Messi stands alone
Penalty miss adds to massive pressure on shoulders of Argentina’s talisman to lift side for crucial clash with Croatia
THE increasingly fanciful hope in Argentina was that this World Cup would bring Leo Messi’s career peak, but the deepening worry around the squad is that it has already brought one of his worst lows in the game.
They’ve never seen him like this, as withdrawn and sombre as he has been in their Bronnitsy base over the last few days. Saturday’s penalty miss against Iceland has hit him hard. He could barely show his face the next day. Although the Argentinian staff had organised a family barbecue to celebrate father’s day, Messi didn’t go. He stayed in the room he shares with Sergio Aguero, alone.
It should be noted Messi’s own family were not there, as they don’t arrive until the next few days, so that will have increased his desire to stay away… but was just as noteworthy that his wife Antonella felt the need for a public show of support on Instagram.
This is a man feeling it, feeling he’s let people down. “I am responsible for what happened,” Messi said after Iceland, and he fears for what could happen next. He’s all too aware of the stakes at this World Cup, for both himself and Argentina, and that moments like what happened on Saturday at Spartak Stadium further close this last window.
Many around the camp have picked up on how often he said some variation of “it’s now or never” to media in the build-up to this World Cup. All he can seem to see right now is “never”.
DOWNBEAT
For their part, the rest of the Argentine squad have themselves been highly aware of Messi’s downbeat mood, and the need to lift him. They recognise they are effectively here because of him, that his talent represents their only chance of going far, but that it’s unfair to always expect him “to be Superman”. They want to work out a system that is best for Messi, and offer support.
It’s just that Messi is so fundamentally important that if he isn’t right, it can’t but radiate out. And this is a group that, according to those close to it, don’t deal with setbacks well.
It’s for that reason manager Jorge Sampaoli has been so especially focused on mental work in the build-up to this huge match against Croatia. There’s been a lot of talk about sports psychology, but the deeper problem for Argentina is that they just can’t afford to overly focus on that. They have so much work to do.
It’s not just that Croatia have a better system, but that they have one that works, in a way that Argentina’s does not. That has meant Zlatko Djalic’s side also have something else Argentina do not: belief and confidence.
“We have phenomenal players, from the goalkeeper to the defenders to the attackers,” Mateo Kovacic said on Tuesday. “We don’t need to fear Argentina. We believe we are better than they are.”
A mere glance at the Argentina lineup against Iceland re-affirms this. There are some big names, but then a lot of little-known names, because of what is a really front-loaded squad. And if Argentina are missing key pieces, this game looks like it’s falling into place to provide one of those jarring reality checks; the real end of an era. It’s difficult to know how they’re going to get the ball off Croatia, alone, given the quality of Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic in that midfield.
One other factor worsening Messi’s mood is reportedly his sense of responsibility for suggesting the midfield pair of Javier Mascherano and Lucas Biglia, that just didn’t work against Iceland.
With so much doubt and hesitation, Sampaoli is making big changes to the team. He is first of all throwing out the four-man backline the players say they prefer, and returning to his own idealised three. He is then jettisoning three of the old guard in Angel Di Maria, Marcos Rojo and Biglia, and bringing in younger players in Nicolas Tagliafico, Cristian Pavon and Marcos Acuna. These are more of the lesser-known names, but they are pumped to make a name for themselves.
The message around the Argentina camp over the last few days is that, against Croatia’s possession, they are “going to have to run… and run and run”.
Given even the dysfunctional last few games of qualification and the squad’s disrupted preparation programme, this feels a real risk. But it may also be the jolt they badly need. And that could yet be enough to change the issue that Croatia still have to think about more than anything else. Proclaiming their superiority quality wasn’t all Kovacic said. There was that inevitable addendum.“We believe we are better than they are,” the midfielder began, “except Messi of course.”
His history suggests that sombre demeanour and solitude are not the set-up for worse, but the prelude to something better. Many in the Argentina squad saw the same thing after a frustrating first game of the 2015 Copa America.
One source familiar with the Barcelona set-up said: “Messi will turn up. I’m sure about it.” That’s why it all still comes back to him: the squad’s mood, the match, the group and maybe still the World Cup. (© Independent News Service)