For the Argentines, Argentina went from being champion in pectore at the start of the World Cup, to being the worst team in the world after the humiliating defeat against Saudi Arabia. However, after the victory against Mexico, once again the pendulum placed the albiceleste as the favourite. Always within the southern country, of course, where this type of explosive changes in social mood have been taking place in recent decades, championship after championship. Failure after failure, until the 2021 Copa América was achieved, a title that came after 28 years.
Especially Leo Messi, who is going through his fifth World Cup, has suffered firsthand in recent years that collective bipolarity. Argentines don’t understand why they don’t win titles if they have the best player in the world, as opposed to the myth of Maradona, who not only won a World Cup (1986, the one by the hand of God), but also felt the shirt. This mistreatment led La Pulga to announce that he was leaving the national team, after the defeat against Chile in the 2016 Copa América final.
However, the abandonment of the albiceleste was ephemeral and marked a before and after the treatment of Leo in Argentina. Although this did not prevent criticism from being reproduced again, both on social networks and by journalists, after losing against the Saudis.
Messi’s goal that opened the score against Mexico reminded all fans of messi-dependence. And now, all the responsibility is placed on the ex-Barcelonista to achieve the pass to the round of 16 in the match this Wednesday against Robert Lewandowski’s Poland.
The victory would directly classify Argentina. The tie would not guarantee the pass to eighths. And a defeat… would be the debacle, once again.
While waiting for the confrontation with Poland, Leo is the center of controversy in Argentina but this time for a very different reason. The Mexican boxer Canelo Álvarez – one of the sports references in that country – charged against the Paris Saint Germain player because he understood that the Ten had trampled on the tricolor shirt after the victory against Mexico 2-0. “Did you see Messi cleaning the floor with our shirt (shirt) and flag?” Álvarez tweeted, before threatening La Pulga: “Let him ask God not to find it for me!”
Indeed, in the images of the celebration in the Argentina locker room after the victory, you can see how Leo steps on the ground on the Mexican shirt that he had obtained by exchanging it for his at the end of the game, in a completely involuntary gesture.
The boxer’s comment inflamed some Mexicans in the networks, at the same time that it caused many Argentines to show solidarity with Messi, starting with his friend, the former Argentine striker Kun Agüero, who in addition to defending Leo tried to put a cold cloth on the controversy . Although yes, he allowed himself to tell the boxer that he has no idea about soccer. “Mr. Canelo, don’t look for excuses or problems, surely you don’t know about football and what happens in a locker room. The shirts are always on the floor after the games are over due to sweat and then if you see well, he makes the movement to remove the booty and accidentally hits it,” Kun tweeted.
