Argentina finally falls in love with Messi

For years he felt little of the adoration shown Maradona …now that has all changed

When Lionel Messi had taken his place in the press conference late on Saturday night, one Argentine was so overwhelmed he could not even think of a question. ‘I just want to hear you,’ he said.

As the genius obliged, you were struck by the way a football pitch transforms this otherwise pale, outwardly unremarkable individual, as he squinted into the camera lights and did not really raise a smile.

had Cristiano Ronaldo accomplished what Messi had just delivered on the pitch, it would have been the camera crews trying to cope with his radiated light.

It was when the question of how he had made all Argentina happy that Messi’s voice picked up. ‘This bond is something beautiful. It’s unbelievable how they live the match, their passion, energy, joy.’

What is most significant about the past few weeks is the way that Messi’s place in the Argentinian consciousness seems to have changed.

For years, he felt little of the love known by Diego Maradona, the ultimate Argentinian no 10, because his relationship with his native county has always been so complicated.

his departure for Barcelona at the age of 13 contributed to that. Was he a true Argentine anyway, some grumbled, especially the older fans. The people of Buenos Aires expect their nation’s stars to play for one of the city’s clubs before they leave.

There was also his painful shyness and introversion, set against the lovable rogue Maradona, who had entertained so richly with jokes, songs and expletive-laden tirades against authority.

Then there was that infernal struggle to take the national team to the top of the world.

‘It was the thing I wanted the most, but I couldn’t get it, so I think it’s over,’ he said of the World Cup when announcing his international retirement, two years after defeat by Germany in the 2014 final.

Contrast Maradona, lifting the trophy in Mexico City in 1986 with a squad which, he apart, was ordinary. he hauled them up that mountain to the Azteca Stadium.

Yet suddenly it is Messi who, having decided to stick around after all, is leading a rather ragtag team of partisans through this competition.

Without ceremony, he passed Maradona’s tally of 23 World Cup appearances in the group stage. ‘Diego would be happy for me because he always supported me,’ said Messi.

Some of the banners at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium on Saturday night depicted Maradona, who Argentina mourned two years ago, smiling down on his heir from heaven.

Messi seems to have located some of his predecessor’s transparency and emotion. As the team bounced in tune to the supporters’ anthem about renewed Argentine hope, on the pitch after Saturday’s defeat of Australia, he was at the hub.

The sentiment for him in Buenos Aires seems different, too, with many struck by the way he broke down in tears after leading Argentina to the Copa America last year, their first major trophy in 28 years.

‘Since the Copa America win he seems to have eased up, he’s more relaxed, enjoying it,’ supporter Facundo Moreno told

Reuters in the capital last week.

‘Leo is the Argentine we all want to be — respectful, seeing doors open for him all over the world, projecting a good image, with his family everywhere,’ said Marcelo Sottile, the author of Lionel Messi El Distinto (‘The Different One’).

‘Diego was a bit of the Argentine that we really are — the fighter who rebels against power, the show-off.’

For many, only the trophy will give Messi the statuss of Maradona and, whatever the outcome, there

will be emotional times ahead. ‘As my children grow older, they understand better what all of this means,’ said Messi. ‘They are living it from the inside. I see how they suffer and how they enjoy it.’