Four Major Tournament Final Losses, Will Lionel Messi Still End Up The Greatest?

Eight Spanish La Liga titles, four Champions League, four Copa dey Rey trophies , five times Ballon d'Or winner (four won consecutively) is sometime almost impossible to achieve except of course you are Lionel Messi. Compare these aforementioned achievements with three Copa America final losses and one FIFA World Cup loss and even the die hard fan of the Argentine will agree that he might be a great but difficult to be called the "Greatest" as he has not been able to transmit his club form for his country. As early as 12, it became clear Messi was a special talent as his Newell's Old Boys coach Adrian Coria had this to say, "When you saw him you would think; this kid can't play ball. He's a dwarf , he's too fragile ,too small.

"But immediately you see him with the ball, you will realise he was born different, and that he was a phenomenon and that he was going to be something impressive."


Lionel Messi is not just a team player, he is also La Liga's highest goalscorer with 312 goals in 348 league games for Barcelona. The little man has also provided the most assists in La Liga and the Copa America coupled with his 55 goals in 112 games for Argentina which makes him the highest goalscorer for Argentina after breaking Gabriel Batistuta's record with a sublime free-kick in the semi-final against hosts USA. If there is one player who has dominated football since joining Barcelona as a 13 year old then it is the Rosario born forward.

All these cannot erase the fact that Messi has failed to end Argentina's 23 years wait for a major trophy which dates back to 1993. With Argentina, Messi has won the Olympic in 2008 but the same cannot be said of the senior side. In his third Copa America final, Messi wasn't enable to turn in his excellent form which saw him score a 19 minute hat trick against Panama in a 4-2 win. At the Met Life Stadium against Chile, the little man was only able to frustrate Chile's Marcelo Diaz who saw red after fouling the Argentine captain twice within 29 minutes. In 2015, it was Gonzalo Higuain that missed his spot kick after squandering a glorious opportunity to win the game in regulation time for Argentina and again in the USA, he was also the guilty one as he missed another glorious chance in regulation time but this is nothing compared with his captain who missed the first spot kick for Gerardo Martino's side. This was not just an ordinary miss as it is a miss that came back to haunt not just his team but him as Chile defeated Argentina for the second time in two years (Copa America final).


Messi has now lost out in the three Copa America finals (2007 against Brazil, 2015 against Chile and then this one). He has also lost in a FIFA World Cup final which was against Germany and this is heartbreaking even for his greatest enemy.

This is why it is not surprising to see the player retire from International football after the loss. "I tried so hard to be champion with Argentina, but it didn't happen. I couldn't do it. I think it's best for everyone, for me and for many people who want it. The choice for me is over. It is a decision. I tried many times to be a champion but did not," Messi concluded after the game although this was countered by goalkeeper Sergio Romero who had this to say, "I think Leo spoke in the heat of the moment because we missed that great choice." At 29 and at his best it is shocking to see the forward turn his back on the country though the disappointment cannot be underestimated .

Whatever happens between Messi and Argentina, one man who has no doubt that the Argentine is the greatest is Chile national team coach Juan Antonio Pizzi who had this to say , "Messi's numbers are unparalleled and I think they will remain that way forever, because it's impossible for a football player to do what Messi has done.

"My generation can't compare him to Diego this for my generation, because of what Maradona did for Argentina soccer, but I think the best player ever played today here in the USA," he concluded.

Source

http://mailtelegraph..co.ke/2016/06/four-major-tournament-final-losses-can.html?m=1

he can be called "the greatest" anywhere in the world, but not in his native Argentina... where MARADONA will always remain THE GREATEST