The injured star was missed in Merida as the Albiceleste suffered a terrible start before recovering late on, and it is not the first time they have struggled without their skipper
From his team-mates, to schoolteachers and even the country's president: everybody in Argentina pitched in to try and convince Lionel Messi to change his mind after announcing his retirement from international football.
And when you look at the team's record with and without the captain, that clamor was hardly surprising.
Argentina dug deep to take a 2-2 draw against Venezuela on Tuesday, with Messi back in Barcelona recovering from an injury.
It was the fifth match in which he has played no part during the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign, and his absence has often been sorely felt by the nation.
With Messi in the team the Albiceleste boast a perfect record, having won three out of three games against Chile, Bolivia and Uruguay, with four goals scored and just one conceded.
But in the five games he has missed Argentina have won just once, against Colombia in 2015.
A defeat against Ecuador was followed by draws against Brazil and Paraguay at the start of the qualifying campaign, and Tuesday's result means Edgardo Bauza's team have taken just six points out of the 15 on offer without their talisman, scoring four and conceding five.
Luis Suarez believes Barcelona team-mate Lionel Messi will reconsider his decision to retire from international football.
Messi called time on his Argentina career last month in the wake of their defeat to Chile in the Copa America final, where Messi was one of those to miss in the penalty shoot-out.
The revelation came as a major shock, with Messi still only 29, but Uruguay striker Suarez feels his fellow South American can still make a contribution to the international game.
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Speaking at press conference on Friday, Suarez said: "The truth is that I cannot imagine Leo not playing with Argentina.
"As a friend and a fan of football I'd like to see him continue with the national team.
Luis Suarez says he cannot imagine Messi will be able to resist Argentina's call
"His love for country is indisputable, but you also have to understand his reaction after losing the final. I think he'll reconsider."
Messi, who has won the FIFA Ballon d'Or five times, is Argentina's record goalscorer with 55 goals in 113 appearances but has failed to win a major trophy with his country despite reaching four finals.
Lionel Messi announced his retirement after Argentina's Copa America defeat
The defeat to Chile in the Copa America is the second final heartbreak Messi has had to deal with after Germany were crowned world champions at the expense of Argentina in 2014.
With the Argentina squad still in town following their 3-0 Copa America win over Bolivia, a few of the Seattle Seahawks were lucky enough to bump into some football royalty on Wednesday.
Indeed, Steven Hauschka and Jermaine Kearse came over ever so slightly star struck when they were able to grab a quick photo with Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero at the NFL franchise's training complex.
The meeting was especially profound for Hauschka, who spent almost 20 years playing association football before making the jump to the American version.
For what it's worth, Aguero definitely seemed to enjoy himself too.
How nice.
Editor of Who Ate All The Pies (@waatpies), Chris has worked for Shortlist, Metro and a smattering of other football blogs.
Thứ Hai, 28 tháng 3, 2016
Messi and Ronaldo have duelled for the title of best player in the world for the best part of the last decade, winning the last eight Ballon d'Or awards
Lionel Messi has opened up on his relationship withCristiano Ronaldoahead of Saturday's El Clasico clash between Barcelona andReal Madrid.
Los Blancos travel to the Nou Camp knowing second spot is their highest realistic finish with the Catalans 10 points clear with just eight games remaining.
Messi and Ronaldo have duelled for the title of best player in the world for the best part of the last decade, winning the last eight Ballon d'Or awards between them.
The relationship between the pair has been under almost constant scrutiny over that period, but the Argentine insists he does not compare himself with Ronaldo, or anyone else, as he continues to break records.
"I have always said that comparisons are a press thing," he told Egyptian TV. "Personally, I try to help my team, play and improve every year. I don't compare myself with Cristiano or with anyone.
Flying: Barca look certain to win La Liga ahead of El Clasico
"We don't know each other personally – only in games. We don't see each other away from the pitch to have a relationship, but that's normal."
Ronaldo has won three Ballon d'Or awards to Messi's five, winning the accolade in 2008, 2013 and 2014.
Messi won each of the four awards between Ronaldo's first and second gong, and reclaimed the title in January this year.
The Barcelona superstar insists his rival has deserved the title on the three occasions the Portuguese has won it.
"When he won them, he deserved to," he added. "He deserves all he has won."
SANTIAGO, Chile -- One way or another, history will be made. Old taboos will fall, and with them, some long-held preconceptions.
