Messi proved to be the savior for the football-loving nation by scoring a hat-trick in the last COMNEBOL Qualifier against Ecuador and sent them into the World Cup. Each time Argentina needs a savior, Leo fits into that role. It is very often and very rightly quoted that Argentina is over-reliant on Messi.
#6 Argentina, Maradona and team-mates' belief in Messi
Messi is however, without a doubt, the leading goal-scorer for Argentina with 64 goals in his kitty. He scored a hat-trick recently in Argentina's 4-0 win over Haiti and looks to be in fine form going into the World Cup.
His ex-coach Diego Maradona has asked Messi to play his natural game in the upcoming tournament and he believes, Argentina can win the World Cup this time. Team-mate Nicolas Otamendi also admitted a couple of months ago that Messi wants to win the WC2018 more than anyone else.
All his team-mates respect him and hope that he will be the reason why they lift the title. Teammate and close friend Angel di Maria quoted that football owes a World Cup to Messi for his services to the game.
Lionel Messi has been the best with the ball at his feet for many seasons now. Only one moment of glory eludes him. If he does lift the trophy in Russia this time, he will definitely go down in history as 'greatest player' the game has ever seen.
