Behind that boy-next-door reputation lurks a dark side
THE transformations in Lionel Messi’s image have been almost as stunning as his career.
First, the timid teenager who looked uncomfortable in his own skin turned into the boy next door, politely accepting Ballon d’Or after Ballon d’Or. Now he has made headlines for his raging expletives aimed at match officials.
In many ways he has become the rebel leader his critics back in Argentina always wanted him to be. They pilloried him for having a ‘don’t care’ attitude. They hankered after someone who would stick his chest out to the rest of the world in the same way Diego Maradona had done.
They have that leader now, someone who confronts match officials Roy Keane-style and unleashes the full repertoire of his rage. But there are some who miss the boy next door, who liked the old Messi, the mild-mannered collector of World Player of the Year awards who offended nobody apart from fashion aficionados who didn’t like the garish suits he wore to ceremonies.
Many marketing men will miss that version of Messi too. For years they have presented the Argentine as the boy any parent would be happy their daughter had brought home for Sunday tea — the antithesis of moody bad boy Cristiano Ronaldo.
Messi would never have cried out ‘Siiii!’ at a Golden Ball award ceremony. Neither would he, Ronaldo- style, mumble obscenities under his breath if a coach dared to take him off. Yet the truth is that even when Messi had the face of an angel he was never as placid as was commonly believed.
Swedish coach Hans Backe famously alleged that during Barcelona’s first season under Pep Guardiola, Messi interrupted a team talk to go for a fizzy drink. When Guardiola told him he couldn’t take the drink before the game, there was silence in the dressing room, broken by the defiant click and sound of escaping gas as Messi opened the can and quenched his thirst.
That tale may have been exaggerated, but what has never been in doubt is that Messi was always a law unto himself, even back in the 2008-09 season.
In his defence, the phrase he is supposed to have aimed an official’s way in Argentina’s win over Chile (La concha de
tu madre) sounds far worse when deconstructed. ‘The **** of your mother’ might be the literal translation but this is a stock Argentinian insult that comes closer to ‘ F*** off’ in terms of severity. Not that it has saved him from a fourmatch ban. His absence jeopardises Argentina’s chances of making the next World Cup — probably his last chance to lead them to a major trophy.
Argentines have always felt Messi short-changed them in terms of passion. His verbal volley was a lot more like
‘El Diego’. It was certainly nothing like the choirboy genius that many in Europe have come to know and love.