The Greatest.
Lionel Messi completed football last night, and what a privilege it was to witness it.
It’s difficult to know where to begin after a day like that.
Even before the sun had risen in Rosario, Argentina was awake. One chance to commemorate a God, and to proclaim another, to banish the demons of 2014. A game of football had never been more important to 46 million people.
36 years on from Diego Armando Maradona’s ultimate show of genius. Two since his passing. Not even the chaos, the orderless and frantic narrative of one of the most thrilling tournaments, and indeed matches, in the history of the sport, could be cruel enough to deny the most perfect ending.
El Pibe de Oro’s rightful heir, wearing that same blue and white jersey, that same number ten on his back, that same captain’s armband on his left sleeve, there was only one man worthy of being hoisted above the crowd, to parade the glistening globe to Argentina once more.
In his record-breaking 26th appearance at a World Cup, Lionel Messi saved his greatest statement to the very last.
His brace - however untidy, fortunate, inevitable - made him the first player in history score in the group stages, round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and final of the same competition. Now, with 13 goals and eight assists across his four tournaments, no player has contributed to more World Cup goals in the modern era. No-one, other than Messi, has scored in the competition in their teens, 20’s and 30’s, or assisted a goal in five separate tournaments. His eleven Player of the Match awards is a record, as are his 19 games as a captain.
That incredible run against Croatia, his illogical assist against the Netherlands, hooking the ball over the line in the 108th minute last night - the seven goals and three assists of a 35-year-old in Qatar, after all he has done throughout a supernatural career, will be impossible to top.
At times like these, then, it’s best to keep things simple.
Here at La Liga Lowdown, we’ve had the honour of watching Lionel Messi score 672 goals on Spanish shores. We’ve seen Cristiano Ronaldo score 472. Maybe, one day, we’ll see Kylian Mbappe too.
But for all those years, and for all those goals, football, and legacies, are made of moments. And this weekend, a football striking a goalkeeper’s thigh, a striker just staying onside, and a right-back keeping his cool, have crowned the game’s eternal king.
Ten LaLiga titles. Seven Copa del Rey’s and seven Ballon d’Ors. Four Champions Leagues, a Copa América, and now, a FIFA World Cup.
Surely, Lionel Messi is the greatest footballer that the world has ever seen.