Messi farewell closes a long, hard-won love story with Argentina
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Oct 4 (Reuters) – When Lionel Messi makes his final appearance for Argentina on Tuesday, it will bring to an end a journey that began with the country’s football authorities not even knowing his name and evolved into one of the most enduring relationships in sporting history.
The farewell against Benin at Buenos Aires’ Monumental stadium ends an international career spanning more than two decades, which began with Argentina scrambling to identify a teenage prodigy developing far from home.
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“He went through so many moments that they’re really very different eras. At first he suffered enormously with the national team. He truly endured it,” Argentine journalist and author Sergio Levinsky, who wrote “Messi and Everything Else”, told Reuters.
Messi moved to Barcelona as a teenager and, while Spain tried to persuade him to represent them, his own country barely knew he existed.
At the 2003 Under-17 World Cup in Finland, Spain beat Argentina 3-2 after extra time in the semi-finals.
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According to Levinsky, a young Cesc Fabregas, who scored twice and was Messi’s teammate at Barcelona’s La Masia academy, told Argentine delegates afterwards: “You lost to us because we’ve got your best player at Barcelona and he’s a genius.”
Argentina youth coach Hugo Tocalli recalled a similar encounter. He said at the Ole Summit last month that Spain’s head chef told him Argentina needed “a kid who plays in Barcelona” to win the tournament.
