At 39, Lionel Messi seems to be defying his age. Conventional football wisdom holds that a player’s pace and effectiveness fade at this age, but the Argentine superstar still has the ability to change the course of a match – which is why Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni believes Messi will remain one of the world’s best footballers for as long as he keeps playing.
Argentina face Switzerland in the World Cup quarterfinal at 7 a.m. Bangladesh time on Sunday (July 11) at the Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, and at a pre-match news conference Scaloni was full of praise for his captain. Messi’s contribution to Argentina’s run has been undeniable – most strikingly in the dramatic round-of-16 win over Egypt, where a side trailing 2-0 until the 78th minute turned the game around to win 3-2, with Messi scoring one goal and setting up another.
There had been questions about his physical condition before the tournament, which he joined after recovering from a muscle injury, but once on the field there has been no sign of any doubt, with the Inter Miami forward producing his best form match after match. On Messi’s fitness, Scaloni said he put in almost the same level of effort in every game, the result of years of hard training and particular care for his body. When Messi feels he can create chances for the team, the coach said, an extra energy takes over and he becomes even more effective.
Scaloni does not agree that age will diminish Messi’s performance; in his words, only those who do not know Messi closely might think so, and he has always believed Messi will be able to compete at the highest level for as long as he chooses to play. The match against Switzerland is a special occasion for Messi, too: it was at the Arrowhead Stadium that he scored a hat-trick against Algeria in his first match of this World Cup, in a 3-0 Argentina win. With eight goals in the tournament, Messi is currently joint top of the Golden Boot race alongside France’s Kylian Mbappe, and he has also become the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history with 21 goals. Scaloni said Messi’s dedication in daily training still impressed him, and that those watching today’s Messi might not even be able to imagine how astonishing he was in his youth at Barcelona under Pep Guardiola.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report