Magical Lionel Messi's Golden Cameo Jolts Argentina into Life at Copa America

It only took Lionel Messi 29 minutes to send an ominous warning to the rest of the Copa America as Argentina steamed past Panama 5-0, inspired by an incredible hat-trick. Even more impressive, and troubling for the Albiceleste's rivals, was that the Argentina did so without even moving out of second gear. 

Messi's presence or otherwise at Chicago's Soldier Field was the big "will he, won't he?" soap opera of the week. The captain had failed to make an appearance during his nation's first outing, a tense 2-1 win over Chile, and it was suggested he was still working to get over a hefty knock to his back. 

In the meantime Leo was also faced with admonitory words from another Argentina legend. Diego Maradona had opined that Messi might lack the character to lead the team, as reported by ESPN. It is true that the softly-spoken playmaker is not a natural motivator, with Javier Mascherano a much more vocal figure on the pitch.

Diego, however, led by his example as well as his words to take Argentina to the World Cup 30 years ago this month—and Messi is following the same path. 

It was the opinion of this writer that Argentina, but more so Messi, would be better served limiting his playing time against a limited but hard-hitting Panama team. Coach Gerardo Martino compromised, leaving him on the bench for kick-off before easing him into the action with just over 60 minutes on the clock. 

Argentina without their star would still most likely have won against the Canaleros, who had already been reduced to 10 men, but the headlines around the world would look far different on Saturday morning. Messi's entrance invigorated a lacklustre team, and the side that started to jell around its No. 10 and inspiration was unrecognisable from that which had toiled for the first hour of the game. 

Charles Rex Arbogast/Associated Press

It had all looked so good for Martino's men in the opening stages of the Group D clash. After just seven minutes, Nicolas Otamendi headed home from a fine Angel Di Maria cross to mark the perfect start.

Panama were outmatched and responded with constant, blatant fouls that, while breaking up Argentina's rhythm somewhat, led to an ordinate number of yellow cards for the Central American nation—six in total—which could have serious ramifications for their decider against Chile.

But the 2015 finalists failed to take advantage, even playing with the numerical advantage thanks to Anibal Godoy's senseless second booking. It was a scene all too reminiscent of the first half against Chile: the midfield trio playing far too deep to push home the Argentines' clear superiority, Gonzalo Higuain a lone ranger in the penalty area, full-backs Marcos Rojo and Gabriel Mercado failing to expose Panama on the overlap. 

Di Maria's exit shortly before half-time further blunted Argentina's scarce attacking attributes. The Paris Saint-Germain winger limped off with an apparent muscle injury, and if a tear is confirmed, it could end his Copa America campaign, in a worrying repeat of his fitness problems in both last year's tournament and the 2014 World Cup.

Without Fideo, the lack of collective coherency in the side was even more evident, and while Panama did not look likely to mount a comeback from 1-0 down, the result was far from comfortable. 

Cue the biggest cheer of the evening, at least up to that point. A calm Messi was called off the bench by Martino just past the hour mark, in a move that was surely planned by the coach beforehand. The Soldier Field crowd gave him a raucous welcome as he replaced Augusto Fernandez, and he certainly did not disappoint.

After the laments of Santa Clara on Monday having missed out on his talents, Messi was eager to make up for lost time. But he also played an intelligent game, bearing in mind recent inactivity. The No. 10 eschewed his usual position on the right-hand side, boring in and dancing over opponents, in favour of a role that more closely resembled the classic enganche of Juan Roman Riquelme. 

The wizard took up the role of quarterback in the Argentina team and immediately started moving the ball around while the close proximity of team-mates discouraged any opponents from over-enthusiastic tackling. The team was transformed and the results seen almost immediately. 

The Albiceleste received a great deal of fortune in their second goal. Roderick Miller's rushed clearance struck Higuain square in the face, and while the Napoli striker waited for the cartoon birds to subside, Messi had already stroked the rebound past Jaime Penedo to score his first.

But there was nothing fortuitous about his second: a sumptuous free-kick that gave Penedo no chance and shook Chicago like a Michael Jordan dunk. 

In the space of just 10 minutes, Leo had put Argentina clear and dry, and what followed was merely the icing on the cake. This time receiving in the area, he showed incredible close control to elude the desperate Panama defence and squeezed his shot through the slightest of openings to mark what was, even for him, an extraordinary hat-trick.

Then dropping back to the quarterback position, he split what was now a ragged Canalero outfit apart with a looping ball that found Marcos Rojo.

The Manchester United defender did just enough to divert the ball into the path of Sergio Aguero, who powered his header past the Panama goalkeeper. 5-0 to Argentina, and what had been a scrappy, tense affair ended as no more than a procession. 

Charles Rex Arbogast/Associated Press

"Messi is a monster, before he came on there was no difference between the teams," Panama's Colombian coach Hernan Gomez said in the post-match press conference. While that interpretation is understandably kind on his own men, it contains a large dose of truth. Martino, indeed, mirrored his adversary's words: "The game was a different one until Messi's entrance. Leo came in and solved everything."

Argentina without Messi were far too pedestrian, relying on errors and picking off scraps to make the breakthrough. It took just half an hour to remember what we had been missing for the opening of this Copa America: and if La Pulga continues this tournament at even half the pace he has begun it, Albiceleste fans have every right to be confident.