Messi -- The Name Is Enough -l

Rajendra Kshetri *

The name is enough. Messi. Lionel Andres Messi. A name that redefines football. A name that defies Physics. A name that mesmerizes the world of football. A name that brings magic. A name synonymous with artistic football.

Post World Cup Qatar 2022, it is a name most searched/googled and most popular in the world leaving behind the likes of Zelensky, Putin, Trump far behind. A name that brings/brought joy, happiness and celebrations to billions of people the world over.

A name that transcends continents, countries, regions, religions, castes, creed and gender. A name that would make Shakespeare, were he alive, to rephrase his 'what is in a name'. A name that is arguably, nay unarguably, the Greatest of All Time. The GOAT. Messi. The Name Is Enough.

Five days before the Summit Clash, I penned, on an impulsive moment, an ode to Messi (paraphrasing the ABBA number 'Fernando') and posted on my fb wall: "there's something in the air tonight/ the stars so bright Messi/ they are aligned and shining for you/so you can dribble past your opponents and score/so you can win and lift the golden FIFA Trophy ".

Again, four days before the marquee event, I wrote on my wall, paraphrasing a Carpenter number "there's a kind of hush/All over the world tonight/ All over the world/ You can see the artistry of mercurial Messi magic/ Falling in love with football".

Oh boy ! Did Messi lift the coveted Fifa Trophy on the D-day! The only trophy that was missing in his glittering trophy laden cabinet. Not only did Messi hold and lift aloft the iconic $ 20 million prized trophy after a thrilling and most dramatic final with Argentina beating France, the defending champion, after extra-time and penalties; but did so in the grandest manner possible with the Arab traditional 'bisht' (a symbol of honour and prestige) draped on his shoulders by the Emir of Qatar.

The Messi moment that was. The momentous moment of magical Messi. And the world fell in love with Messi and football. The sound of football lovers in love with Messi vibrates and reverberates. Messi mania swept through.

Not only the streets of Buenos Aires and the length and breadth of Argentina but every nook and corner of the planet earth. Even the remotest corners of Bengal, Kerala and Manipur have had their share of Messi mania. Such is Messi's reach. Such is the unparalleled, nay, unprecedented power of magical Messi.

What made Messi the player iconic ? The player extraordinaire ? Tha player magical? The player artistic? The introverted individual into a public persona ? What made Messi a living Legend ? A Maestro ? An extraterrestrial ? What made Messi the monarch of all he surveys ? What made Messi the Greatest of All Time ? The GOAT.

Five days short of completing one year of Maradona-led Argentina's Second World Cup triumph in Mexico 1986 (June 29) , Messi was born on 24 June 1987 in Risario, Santa Fe in a working class family. Of Italian and Spanish descent on his parents side, Leo, the third of four children, grew up in a football loving environment.

From an early age, he developed a passion for football. He was only four when he joined local club Grandoli. It was his maternal grandmother Celia who influenced him most as a player. Later on, every time Messi scored, he celebrated his goals by looking up and pointing to the sky as tribute to his grandmother.

At the age of six, Messi joined Newell's Old Boys, an Argentine Sports Club based in Rosario. He played for the club for six years and scored almost 500 goals. His future career as a professional player looked uncertain when he was diagnosed with a 'growth hormone deficiency ' at the age of ten. The Messi family was too poor to meet the growth hormone treatment which was costly.

When both the clubs, Newell's and River Plate (newly joined) declined to pay for his treatment, plans were afoot for Messi to move to Barcelona (Spain). His first professional contract was signed, aged 12, with Barcelona in 2000 on a napkin because the club's Sporting Director Carles Rexach was convinced Messi was their guy and he "couldn't let him get away". Messi's move to Barcelona was a journey of a lifetime because it changed the course of football history. For Messi and the club as well.

Messi had a twenty long years of highly successful stay at Barcelona. Not only did he establish himself during the period as one of the greatest players in the world, top scorer with 672 goals in 778 games. Messi made FC Barcelona as the leading La-Liga club (along with Real Madrid) and most competitive in Europe. A golden period as it was, Messi and Barcelona were made for each other.

Destiny has willed otherwise though as La Pulga - The Flea was made to leave Barcelona in 2021 under controversial and sad circumstances. Messi moved to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) on a free transfer in the same year.

