Lionel Messi: Can He Make South Africa 2010 His World Cup?

Every great World Cup is synonymous with a great player, particularly Garrincha in 1962, Pele in 1970, and Diego Maradona in 1986.

Many losing finalists have also been able to stamp their authority over World Cup tournaments including Ferenc Puskas in 1954, Johan Cruyff in 1974, and Zinadine Zidane in 2006.

With less than 200 days before South Africa 2010 kicks off, speculation has arisen as to who will be the star to capture the world’s attention in June. At the moment, Lionel Messi seems the most likely to assume this mantle.

Messi is likely to win the 2009 FIFA World Player of the Year, after being the runner-up in 2007 and 2008. His young career also has many parallels to that of Maradona, the World Cup winner and Messi's current coach.

In 2007, Messi scored a goal reminiscent of Maradona's epic jaunt through the English defense in 1986, while playing for Barcelona in a Copa del Rey match against Getafe. 

Shortly afterwards, Messi scored his own version of the "hand of god" against Espanyol in the Barcelona Derby.

The Barcelona and Argentina number ten has also proven he can take over an international tournament, albeit at the youth level.            

La Pulga was the unquestioned star of the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship, picking up the Golden Ball as best player and Golden Boot as the top scorer along the way to victory.

In 2008, Messi was Argentina’s inspiration as they won the Gold Medal for the second consecutive Olympic Games. Although Messi only scored two goals in the competition, he was at the heart of most of Argentina’s best moves and made the game-winning assist to Angel Di Maria in the final.

Since the Olympics, Messi’s performances for Argentina have taken a turn for the worst. His dip in form has coincided with Juan Roman Riquelme’s retirement from international play.            

It is well known in Argentina that Messi and Riquelme do not get along off the field, but when playing together they were like poetry in motion. During the 2007 Copa America in Venezuela, Roman and Messi carved apart the competition at will, only to fall to Brazil in the final.

During the early part of the qualifying process for South Africa 2010, Argentina was in good form and Messi and Riquelme were the two players leading the attack. But, after Roman retired and Diego Maradona took over as coach, Argentina’s fortunes have taken a turn for the worst.

If Messi is to lead Argentina all the way to the final in South Africa, he will have to prove that he can play well for Argentina without Riquelme. Messi played brilliantly for Argentina in a win over France in a friendly and a World Cup Qualifier against Venezuela, but he was completely invisible in matches against Bolivia, Brazil, and Paraguay.

Riquelme played a similar role as Xavi Hernandez, Barcelona’ playmaker during his days with Argentina, allowing Messi to play farther up the pitch as a forward. Without Riquelme in the line up, Messi has often dropped deeper and deeper into midfield to retrieve the ball, as Maradona has been unable to find a suitable replacement for the Boca Juniors star.

If Juan Sebastian Veron or Pablo Aimar are unable to bring the full repertoire of passes offered by Riquelme, Messi knows he will be expected to work wonders. He will likely have to put in a Maradona-like shift in order to gain the respect and love of the media and fans in Argentina. 

While many of Argentina’s best players (such as Gonzalo Higuain, Javier Mascherano, and Sergio Aguero) have established fan bases from their days playing for big Argentine clubs, Messi never played a single match in Argentina Primera Division.

Even fans of Boca have respect and admiration for Higuain for his two goals in El Superclasico while playing for River Plate in 2006. Pipita made a name for himself for himself in Argentina, and fans of all teams (even River’s biggest rivals) will have learned more about Higuain as a player and person from watching him score goals on the field in Argentina than they would from watching Messi score at will for Barcelona, a club that means nothing to most fans in Argentina.

The fans' feelings toward Messi has also arisen due to his record at Barcelona and at the youth levels for Argentina. He has been unable to duplicate these performances for full national team, especially over the last six months. 

Although it may be unfair to Messi, he understands his predicament. La Pulga has recently said he would trade all he has won at Barcelona for the World Cup, and he may well have to do just that in order to win over the hearts of the fans in his own country.