Running alongside the tactical evolution was a parallel story that took even longer to resolve: the question of who Messi was for Argentina.
He became captain in August 2011. Then came the defeats. The 2014 World Cup final, lost to Germany in extra time in the Maracana. The 2015 Copa America final, lost on penalties to Chile. The 2016 Copa America final, lost on penalties to Chile again.
Three finals in three years, all lost, and each one tightening the knot of public expectation around him.
After the last one he quit, something he had considered twice before. He came back. But he was different.
At the 2019 Copa America, eliminated controversially by hosts Brazil in the semi-final, Messi walked into a press conference and strongly criticised the South American football confederation.
This was not the player who had once seemed to retreat into silence when the weight of Argentina became too heavy. This was a leader who had decided to stop being defined by what he hadn’t won.
The Copa America 2021 was the release. Argentina beat Brazil in the Maracana final and ended a 28-year wait for a major title. The pre-match team talk Messi gave moved the dressing room to tears.
The Messi at the 2022 World Cup was something else again – a synthesis of everything that had come before.
There was the sprint past Josko Gvardiol in the semi-final against Croatia, the 2009 winger reappearing for one extraordinary moment.
There was the quarterback precision in the final against France – the pass to put Nahuel Molina through, the ghost-run to force the rebound for Argentina’s third goal, the penalties converted when everything was on the line.
“Football changed a lot,” he told Zinedine Zidane in a 2023 interview. “The way of playing, the systems. The game today is much more tactical and physical than before. Before, you found more spaces.”
He said this with the matter-of-fact tone of someone who has played across three distinct tactical eras of the modern game – the physical midfielders of Porto and Chelsea, the positional and passing peak, the post-Guardiola tactical arms race with quick transitions – and come out on top of all of them.
