If the Fifa World Cup was a role-playing video game, or RPG, then Lionel Messi has once again made it to the final stage. This is where all the monsters seem to have levelled up.
The last time he made the stage, he was beaten back by the final boss in the dying minutes of the game. Germany’s Mario Götze scored the match-winning goal in the 113th minute to deal a sickening blow to Argentina and its talisman.
It seemed to knock the stuffing out of Messi. When the match ended, he seemed to coil up and disappear. His showing in the 2014 World Cup was a special one – even with his team struggling to put their best foot forward. They tell us that football is a team game but until that moment in the final, Messi had managed to prove otherwise.
He would drop back, play creator; play goal-scorer; play inspiration. He was as brilliant as one could possibly be and yet, he failed in his final quest; his final quest because he’s cleared all the other levels... winning everything there is to be won.
At a personal level, it’s been 12 years since he became the youngest Argentine to score a World Cup goal. He has since won more Ballon d’Or trophies than anyone who has played the game. He is the top scorer of all time in Spain’s La Liga. And when in the mood, there is little that can stop him... when he is playing for Barcelona. But that we know.
Different kettle of fish
The World Cup, though, is a different kettle of fish.
In an RPG, when you fail the final quest, you go back to the lower levels; you farm and raise your stats as high as possible and then come back for another crack at the boss. If you fail again, then it is time for the party (your team of warriors) to level up. More farming. More magic potions. More legendary weapons. Then, you come again. Once again, full of hope.
But the World Cup is a different, difficult beast to beat because it keeps evolving. The opponents change, the players change and the challenges change. And the question Argentina’s manager Jorge Sampaoli will be asking himself is whether he will be able sufficiently reinforce Messi this time round.
Messi’s influence on this Argentina side is greater than ever and that can be gauged (to a certain extent) from the qualifying campaign numbers.
Messi’s first goal against Ecuador (their last qualifying game and one that helped them qualify for the World Cup) in the 11th minute was also the first time an Argentine player had scored for Argentina in 446 minutes of play.
During the two-year qualifying campaign, Messi scored seven goals from 10 matches. He missed eight qualifiers through injuries and suspension, but was still was the second highest scorer in the South American qualifiers.
Over the 18-match qualifying campaign, Argentina tried Gonzalo Higuain, Sergio Aguero, Lucas Pratto, Lucas Alario, Mauro Icardi and Dario Benedetto as strikers. All of them combined scored only three goals.
Argentina’s tally of 19 goals was the lowest among the four qualified teams. It was also their lowest haul since round robin format was introduced in South American qualifiers ahead of the 1998 World Cup.
Messi missed eight matches during the qualifiers and in those eight games Argentina only managed seven points. Argentina managed 21 of their 28 points in the 10 games that Messi played in.
As the statistics show, the reliance on Messi has only increased with time. And that should be disconcertingly ominous for this Argentina side. If the opposition decides to man-mark Messi (of course, that is easier said than done), it does put a huge spade in how the Albiceleste function.
Iran almost managed that in 2014 until a moment of genius saw Messi make them pay. Others will try that too and if Messi is stopped, can Argentina carry on?
During the final team talk ahead of the qualifier against Ecuador, the coach tried to drive his team by focusing on the point that the genius number 10 had to be in Russia.
“The final team talk was that we all had to take Messi, the best player in the world, to Russia.”
Turned out Messi decided to take himself to Russia. His hat-trick against Ecuador ensured a third place finish for Argentina.
But the question they would have been trying to answer since is what do they do after they get there. Argentina’s World Cup group is a tricky one. Iceland are solid in defence. Croatia have some top quality talent at their disposal and Nigeria’s physical game will be a challenge for anyone.
Messi, who is still just 30, may have another World Cup in him but it is only going to get tougher as the years go by. Even the the best players need a supporting cast to win the big ones.
This isn’t about legacy anymore. This isn’t about faith. This isn’t about Maradona. This isn’t about Ronaldo. Those are thoughts he will banish from his mind as he sets forth again. He attention will be focussed solely on winning now.
Given that this is a team which had failed to make it over the final hurdle of Copa America 2015, the final of the Copa America Centenario in 2016 and the final of the 2014 World Cup, Messi probably knows just how difficult it can get better than most. He also knows how much it hurts better than most.
Messi will stand up – that much we know, he always does – but will the others too? As good as the Argentine is, his final boss quest depends as much on the rest of his party as it does on him.