Lionel Messi is getting ready for an official farewell match with Argentina, IOL Sport reported. The match will mark the end of his international career.
Messi announced his retirement from international football a few weeks ago. Several members of Argentina’s 2022 World Cup winning squad have also been invited to the farewell.
His career has run for more than two decades. IOL Sport looked back at five moments that it said helped shape his place in the game.
The first came when Messi was only 19. He scored his first Barcelona hat-trick against Real Madrid in an El Clasico at Camp Nou.
IOL Sport said that game showed his speed, close control and calm under pressure. Many people saw then that Barcelona had a special player.
The second moment was a change in his position. Coach Pep Guardiola moved Messi into a central role known as the false nine.
Instead of staying high between the centre-backs, Messi dropped deeper to get the ball. Defenders had to choose between following him and leaving space, or staying back and giving him room.
Barcelona’s 6-2 win over Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu showed how well the plan worked. Messi and Guardiola won two Champions League titles and three La Liga titles together.
The third moment was his 2012 season. Messi scored 91 goals in 69 matches for Barcelona and Argentina that year.
That total broke Gerd Muller’s old record for the most goals in a calendar year. IOL Sport said he scored as a winger, as a central striker and from deeper in midfield.
The fourth moment came at the World Cup in Qatar. For years, people asked whether Messi could ever win football’s biggest prize.
He came close in 2014, when Argentina lost the final to Germany. In the Qatar final, Messi scored twice against France, and Argentina went on to win on penalties.
IOL Sport said the trophy filled the one big gap in his career. It also changed how people talked about his record with Argentina.
The fifth point was how his style of play shifted with age. Messi started as a fast winger who beat defenders with his dribbling.
Over time he became a deeper playmaker. He relied more on his passing and his reading of space, and less on long runs past opponents.
In that role, younger players around him did more of the running. Messi became the main creative player in the team.
Messi’s career took him from a teenage star at Barcelona to World Cup winning captain of Argentina.
Source: this article is based on reporting by IOL Sport. Image: IOL Sport. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Sports desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Tiyani Mathebula writes about sport for Tzaneen Voice. Tiyani covers Bafana Bafana, the Springboks, the Proteas and the PSL, along with athletics, tennis and local club sport. Match reports and previews focus on results, team news, fixtures and what each game means for South African teams and fans.