Copa America could be Lionel Messi’s last chance to win over his own country

Lionel Messi is the world’s greatest footballer, but Copa America might be his last chance to deliver for his home country.

There was a time, not so long ago when it seemed unlikely that Lionel Messi would ever be seen again in the famous blue and white of ‘La Albiceleste,’ the Argentinean national team. He’d had enough, calling time on his international career after the 2016 Copa America, where Messi lost a third successive major tournament final.

It wasn’t just the weight of sporting failure that prompted Messi to retire from international soccer. It was everything else – the way Messi had become something of a target for his own countrymen, the politicization of his status within the governance of the sport in his homeland, maybe even the constant comparisons with Diego Maradona, the man still referred to by many in Argentina, without irony, as God.

There is quite literally a church in Maradona’s honor – Iglesia Maradoniana. It boasts over 275,000 registered members, but the true number of disciples, men, women, and children who count themselves among the followers of the great man that delivered World Cup glory to Argentina in 1986, is much higher.

Of course, Messi is a far better player than Maradona ever was. The 31-year-old has set a new standard at the top of soccer, reaching heights nobody thought possible prior to his emergence at Barcelona. In a modern context, where the Champions League, not the World Cup, represents the elite level, it matters little that Messi has never won an international honour.

Many in Argentina apply a different context, though. The context, for them, is Maradona. The great man, now 58 and the current manager of Mexican second division side Dorados, doesn’t just embody Argentinean soccer, but the spirit of the country as a whole. In fact, his performance against England at the 1986 World Cup, the one that provides the bedrock of his legend, offered a microcosm of that spirit, scoring an opening goal of deceitful cheekiness before pulling off a moment of sheer inspiration to score the second. That right there was Argentina.

Messi, however, has never been Argentina, at least not in the eyes of those who still worship Maradona. They have labeled him Spanish, somewhat derogatory, in reference to his move to Barcelona at the age of just 13. Messi never really got to know his own people and they never got to know him.

When Messi looks around him this Saturday night, when Argentina kick off their Copa America campaign against Colombia, he will see a less than vintage team. Indeed, ‘La Albiceleste’ have been in better shape. Their golden generation is starting to fade with the likes of Javier Mascherano, Ever Banega and Carlos Tevez still to be truly replaced.

Never before have Argentina been so reliant on Messi. Without him, they would be a second-tier side. But such is the stature of Messi, he raises the expectations of any team he plays for. Anything less than a tournament win at this summer’s Copa America will be considered a failure, just like was the case at the 2018 and 2014 World Cups and the 2015 and 2016 Copa Americas.

Having previously considered his international future twice before, there are reasonable grounds for belief that should Argentina fail to win the 2019 Copa America he will finally call it a day. It’s for this reason that this summer could be his last opportunity to finally prove himself to his own country, to the last demographic on earth still to be taken under his spell.

Messi shouldn’t have to prove anything to these people, but international glory this summer would eliminate all forms of ammunition. He might never inspire a faith and a church in the way Maradona has, but over the next month, he might finally deliver something to his fellow countrymen and women. Maybe then they’ll accent Messi as one of their own.