Average. That’s not a word often used with Lionel Messi, but that’s what he was tonight against Brazil. Somehow, someway, Argentina pulled out the 1-0 victory at the Maracanã on a night when the greatest player ever was simply mediocre.
At Barcelona, “captain” Messi has had his doubters. It was under him that Barcelona crumbled on multiple European nights over the course of years. The same could be said of Argentina in his nine other major international tournaments prior to this one. Finally, his La Albiceleste teammates came through.
Angel di Maria scored the game’s only goal, starting in just his second match of the competition. As the ball lofted gently into the back of the net, di Maria’s exuberance may have reminded us that he missed the final two matches of the 2014 World Cup and both the 2015 and 2016 finals of the Copa America, all due to injury.
The pass to di Maria was delivered by Rodrigo De Paul, the captain of Udinese and a player that has long been unworthy of a major move. At 27, the composure, industrial passing, and positional brilliance was not something those who’ve watched him before were expecting to see. Paredes and Lo Celso were both doing everything they could to force Brazil to bypass their midfield, and De Paul was the one tasked with finding that next ball once Argentina had won the initial tackle.
Emiliano Martinez got Argentina past Colombia, but he was nothing more than an Arsenal afterthought and the current goalkeeper of Aston Villa prior to the tournament. Nicolas Otamendi made more mistakes in international matches as a Manchester City player than he did as a 33-year-old has-been with Benfica. Marcos Acuña from Sevilla. Guido Rodriguez from Real Betis. Good La Liga players but not stars by any measure.
Cristian Romero plays for Atalanta and hadn’t played in several matches due to a knee injury. There were nervous moments, but the 23-year-old can forever tell his children and grandchildren about the time he pitched a shutout against Neymar and Brazil in the most famous stadium in South America.
Yet, of all the players that required a google search, River Plate right-back Gonzalo Montiel may have summed up what “just enough” looked like in the final. Finishing the match with his sock covered in blood, not unlike Messi against Colombia, the 24-year-old expertly closed out the game like a man playing in the most important match of his career. Good thing; because it was.
But back to Messi. All of those names may be forgotten through the annals of time, but Messi’s name will likely be remembered for centuries. That’s not hyperbole. Goalkeeper Ricardo Zamora was playing for FC Barcelona 100 years ago today, and the trophy that bears his name will keep his memory around for a bit longer. Messi, meanwhile, will have an infinite well of Internet content that will be uploaded to people’s brain chips for as long as the Earth is around.
And on their chips those future Earthlings can look back at the Copa America final in 2021 and see an average Messi. They’ll also see his teammates throw him into the South American night sky at the final whistle, a celebration of the man that did everything for them prior to those 90 minutes.
The Earthlings can then look back at the rest of his tournament, where he scored four goals and five assists and made sure his side won their group. Then they can look back at what brought Argentina to that moment. The World Cup. The Copas. The heartbreak. The patience. The shallow hope that fans around the world held on to for the legacy of a man that won’t be in their lives much longer, but already provided them enough entertainment for three lifetimes.
Messi has finally won a senior international tournament. Does he care if it cements him as the greatest ever? I doubt it. But he does care that he finally won the trophy that has eluded him. At least until the World Cup starts next year…
Dan Hilton is an American journalist, broadcaster, and current Editor-in-Chief of BarcaBlog. Extensive work as a play-by-play broadcaster, producer behind the scenes, and quite average player in his younger years has given him a well-rounded and informative perspective on the sport. Alongside BarcaBlog founder Francesc, Dan started The Barcelona Podcast in 2017
