Numb. All I feel is numb. The final whistle goes off in Kazan to conclude the first of the knockout clashes in the 2018 FIFA World Cup. France have edged a seven-goal thriller to book their place in the last eight. Argentina are out. From tension to expectation, from ecstasy to agony— it seems I have travelled the entire length of the emotional spectrum during the space of 90 exhilarating minutes of football. At the end of it, I stare at the television screen blankly. The figure of a disconsolate Lionel Messi emerges. I want to wake up, but the nightmare is real. 

FROM RUSSIA WITH LOSS

This year’s FIFA World Cup was not supposed to end this way for Argentina. This was supposed to be Messi’s moment of redemption on the international arena, the place where Argentina’s mercurial talisman with his Van Gogh beard would sketch his elusive masterpiece, following in the footsteps of the iconic Diego Maradona from 1986. 

Instead, Argentina’s World Cup journey was a short-lived soap opera — a mishmash of the great, the horrendous, the bizarre, and ultimately (and quite familiarly), the disappointing. For Messi, barring one instance of magic against Nigeria when he brought the ball under his spell with his left thigh before unleashing an unstoppable shot with his right boot, Russia 2018 was another underwhelming experience. With the weight of the world on his shoulders, Messi had crumbled once more for the Albiceleste. 

After making it into the World Cup riding a Messi hat-trick in the final CONMEBOL qualifier against Ecuador, and sneaking into the last 16 with a last-gasp winner against Nigeria, Argentina’s luck had run out against France. 

G.O.A.T. OR SCAPEGOAT?

There is no running away from the fact that Argentina had a mediocre side representing their proud footballing heritage in Russia. Coach Jorge Sampaoli’s baffling strategies and naive management will be forgotten (but not necessarily forgiven). But, what about Lionel Messi? Should his other-worldly talents not have papered over Argentina’s cracks? Is it true that with a weaker supporting cast, he just cannot replicate his spellbinding performances for Barcelona with Argentina? 

Or, is Messi simply a choker? As someone who has seen Leo Messi dazzle for over a decade, the answers to all these questions are a resounding ‘no’ for me. History though is no fan like me, and the annals of football will tell a different story — the story of how Argentina relied on their captain to lead them to glory, and how he failed them, again.

DON’T CRY FOR HIM, yet

Ever since Argentina were sent packing from the World Cup, countless people (both in person and online) have voiced their sympathies and condolences. The rumour doing the rounds is that at 35, Messi, notwithstanding his physical condition, will be mentally exhausted by the time the World Cup in Qatar rolls around. Therefore, the little genius has most certainly played his last World Cup, if not his last match for Argentina. Messi had already retired from national duty in the summer of 2016, only to reverse his decision in a bid to shine in Russia. If there is to be a second retirement any time soon, there may very well be no coming back. From the promise of a bright sunshine, Messi’s time with Argentina may have sunk into a despairing darkness. 

While there is a part of me that agrees with all this speculation, there is another part of me that wants to dispel the wave of depressing forecasts that has encircled the career of the five-time Ballon d’Or winner. It is the part that neither wants to pen an apologia for Messi’s failures nor wants to sing an elegy to celebrate his apparently impending international retirement. It is the part that believes that come Qatar 2022, Messi will be back — against all reason, all expectations, all odds — to try one more time. I choose to believe more than ever before that a day will come when Lionel Messi will hold the World Cup trophy aloft, when the world will witness a perfect climax for my imperfect hero.

Priyam Marik