Messi's last tango with the national team: tears, emotion and eternal gratitude

BarcelonaWhere were we on August 17, 2005? That day Lionel Messi made his debut with the senior Argentine national team in Budapest against Hungary. And after just a few minutes he had already been unfairly sent off. Who could have imagined then everything that destiny had prepared for the footballer from Rosario. 21 years later, Messi has decided to close this chapter. This early morning he played his last match with the Argentine national team against Benin. A somewhat lackluster friendly that ended with a 3-0 rout. With his last goal and his last two assists in a match in which he played all 90 minutes. Although a career with such glory perhaps deserved a more dignified final act than this friendly. Or perhaps the opponent and the narrative of the match mattered little. The most important thing had been written in the previous two decades.

Arriving at the Monumental stadium in the Núñez neighborhood of Buenos Aires for this last tango, Messi was crying on the bus, moved. Outside, thousands of people gathered on the sidewalks to see him with the same devotion with which the faithful wait for a miracle looking at a religious image. Messi has made a place for himself in the pagan pantheon of the Argentines, alongside Carlos Gardel, Evita Perón, and Maradona. He has done it by playing, without talking much, without wanting to be a social leader. He just wanted to play and he has done it better than anyone, which is why the Argentines have turned the last match almost into a day of national holiday, with concerts, television commercials, and many emotional people.

Where were we back in 2005 when Messi played his first match for Argentina? Many hadn't been born. Others didn't know that a pandemic would come, a few crises, many broken dreams, and that artificial intelligence would condition our lives. Neither did we know that Messi's natural intelligence on the pitch would move us so much, whether dressed in blue and garnet or in the albiceleste shirt. It is quite curious everything this little Argentine has achieved. Every time Messi lost a Copa América final or received a hard foul in a qualifying match in Asunción or Bogotá, many felt a sting in their heart from suffering despite not being Argentine. Thousands of Catalans celebrated four years ago the triumph of Argentina in the World Cup as if it were their own national team. By winning the World Cup in 2022, Messi was finally able to breathe easy. He already had his World Cup, just as Maradona had the one in 1986. Comparisons with Diego ceased to be important. The shadow of a Maradona who is no longer here stopped hurting, just as Leo's father, who died recently, is no longer here.

When Maradona died, many Argentines justified the admiration they had for a man who had committed many sins by stating that it was not about what the player had done with his life. That the most important thing was what he had done with the lives of others: making them happy by scoring goals. In this, Messi has excelled. He has had his fill of spreading joy. Although he has suffered quite a bit. Not everything has been easy. He even claimed he was leaving the national team when Argentina lost all the finals. "There is no way," he said, crying after losing the second consecutive Copa América final against Chile. This morning the Monumental stadium was a party, but 15 years ago at the same stadium, there were doubts about Messi. It was said of him that he only played well with Barça. The number 10 jersey went on spreading his word slowly, as if he were an old prophet.

And finally, he won the World Cup against France. For this reason, yesterday everyone wanted to be at the stadium. People who were moved this summer when a veteran Messi still managed to get the Argentine national team, suffering, to the final, with more epicness than magic. All the politicians wanted to take photos with him, everyone wanted to give him gifts and souvenirs. Little ones with pacifiers in their mouths showed photos of him, living a day that they might not remember when they grow up. But Messi's three children, his mother, and his wife will certainly remember it, all very moved in the box when he went out onto the pitch for the last time to play with Argentina in a friendly where the opponent mattered little.

The rival was Benin, a modest African national team whose players were the happiest of all: destiny had allowed them to be close to Messi on the day he was leaving the national team. The Africans gave him awards and took a lot of photos with Messi, who was welcomed by a giant shirt with the number 10 and the word "Gracias". When the Argentine anthem played, the coach, Lionel Scaloni, was already crying. Messi, with his children, managed to avoid it. He seemed happy before playing one last match that would stop at the 10th minute, with fireworks and a message in the stadium. The Benin players went to hug him, euphoric. Messi seemed uncomfortable. He wanted to play. It is what he has always wanted to do, play. The rest matters little. But the last match perhaps has not lived up to everything he has lived through before. Benin played their game, the Argentines didn't want to put their foot in too hard either and very little football was played. People were waiting to see if Messi would have chances. Everything revolved around him. The rest mattered little.

And people watched him. And they said thank you to him. For those who do not like football, it is hard to understand how a play by Messi lifts our spirits, saves our days, makes us have faith, and moves us. Few people have done it as well as he has during these 21 years of international career, in which he has gone from suffering disappointments to lifting titles. A path that began in 2004 with a friendly match for the U-20 national team between Argentina and Paraguay, in front of little more than 500 people, when the Argentine Federation called him up, lest Spain could convince him, since Messi was already living in Barcelona at the time. No, he would play for Argentina. And he already won a youth World Cup in 2005, to start with. Later would come the debut in a World Cup in 2006, an Olympic gold in 2008, and finally, after losing some finals, the most dreamed-of titles. Two Copa América titles and the Qatar World Cup. In total, 208 matches, with 126 goals and 70 assists. Of these assists, the last two this morning. First with a cross headed in by Otamendi and then offering Nico Paz the chance to score a beautiful goal. Later, Messi scored his last goal, from a penalty, when Benin was already doing what it could after having held a goalless draw until halftime.

This summer, after losing his third World Cup final, Messi proved to be smart and decided that, at 39 years old, he was leaving the national team. He knew how to understand when it was time to quit, unlike others who prolong their careers chasing who knows what. Messi has left it now, with enough time for the Argentine Federation to have been able to organize one last higher-level match. One last match and one last night with many Catalans sleeping little to watch him. One last day to let oneself be carried away by his rhythm when he plays, enchanted, thinking that in this strange world everything seems more beautiful when he touches the ball. We will no longer be able to take refuge in his football, from now on. His career at Inter Miami remains, but an era is coming to a close. And to think that many have not wanted or have not known how to enjoy it. They missed out on it. Today, Messi ended up crying when the match ended. He was not the only one. His mother, his children, and many fans were crying, while a farewell ceremony with drones began. Messi looked up at the sky thinking it would be a tribute and it turned out to be a brand advertisement. A strange ceremony, a bit forced.

"It has been a great pride to defend this shirt for more than 20 years, even in the worst moments I never stopped fighting and giving my maximum. Not being able to play anymore will hurt a lot. I swear to you that I would like to come my whole life because playing for the Argentine national team is the most beautiful thing that can happen to you. But I feel that it is the time, at the last World Cup it was all too much that I had to live through. We had my dream and that of the whole country to be world champions again, we were very close, but the wear and tear was very hard, in the legs and mentally," said Messi, before sending a message of gratitude to the fans and teammates. In the background, the fans were chanting his name. And he, bundled up in the middle of the field, looked small, with the microphone in his hand. He, who while playing has been the greatest. "I am talking more than ever... since I don't want to leave," he would say in the end, emotional. And behind, everyone was crying. All the teammates from the national team, Scaloni, half the country, and thousands of fans scattered all over the world. A lot of tears on the "saddest day of my career, since I am leaving it." It was the end of an era.