Adios Messi

Lionel Messi may have brought the curtain down on his Argentina career after the heartbreaking Copa America final defeat, he will continue to play club football for Barcelona in Spain

The generally accepted view is that an athlete should retire at one’s prime–at a time when people are asking “why’ rather then when people are saying “why not’. By that rationalisation of course Lionel Messi retired at the perfect time, when he is still a phenomenal ballplayer and game-maker. However, the maestro made the announcement of him leaving the beautiful came too suddenly and under circumstances that were hazy to say the least. The only indication–if it can be termed as such–came in his twitter comment regarding Messi’s frustration with the Argentine Football Association.
There are many great athletes but only a few who can be termed as geniuses who take their respective sport to another level. Lionel Messi, like Pele or his countryman Diego Maradona before him, was one such athlete. It can safely be said that after Maradona, Messi became the most beloved and venerated footballer in the world through his tremendous skill level and the intense desire to win. Even the criticism that he often faced claiming that he never reached the heights playing for Argentina compared to when he played for his clubs does not hold water. After all Lionel Messi is the player who have scored the highest number of goals for Argentina in international matches.
His sheer commitment to playing for Argentina was reflected in his decision to fly from Spain to Argentina for a low-key friendly against Honduras shortly before the Copa America tournament. In the last FIFA World Cup he was declared as the ‘Player of the tournament’. In his glittering carer Messi was named FIFA World Player of the Year as many as five times. If Argentina failed to win major tournaments it is unfair to single out Lionel Messi. Modern football being what it is, to win a tournament through individual effort is simply impossible. And Messi indeed was part of some Argentine triumphs–the 2005 Youth Championship and the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, when he helped the team win the gold medal.
Lionel Messi may have brought the curtain down on his Argentina career after the heartbreaking Copa America final defeat, he will continue to play club football for Barcelona in Spain. Of course there is intense pressure on Lionel Messi to reconsider his decision. From the President of Argentina to millions of ordinary fans, everybody wants him to play in national colours again. However, Lionel Messi is not a voluble personality. Messi does not open his mouth too often, but when he does it is worth listening. His decision to retire would have been thought about long and hard before reverberating across the world. If he sticks to the decision people should respect it.

Adios Messi

Lionel Messi may have brought the curtain down on his Argentina career after the heartbreaking Copa America final defeat, he will continue to play club football for Barcelona in Spain

The generally accepted view is that an athlete should retire at ones primeat a time when people are asking why rather then when people are saying why not. By that rationalisation of course Lionel Messi retired at the perfect time, when he is still a phenomenal ballplayer and game-maker. However, the maestro made the announcement of him leaving the beautiful came too suddenly and under circumstances that were hazy to say the least. The only indicationif it can be termed as suchcame in his twitter comment regarding Messis frustration with the Argentine Football Association. There are many great athletes but only a few who can be termed as geniuses who take their respective sport to another level. Lionel Messi, like Pele or his countryman Diego Maradona before him, was one such athlete. It can safely be said that after Maradona, Messi became the most beloved and venerated footballer in the world through his tremendous skill level and the intense desire to win. Even the criticism that he often faced claiming that he never reached the heights playing for Argentina compared to when he played for his clubs does not hold water. After all Lionel Messi is the player who have scored the highest number of goals for Argentina in international matches. His sheer commitment to playing for Argentina was reflected in his decision to fly from Spain to Argentina for a low-key friendly against Honduras shortly before the Copa America tournament. In the last FIFA World Cup he was declared as the Player of the tournament. In his glittering carer Messi was named FIFA World Player of the Year as many as five times. If Argentina failed to win major tournaments it is unfair to single out Lionel Messi. Modern football being what it is, to win a tournament through individual effort is simply impossible. And Messi indeed was part of some Argentine triumphsthe 2005 Youth Championship and the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, when he helped the team win the gold medal. Lionel Messi may have brought the curtain down on his Argentina career after the heartbreaking Copa America final defeat, he will continue to play club football for Barcelona in Spain. Of course there is intense pressure on Lionel Messi to reconsider his decision. From the President of Argentina to millions of ordinary fans, everybody wants him to play in national colours again. However, Lionel Messi is not a voluble personality. Messi does not open his mouth too often, but when he does it is worth listening. His decision to retire would have been thought about long and hard before reverberating across the world. If he sticks to the decision people should respect it.