Long after the dust had settled on Argentina’s 3-0 group-stage victory over Algeria on Tuesday night, Algeria and Bayern Munich midfielder Ibrahim Maza emerged wearily from behind a curtain and stepped up to the microphone.
Maza had played well, even assisting on Algeria’s disallowed first goal. He had also had a front-row seat to a Lionel Messi masterclass, just a few yards away from Argentina’s captain when he scored his third goal of the evening and tied Miroslav Klose as the World Cup’s all-time leading scorer. In short order, he was asked to expand on what made Messi unplayable on Tuesday evening.
“Messi things,” Maza said, a smile creeping across his face. “I don’t think I need to explain to you [what that means]. You just have to watch the game and then you’ll know what I mean by Messi things. He can decide the game on his own, as we saw today.”
Messi did indeed decide the game on his own on Tuesday, scoring a trio of clinically taken goals to bury Algeria and push Argentina to the verge of the knockout round. He did so 20 years to the day after scoring his first World Cup goal for Argentina.
It feels sometimes like Messi is ageless, but rolling the tape on that strike – which came in Argentina’s 2006 group‑stage opener against Serbia and Montenegro – reveals a mop‑headed teenager with alien‑like speed and reflexes. He blurs across the area and smashes a finish across the face of goal, announcing his presence on the world stage.
He became Argentina’s youngest World Cup goalscorer that day and on Tuesday he became their oldest, eclipsing former Argentina great Martin Palermo’s record by more than two full years. Messi moves slower now and undoubtedly enjoys the space he is frequently given by defenders who fear humiliation at his hands. Twenty years on, Messi lacks a little pace but his mind is as sharp as ever, as is his ability to find space where there isn’t any to be found. He remains awe-inspiring.
Not long after Maza slipped back through the curtain and headed towards the team bus, Messi himself emerged, smiling and clutching a Michelob Ultra “Superior Player of the Match” trophy, probably the least important silverware he has ever touched.
Messi, of course, is famously competitive and frequently minimizes these types of individual accomplishments. “Honestly [the record doesn’t matter],” he said. “It’s an honor to be there, for what it means to be next to Klose, [the Brazilian] Ronaldo is also there. [Kylian] Mbappé too, he scored twice today. It’s just a statistic and nothing more. ”
It is easy to question the veracity of Messi’s feelings, of course. He is relentlessly competitive, sometimes to the point of pettiness. The mere mention of Mbappé’s goals, scored hours earlier, and of the other participants on the list, demonstrates his interest. Messi’s Argentina and Inter Miami teammate Rodrigo De Paul, who assisted on Messi’s first goal, laughed when he was asked about Messi’s record.
“I swear he doesn’t care. Sometimes we’ll be in a room drinking mate and we’ll tell him: ‘Hey man, you’re just one away or two away’, or whatever. And I swear he has no idea. I don’t know how that works.”
Messi left after 80 minutes to a thunderous ovation. The crowd of nearly 70,000 chanted his name, and Messi raised his arms in acknowledgement. His head coach, Lionel Scaloni, met him at the touchline. He was holding back tears as he eventually sat on the bench next to Messi. It was not the only time that emotion got the best of him. He welled up after Messi’s third goal, and again on the field as Argentina supporters serenaded their team after the match.
“There are no words; anything I say would be superfluous,” Scaloni said after the match. “It’s what he’s been doing for 20 years, it’s what the people of this sport want to see.”
De Paul said: “He’s an animal. What makes me the happiest is that I feel like he’s enjoying it. That he doesn’t feel the weight of the pressure that he felt for so long. Everyone knows his mentality. He doesn’t let himself enjoy things much because he’s always focused in helping us and the team. But I see him good now, I see him happy. That’s contagious among the group.”
Messi’s happiness was easy enough to see. He beamed after every goal, celebrating much like the 19-year-old who found the back of the net for the first time 20 years ago. He lingered on the pitch after the final whistle, waving at fans and embracing his teammates, a smile on his face even as he walked towards the team bus in the wee hours of the morning.
