▲ Argentine Messi holding the World Cup trophy with ‘Last Dance’ Argentina national football team captain Lionel Messi celebrates with the trophy in his hand following winning the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar at Lusail Stadium in Qatar on the 18th (local time). Messi has announced that this Qatar tournament will be the last World Cup. On this day, Argentina faced France 3-3 until extra time and won the championship by winning 4-2 in the penalty shootout. ⓒ AFP / Yonhap News
Football emperor Lionel Messi lifted up the FIFA Cup while wearing a ‘Bisht’ covered in gold mesh. It was the moment when the Argentine people and Messi’s dream came true. It was the first World Cup victory in 36 years since the 1986 Mexico Tournament, and it eased its hatred.
Messi’s coronation as World Cup emperor in 5 moves
Messi is considered one of the best players in football history. But the only thing he mightn’t conquer was the World Cup. For Messi, the World Cup was a tournament covered in disappointment and setbacks.
Messi, who competed in the 2006 World Cup in Germany as a teenager, mainly played as a substitute. Argentina lost to host Germany in a penalty shoot-out in the quarterfinals, promising a four-year follow-up. At the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, he tried to win the championship with Argentine legend coach Diego Maradona, but suffered a crushing defeat 0-4 in the return match once morest Germany in the quarterfinals.
The bad relationship with Germany continued in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Messi led Argentina to the final with an unrivaled performance, taking one step closer to winning the championship. However, in overtime, Gotze scored the winning goal and stayed in the runner-up. The Golden Ball (contest MVP) awarded to Messi was no consolation.
At the 2018 World Cup in Russia, they had to pack their bags early following losing 3-4 to France in the round of 16 in the evaluation of the worst team. Considering the age of 31, which can be said to be at the end of his heyday, the evaluation that Messi’s challenge was virtually over was dominant.
Messi once once more appeared on the World Cup stage four years later. Messi’s last dance, which she ate 4 and turned 35, was staged in Qatar. 7 goals, 3 assists in 7 games. He recorded offensive points in 6 matches, excluding the 3rd match once morest Poland in the group stage. Messi, who led the championship, won the Golden Ball following eight years ago. The 2nd Golden Ball is the first ever.
Not only that, but he also broke many World Cup records. Messi, who scored a total of 21 attack points with 13 goals and 8 assists in the World Cup, surpasses Miroslav Klose (Germany, 16 goals, 3 assists), Ronaldo (Brazil, 15 goals, 4 assists), and Gerd Müller (Germany, 14 goals, 5 assists) rose to 1st place. In addition, he participated in 26 games and broke the record of Lothar Matheus (Germany, 25 games).
Messi, who achieved the ‘coronation of football emperor’, won 7 Ballon d’Or, 4 UEFA Champions League trophy, 10 La Liga trophy, 1 Ligue 1 trophy, 1 Olympic gold medal, 1 Copa America trophy, and FIFA in his showcase. I added a cup.
Desire to win and strong motivation
Argentina has not had a winning title since the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. In the Copa America, which determines the strongest in South America, it stayed unranked for a long time, last in 1993. He threw a lot of challenges to win, but was always frustrated at the end of the final.
So was Messi. They finished runner-up at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and the 2015 and 2016 Copa America. Argentina did not give up. A year ago, they won the 2021 Copa America by defeating Brazil. It was the first major tournament trophy in 28 years since 1993. Messi broke the jinx that he hated in major tournaments and eased the burden on his mind a little bit.
The next mission was the World Cup. Argentina was classified as one of the favorites for the championship ahead of this tournament. However, it was pointed out that he was behind in the squad compared to Brazil, France, and England. The dependence on Messi was also a big weakness.
However, there was no team that might match Argentina in terms of motivation and unity. Prior to this tournament, Messi declared that it would be his last World Cup. Rodrigo De Paul showed his loyalty by saying, “I would give my life for Messi.” All players had a strong desire to hold the World Cup trophy to the greatest legend Messi.
The loss to Saudi Arabia in the first game of Argentina, which has been undefeated in 36 matches in a row, was a stimulus. Since then, they haven’t lost a single game, and have made it to the finals. In the final match once morest France, the ‘defending champion’, who was the de facto king of the final round, he showed a performance that completely overwhelmed his opponent. All the players united with Messi, the focal point, and poured all their energy into each game. Argentina’s unbreakable heart eventually ended with a happy ending.
‘Novice manager’ Scaloni rises to the ranks of masters with flexible tactics
▲ Coach Scaloni strokes the championship trophy ⓒ AFP/Yonhap News
Argentina was eliminated in the round of 16 following the worst performance at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Since then, Argentina has participated in the 2019 Copa America under the acting system of Scaloni, who was the head coach without a formal manager, and ended the tournament in third place.
The Argentine Football Association gave Scaloni, who showed potential, a full managerial position, and directed him to the finals of the 2022 Qatar World Cup. It was Scaloni’s first managerial career.
In fact, doubts regarding Scaloni, a rookie director, still lingered. Even at the beginning of the South American qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which started in October 2020, Argentina’s performance was greatly disappointing. This is because there were many cases where the lack of creativity, the development of attacks without a sense of speed, and the dependency on mesh were exposed intact and ended in a draw once morest weak teams to catch.
However, Scaloni slowly raised Argentina’s organizational power, and finally proved his leadership by winning the 2021 Copa America. A year later, at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, it peaked with the practical soccer concept that best suited the team.
Although he is the youngest among the coaches from 32 countries participating in this tournament, he showed his skill with flexible tactical management and ever-changing strategies tailored to the opposing team in each game.
After the shock loss in the first game once morest Saudi Arabia, Scaloni did not stick to one tactic. Also, if he felt that the selection of players was a failure, he immediately tried to change. It was a great striker to put Lautaro Martinez, the main striker, on the bench from the third game, and to put forward Julian Alvarez, who had not been used in the meantime, as a starter. This boldness paid off. Álvarez scored 4 goals in this tournament, forming the best partnership with Messi.
Coach Scaloni, who operated a 4-4-2 formation in three group stage matches, came up with different customized tactics for each tournament. In the match once morest Australia in the round of 16, he put forward a 4-3-3, and in the match once morest the Netherlands in the quarterfinal, he responded with a three-back 3-5-2 with center back Lisandro Martinez in line with the opponent’s two-top tactic. In the semi-final once morest Croatia, center back Lisandro Martinez was removed and central midfielder Leandro Paredes was put in to return to a 4-4-2. Argentina stunned Croatia 3-0.
Even in the final, coach Scaloni’s strategy shone. It was effective to operate an irregular 4-3-3 formation with Di Maria, who rarely played in the tournament, on the left flank.
Left fullback Tagliafico was narrowed down to the center while France’s right winger Ousmane Dembele was pulled out. Then Messi and Alvarez induced 3 out of 4 French defenders to the center. Argentina quickly sent a transition pass into the empty space on the left. It was at this point that Di Maria set up a one-on-one situation with France’s right-back Jule Kunde. Di María contributed to the opening goal by inducing a penalty kick in the 23rd minute of the first half, and scored his second goal in the 36th minute from a counterattack opportunity.
In overtime, Montiel and Dybala were replaced to prepare for the penalty shootout. Both players succeeded in the penalty shootout and lived up to the expectations of the coach.
Lastly, Scaloni was the manager who made the most use of Messi in the Argentina national team. He relieved Messi of the defensive burden and entrusted him with a free role. The lack of numbers in a defensive situation where one was missing was offset by the high activity and organized defense of the remaining nine field players.
☞ Perspective sports news, ‘Oh My Sports’ Go to Facebook