No matter how tearfully sad Messi was at the time of leaving Barca , it turned out to be a blessing in disguise for the La Pulga Atomica. What Messi couldn't achieve the ultimate trophy in football for his country while at Camp Nou, he achieved it in 2022 following his transfer to PSG the previous year.

The story of Messi's World Cup journey has been a story of missed buses (till Qatar 2022, that is). Messi's WC debut in Germany 2006 was not as spectacular as one would have expected.

Nevertheless, it was noteworthy as Messi became youngest player to represent Argentina at a Fifa WC, and also the youngest scorer in the tournament--the sixth youngest goalscorer in the history of WC. For some inexplicable reasons, Messi was benched in the quarterfinal match against Germany. Argentina did not proceed further as they were beaten by Germany in penalty shootouts (2-4).

For Messi and Argentina, the 2010 edition of Fifa WC in South Africa (remember Shakira's 'waka waka, this time for Africa ') was something of a disappointment as they were eliminated at the quarter final stage again by Germany.

Although Messi was identified as one of the tournament's 10 best players by FIFA for his 'outstanding ' pace and creativity and 'spectacular and efficient ' dribbling, shooting and passing, he was heavily criticized back home in Argentina for his failure to emulate Maradona's feat in Mexico 1986. Accusations were hurled against Messi that he cared less about his country than his club (Barcelona).

The 2014 edition of Fifa WC in Brazil was the closest Messi came to lifting the golden trophy. With four Man of the Match awards to his credit in their first four matches, Messi led/took Argentina to the final. The final was billed as Messi versus Germany (the world's best player against the best team) .

Messi played his best football but, as luck/fate wouldn't have it, lost as Germany won the match 1-0 (in extra-time) to claim the World Cup. That he was awarded the Golden Ball as the Best Player of the tournament came as small consolation to Messi. Several criticism against Messi came to the fore once again especially after Messi failed, yet again, to lift Copa America in 2016, having been beaten by Chile.

This continuous tirade of accusations and abuse, unwarranted and uncalled for as they were, left Messi devastated so much so that he announced his retirement from National football. Little did they know or care to know that had Messi accepted the Spanish offer to play for Spain in the 2010 WC, he would have already been a world champion. But no, Messi didn't accept, rather rejected the offer because he loves his country Argentina more than anything else.

For Messi and Argentina, the 2018 WC held in Russia was an affair best forgotten as Argentina was eliminated in the Round of 16 match by the eventual champions France (3-4). Messi's continued failure to win title/trophy with Argentina led to speculation that he might retire from international football once again. Talks with the National coach Scaloni and his idol Aimar made Messi reconsider his decision to retire.

And came 2022. The FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Barring Argentina's opening game, a 1-2 defeat to Saudi Arabia, Messi outplayed, outclassed, outsmarted every other opponent teams (2-0 against Mexico; 2-0 against Poland; 2-1 against Australia; 4-3 against Netherlands in penalty shootouts and 3-0 against Croatia) on way to the final against the defending champion France.

What a jaw-dropping final it was. Tied 3-3 after extra-time, the match went to a penalty shootout with Messi-led Argentina eventually winning 4-2. Messi was given the Golden Ball award for the best player of the tournament, becoming the first player to win it twice.

Watched by 4 billions, the most viewed sport event in the history of mankind, the Summit Clash was indeed a clash of titans. A Messi VS Mbappe Show. Unlucky are those who have missed the Final . They will have no story to tell their children and grandchildren about an 'alien ' who came to planet earth and mesmerized the world of football.

I am fortunate to have watched the Greatest Final ever played in the history of FIFA WC. The most dramatic final, full of anticipations, excitements, surprises and twists and turns.

I am privileged to have watched live Messi art, Messi magic, Messi moment mesmerizing the opponent players. Mbappe was brilliant but his brilliance was checkmated by Messi mantra. The young turk has no way but to bow down to the Maestro.

The Qatar edition of FIFA WC 2022 will be remembered not just because it was the costliest; not just because of the coming of age of Asian soccer (remember Japan brought down European giants and former champions Germany and Spain to their knees, and South Korea played a goalless draw against former champions Uruguay); not just because Morocco became the first African country to reach the Semifinals in a World Cup; but PREDOMINANTLY because it was the Messi World Cup. The whole wide world witnessed magical Messi at his brilliant best.