The boy who handled the ball better than anyone else was diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency at the age of 10. But he didn’t give up on his dream. The boy, who practiced rigorously while receiving injections of growth hormone, rose to the level of a ‘soccer god’ after a quarter of a century. And finally, he became a legend by winning the World Cup, which was the final puzzle of his soccer life.
Argentina, led by Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain), drew 3-3 with France at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar on the 19th (Korean time) in the final of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, then scored 4-2 in a penalty shootout. Victory was won. It was the first championship in 36 years since the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.
Messi, who was on his 5th World Cup stage, finally held the trophy on his own. After scoring two goals and making a big success, he succeeded in the penalty shoot-out once and finally stood at the highest place, and lifted the World Cup trophy, which he had to look forward to at the time of the 2014 World Cup runner-up in Brazil.
Messi, who kissed the World Cup trophy he wanted so much, said, “I knew that God would give me the World Cup trophy. It seemed that someday it would be like this. It’s really beautiful.” He couldn’t hide his emotion. Messi, who won the World Cup he longed for, said, “There is no retirement from the Argentine national team. He wants to continue the experience of playing the game as a world champion,” he said, bringing relief to football fans.
Messi, who has dominated world soccer for the past 15 years, has formed a rivalry with Cristiano Ronaldo (invincible). The ‘Meho Daejeon’, which is the better of the two, was also one of the regular debates among soccer fans. However, as Messi won all the trophies he could get, the meho war is now over, and he can be called ‘GOAT’ (The Greatest Of All Time) along with Pele and Maradona.
In the meantime, Messi has seen a lot of poisonous bitterness in the finals wearing ‘La Albiseleste (Argentine uniform mixed with white and light blue)’ such as the Copa America finals in 2007, 2015, and 2016, and the 2014 World Cup final in Brazil. He had everything he could have on the professional stage, but his lack of titles in the national team was a factor that held him down.
Messi, who won his first major championship at last year’s Copa America, washed away his sadness by flying at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, while he was his friend. In the first match of the group stage, they were caught up in Saudi Arabia’s sandstorm and were nervous, but after that, Messi and Argentina won all their matches and advanced to the final. Messi also focused on completing his career by leading his team with 5 goals and 3 assists before reaching the final.
Messi, finally relieved of the burden, danced on the grass, showing off his perfect technique. Angel Di Maria (Juventus) scored the first goal with a penalty kick, and in the 35th minute of the first half, in the situation of the second goal, he sent a fantastic one-touch pass that saved the flow of the ball and led to a perfect counterattack goal. It was also Messi who scored the third goal without giving up even in the overtime that started in a situation where the score was tied, and who succeeded as the most burdensome shootout kicker after the match ended 3-3.
With this, Messi became the first soccer player ever to win all of the European Football Federation (UEFA) Champions League, Olympics, and World Cups, and to have all of the highest honors for soccer players, the Ballon d’Or. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is truly a record maker.
It is the same even if you narrow the scope to only the World Cup. Messi, who participated in his 26th World Cup match as a finalist, set the record for the most appearances in the World Cup, surpassing Germany’s Lothar Matheus (25 matches), and in the 24th minute surpassed Italy’s Paolo Maldini (2217 minutes) to record the longest appearance in the World Cup. also changed 메이저사이트
It wasn’t just about running for a long time and a lot. Messi, who scored 7 goals and 3 assists in this tournament alone by adding 2 goals in the final, has 13 goals and 8 assists in the World Cup total. With 21 attack points, he also surpassed Gerd Müller (14 goals, 5 assists), Ronaldo (15 goals, 4 assists), and Miroslav Klose (16 goals, 3 assists) in the second group. Only the top scorer handed over to Kylian Mbappe with 8 goals, and of course, the Golden Ball in this tournament also went back to Messi, becoming the first Golden Ball winner twice. If the Golden Ball at the time of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil had a strong sense of respect for the runner-up, this time it was a completely flawless Golden Ball.
Naturally, the word ‘Felmame’ (Pele, Maradona, Messi) is no longer awkward. By winning the World Cup, the record in the national team can finally be compared with the two legends, and the record in the professional stage is so good that it is difficult to even compare. He has won the Spanish Primera Liga, one of the best leagues in the world, 10 times and has won the UEFA Champions League 4 times.
Although Maradona passed away and did not see the glory of his junior, ‘Soccer Emperor’ Pele watched Messi’s performance. After the final, Pele said on his SNS, “Today, as always, football has created a fascinating story.” Congratulations on Argentina’s victory, and Diego Maradona will be smiling,” he congratulated Messi.