Should Chile win the Copa America on Saturday, it would be the first time that they rise above the continental competition after 99 years and 37 attempts. On four occasions they finished as runners-up. As history would have it, the cruelest of those was 60 years ago. It came in this stadium against this opponent.
Back then, the Copa America was known as the South American championship and consisted of a round-robin group. The final match, then as now, pitted host Chile against Argentina. Both teams went in level on points. More than 65,000 fans filled the Estadio Nacional; many more were outside. A crush developed when the ticket offices opened late. Six supporters lost their lives, and a few dozen more were injured. The game went ahead on police advice, and Argentina, led by the legendary Angel Labruna, edged Chile 1-0.
Expectations are as high this time around as they were back then.
And should Argentina win the Copa America for the 15th time? Well, not only will they pull even with Uruguay as the nation that has won the most, but there also will be one fewer argument against Lionel Messi belonging among the greatest ever.
ESPN FC's Gab Marcotti is leaning slightly towards Chile in the Copa America final, but Tommy Smyth still believes Argentina are the clear favourites.
Until recently, the Barcelona striker has been dogged by the accusation that he performs better for the Catalans than for his own country. It's a tough argument to fathom when you consider that having just turned 28, he ranks second in all-time scoring for the Albiceleste (Gabriel Batistuta, 10 goals away, is within reach) and has the fifth-most caps (with 102; Javier Zanetti's 145 may or may not be unattainable, but he should at least retire in second place).
Still, the critics point to what separated him from the likes of Diego Maradona and Pelé: a lack of major silverware with his country. That, too, is surely crumbling given that Messi's Argentina took Germany to extra time in the World Cup final last summer. But if he delivers the Copa America on Saturday (and he's been outstanding in this tournament despite his lack of goals) he will have removed that burden from his shoulders as well.
That's the nature of international tournaments. You can prepare for them all you like, but so much has to do with what condition you're in when you get there.
Take Chile. Arturo Vidal had a slow start to the season at Juventus before finishing on a high. Alexis Sanchez had the reverse, and in some respects, he hasn't hit his usual heights in this tournament. Jorge Valdivia played a grand total of five competitive games for his club, Palmeiras, in 2015, which meant he arrived fresh and peaking at this Copa.
As for Messi, there was reason to believe that after a campaign in which he started 57 games for Barcelona and was substituted just once, he'd be somewhat battle-weary by the time he got to Chile. Not so; the array of lucid passes and sudden, streaky acceleration he displayed against Colombia and Paraguay suggest that he's as sharp now as he's been in a long time. That obviously wasn't the case at last summer's World Cup, where, after serving up that ludicrous assist for Angel Di Maria against Switzerland in the round of 16, he seemed to be present in body only.
The subtext involving the two managers, Gerardo "Tata" Martino and Jorge Sampaoli, is equally fascinating. They don't just share a nationality (both are Argentines); they are also united by the fact that they had to emigrate to find job opportunities.
Martino enjoyed a successful topflight career as a player and coached some minor clubs in Argentina, but he really found his feet only abroad. He won three league titles at Libertad and a fourth at Cerro Porteno, making him a hero in a less glamorous league and giving him a chance at international management with Paraguay. In six years at the helm, he took them to the quarterfinal of the 2010 World Cup and 2007 Copa America, as well as the final of the 2011 Copa America. That's what put him back on the map, allowing him to get major club gigs at Newell's Old Boys and then Barcelona before taking the Argentina job.
Sampaoli's route was even more circuitous. He played his youth football for Newell's around the same time as Martino, two years his junior. A double leg break ended his dreams of professional football at age 19, and he devoted himself to coaching. He didn't just start at the bottom of the pyramid; he was in the basement.
He took charge of a variety of youth and amateur sides, one of the dozens of faceless young coaches who hope to make a name for themselves. Yet the call never came, so he emigrated, leaving Argentina in 2002 and having spells in Peru, Ecuador and Chile, winning plaudits for his aggressive, high-energy style more than his results.
Eventually, Sampaoli landed at Universidad de Chile in December 2010, and even that was because Diego Simeone pulled out of the job at the last minute. The rest is history. Sampaoli's version of "La U" dominated the league and won the Copa Sudamericana. He moved up to the national side and drew rave reviews at the World Cup, beating Spain in the group stage and losing to Brazil only on penalty kicks after nearly knocking out the hosts when Mauricio Pinilla's finish crashed against the woodwork.
In other words, these are two coaches who came up the hard way. Nothing came easily for them, and it's the sort of origin story that engenders respect from the playing squad.
