The Curious Case of Lionel Messi: Is Inconsistency Really His Problem?

Nowadays, there is very little argument as to why Lionel Messi is the greatest attacker in modern football.

With even former World Player of the Year, Kaka, recently joining his interminable list of admirers, the fun-sized Rosario native easily has one of the largest fan bases in the game, and for reasons that are more than justifiable; after last year's dazzling campaign with Barcelona, who can still doubt that the Argentine's fiery pace, electrifying dribbling ability, stupefying passes, and cool finishing combine to make him one of the most dangerous men in world soccer?

Yet, on the international stage, Messi still has more than a lot to prove. But, why?

How can a player who knocked in 38 goals, with 18 assists, in 51 appearances for Barcelona last season have only 12 goals in forty for the Argentine national team?

Who can fathom that a man who destroys La Liga defenses every weekend looks a mere shell of himself when playing relatively weaker national sides, rarely even speaking on the pitch in his last two games against Brazil and Paraguay?

Millions of Argentines ask themselves this question every international fixture. However, for some reason, they almost always seem to come out with the same incorrect conclusion: "Messi doesn't care about Argentina because he gets the big bucks with Barcelona," or, "Messi is inconsistent and indifferent about the national team."

Well, my fellow football aficionados, you could not be further from the truth.

In the past, Messi has led Argentina to both Olympic Gold and U-20 World Cup glory. And, with just hearing him speak, humbly and shyly, about the love he has for his country; and watching the way he still interacts with his friends and family in Rosario, hanging out in public almost every time he returns home, you would be more than ignorant to assume he cares nothing about la Seleccion.

Also, to require Messi to renounce his massive love for Barcelona is ridiculous.

Let us not forget that the Catalan club was the team which even gave him an opportunity to play professional football, after Newell's Old Boys and self-proclaimed millionaires River Plate refused to pay for his needed medical treatments back home in Argentina.

If it weren't for Barcelona, who knows if Messi would have been anything more than some sickly little kid, and not the phenomenon we know him as today. With that being said, el Pibe de Oro still denied a call-up from the superior Spanish U-20 team in 2005—to play for his beloved Albicelestes.

As a Catalonian cartoon recently put it, the only difference between the Messi that plays for Argentina and the one that plays for Barcelona is that, "One is trained by Maradona, and the other by Pep Guardiola."

And, though this might initially seem like a mere jab at Maradona's training ability, it picks out a huge problem and difference between the styles of Barcelona and that of the Albicelestes over the past three years.

First of all, regardless of what Alfio Basile and Diego Maradona think, Messi is neither a natural "10" nor a "nine". Messi is a free-roaming winger.

At Barcelona, he plays in that position and it has given him the kinds of statistics attributable to only living legends and other naturally-positioned players like C. Ronaldo, Fat Ronaldo, and Diego Forlan.

Also, Messi is the type of player accustomed to playing among other quality creators and finishers.

At Barcelona, he has an intuitive center forward to look for on his dazzling runs inside the box, and a midfield maestro in Xavi to provide him an endless stream of perfectly-placed passes. In the Argentina team, Messi has to not only create for himself, lacking a natural "10" like Riquelme, but also be both the center forward and winger, as a result of Argentina's foolish double "nine" formation, and "down-the-center" strategy.

While the players on Barcelona cover every single blade of grass on the pitch, the ill-constructed Argentine selection plays with no wingers and out-of-position players like Veron and Gabriel Heinze, who are already quite up there in age, as well.

These, among other things, are the reason why Argentina's Messi is completely different from Barcelona's Messi.

And, the only way for him to recover the type of international brilliance he displayed in the U-20 World Cup in 2005 and with Riquelme in the Copa America 2007, is for Argentina to adopt a strategy and formation which best suits him.

In spite of the lack of quality players in the national team, when Argentina played Venezuela (arguably, a much weaker side) last March, the 3-4-3 formation greatly suited Messi and ended up with his scoring a goal and putting on a stupendous overall performance.

A four-four-two will definitely not work for Argentina if Messi is up top and there are no players like Riquelme, Higuain, Cambiasso, Zarate, and Lavezzi for him to play with. Maradona, and Basile before him, were and are wrong; not the Rosarian.

Even his father not long ago lashed out against the AFA, claiming that, "Lionel has never before played with a coach who doesn't talk to him and give him instructions".

Messi is good at Barcelona because his natural ability, coupled with the ability of his teammates, is effective and suitable for their attacking style. He cannot just do everything himself.

Unfortunately, the best and most appropriate solution for Messi might be to do the same as Riquelme and retire from the national team until the right coach is selected in Maradona's place. If not, he might not only lose a place in the World Cup, but the legacy he is building as a footballing god among men.