For years it seemed impossible, but Messi surpassed his idol and legend

Lionel Messi’s standing in Argentine football was not secured by a simple tally of appearances. It emerged through a gradual shift in the national team’s hierarchy and mentality, the article argues, as he became the defining figure of Argentine identity.

His record of 189 matches, 112 goals and 57 assists contrasts sharply with the uncertainty that marked his early international career. Messi was sent off 43 seconds into his 2005 debut against Hungary, then spent years facing a public that saw him as distant and lacking Diego Maradona’s aggressive charisma. Maradona represented the street football culture of Buenos Aires, while Messi had developed through Europe’s structured football system.

That divide was especially visible at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Maradona managed through emotion and personality, while Messi had no clear tactical role. He finished the tournament without a goal, and after Argentina’s 4-0 quarterfinal defeat by Germany, critics faulted him for remaining silent and looking down during difficult moments.

The deepest crisis came between 2014 and 2016, when Argentina lost three finals in successive summers. The defeats came at the World Cup in Brazil and twice against Chile in the Copa América. After missing a penalty in New Jersey in 2016, Messi announced his retirement from the national team at age 29. Argentina then looked lost in qualifying without him, prompting the public and the football association to recognize, in the article’s framing, that the problem lay with the system rather than the captain.

The 2018 World Cup in Russia became the decisive break. After Argentina lost 3-0 to Croatia, players led by Messi and Javier Mascherano reportedly confronted coach Jorge Sampaoli at the training camp in Bronjici. They told him they no longer trusted his tactical ideas and would take responsibility for the lineup and formation against Nigeria. Argentina won that match with a Messi goal, marking his transition from an on-field executor to the team’s central authority.