Both men have applied important tweaks to their national sides in this tournament. Messi is neither a striker nor a false nine under Martino. He's a real 10, as he showed against Peru with devastating consequences. Why mess with a successful formula? Because Martino understood that what works at Barca won't necessarily work with Argentina. Sergio Aguero isn't Luis Suarez, Angel Di Maria isn't Neymar and Javier Pastore certainly isn't Andres Iniesta. This set-up, with Messi coming inside to support and interchange with Pastore, has benefited both the creation in midfield and the movement up front.
Sampaoli has also evolved. What was once a Marcelo Bielsa-esque, all-over-the-pitch press in his "La U" days is now somewhat more studied. It has to be when you're carrying a guy like Valdivia in the hole: His moments of magic are worth having every day of the week, but equally, you can't ask him to run himself into the ground. The back four, as opposed to the futuristic 3-3-1-3 scheme of "La U," is also a nod to greater pragmatism aimed at ensuring his better players get into the side: When you coach a nation, you don't have the luxury of buying players who fit your scheme.
It's enough to make you wonder whether either man will spring a surprise in the final. Will Sampaoli be tempted to conjure up something special to counter the times that Messi and Pastore team up inside? Will Martino revisit the build-up from the back given Chile's high press?
Whatever the case, we will see history made on Saturday. And we'll enjoy the privilege of seeing one of the greatest footballers ever in full pomp and one of the most innovative coaches in the world game trying to stop him.
Lionel Messi is a phenomenal player. His incredible talent both on and off the ball are undeniable. His hugecollection of trophies and awards and accolades that he's earned over his career is incredible to behold. One the power of everything he's done, everything he's accomplished, Messi should be considered one of the greatest players ever to step onto a football pitch, if not the greatest.
And yet, there is doubt.
Messi is beloved by many, admired by many, imitated by many. It seems like every new teenage starlet that dazzles with fancy footwork and passing is dubbed the Messi of his country. He is the superstar of superstars, a man who is looked up to as an icon of both incredible quality and incredible sportsmanship. Seemingly no one can stand up against Messi with everything he represents.
And yet, there is doubt.
Ever since Messi rose to the pinnacle of stardom, there's been this lingering element of doubt around his career that is harped on by so many. Despite everything he's done withBarcelona, winning La Liga over and over, winning the Champions League over and over, winning the Ballon d'Or over and over, and scoring more club goals both in one season and over a calendar year than anyone has before, there's one thing that, in the opinion of so many, holds him completely out of the conversation of greatest ever player.
He's never done it at the international level.
Lionel Messi has played over 100 times for Argentina. He's rapidly closing on 50 international goals. He's the youngest player ever to score at the World Cup, and is tied for the most goals scored in a year in international play. But for all that, Argentina have never won a World Cup with Messi in the side, and they've never won the Copa America with Messi in the side.
Yeah, he's won Olympic gold with Argentina, but that's not considered a major accomplishment in men's football, and a Youth World Cup title isn't considered all that highly either. It's all about senior international trophies, on your continent and in the World Cup, and those are the two things Messi has never, ever won. He came so close a year ago in the World Cup, only for Argentina to get overpowered by Germany in extra time in the final.
Now, it's not entirely Messi's fault. Argentina have always been a good side with him in it, but they've rarely been a great side, and when they have there's always been a couple other great international teams around who are just a little better. They've also gone through some long stretches of being a dysfunctional side, through poor squad balance or awful management. In the modern era of international football, one man can't carry a team, even one man as superlatively talented as Messi.
But on Saturday, all that can change.
For the second straight summer, Argentina are in a major international cup final. They've struggled at times in this edition of the Copa America, but when the moment has counted, Messi and company have turned it on and gotten the wins. Uruguay, Jamaica, and Colombia all fell before Argentina before the Albiceleste got their revenge on Paraguay in the semifinals for stealing a point in their first match of the tournament. Messi nabbed a hat trick of assists in that match, bringing him level with Chile's Jose Valdivia for most in the tournament, and while he's only scored one himself, Messi has constantly been at the heart of creating Argentina's goals all tournament long.
And now, it's time to face Chile. Only one team stands before Lionel Messi and Argentina now. If he leads his country to just one more win, he can forever throw the monkey off his back of not finding success at the international level. He will lift that trophy high, and there will be no more excuses for the doubters to fall back on.
Lionel Messi is the greatest player the world has ever seen. In the Copa America final, he can prove it once and for all.
