World Cup 2010: No goals for Lionel Messi of Argentina but fans still love his game
Argentina star striker and FIFA World Player of the Year, Lionel Messi, has yet to score his first goal in this year’s tournament in South Africa. While fans are anxious to see him score, the Argentinean striker is confident that it is only a matter of time before he sees the back of the net. Despite his goalless run at the World Cup so far, Messi is in sublime form, and has already won the hearts of his critics and fans. He is the only player in this year’s tournament who has played the kind of football fans around the world love to see. He is seen flying, dodging, kicking, and hitting the poles in the most amazing of ways. While people are waiting for him to score his first goal, frankly speaking, no one is in a hurry as long as he keeps doing what he is doing, and making Argentina win their games comfortably.
The Barcelona goal machine, who doesn’t need any words of praise, has yet to find the net. Argentina has already won its first three opening matches in Group B and qualified for the round of sixteen. Messi started their campaign in fashion and seems unstoppable by any defence. We have seen him doing amazing things under tight defence conditions against Greece and at the same time troubling the flamboyant Koreans. He hit the poles and saw his two beautiful shots stopped by Tzorvas in the 2-0 victory against Greece; he was stopped almost five times in the opening game against Nigeria and similarly hit the poles and assisted Higuain in the game against South Korea. The interesting thing is that as long as Argentina is winning it in an easy way, there is no need for Messi to score. He is doing what he does and if he continues playing the same way, he will definitely make Argentina win when all their other options fail.
Messi’s role in the Argentinean squad is beyond goals and is different from his role in Barcelona. The Catalans have got a strong midfield in the form of Xavi and Iniesta, and they need them to score goals. On the contrary, Messi is the heart and soul of Argentina. They can win the Cup as long as he is in his awe-inspiring form. Messi’s role is not only to score himself, but more importantly he has to get Higuain and Tevez in the game. Argentina’s attack rests on the shoulders of Messi and this responsibility definitely reduces the chances one gets to score. It can only be Messi who can create amazing and impossible moments in the game, and he is the only player this year that can be rightly characterised as a ‘Magician’.
Messi admits the same fact. He says that he would love to score himself, but as long as Argentina are winning their matches, there is no hurry for him. The 22-year-old became Argentina’s captain in the game against the Greeks and became the youngest captain for Argentina. He amazed his coach Maradona once again when he hit the pole in the last quarter of the match followed by an amazing strike that was stopped by the Greece goalkeeper. Diego is the one of the biggest fans of Messi and he himself is waiting for the moment when Messi finds the back of the net. The crowd saw him jumping and diving on the ground when Messi came close to the goal in the two late second half chances.
The whole world is behind Messi, and even if he finds himself short of luck, his fans’ prayers and wishes will make him score, and more importantly, make him win for Argentina. Go Messi!
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