Lionel Messi to Play for Argentina Against Barcelona's Wishes

In the first game in the Post-Diego Maradona era, Argentina interim manager Sergio "El Checho" Batista has confirmed that star man Lionel Messi will link up with his squad to face Ireland in Dublin on Wednesday the 11th of August. 

Earlier in the week, Messi spoke to the media in South Korea, where Barcelona played as part of its preseason tour of Asia, and stated that he had hoped and believed that Diego Maradona would remain on as coach. 

Despite feeling a bit upset by the loss of Maradona aas manager, Messi will be eager to meet with Sergio Batista, who coached Messi to the 2008 Olympic Gold Medal in Beijing. 

Messi spoke with Batista over the phone last week, assuring the 1986 World Cup winner that he would be in Dublin to play for his country despite the pleas of his club side to not go. 

All around the globe, domestic club seasons are either under way or about to begin following the World Cup, which makes this early August FIFA date a bit perplexing. 

Certain club sides, particularly Barcelona, have slammed various federations for the decisions to call up players who took part in the World Cup for what are being called meaningless games. 

For Argentina, a match against Ireland is anything but meaningless. It is the first chance to see the players after the World Cup and begin an evaluation of what side will take part at the Copa America on home soil next year. 

Since there is no qualifying tournament for the Copa America as there is for the European Championships, South American sides place extra importance on post-World Cup friendlies, while many European teams have taken the opportunity to field experimental squads. 

Although Barcelona may have a gripe with the Spanish Federation's choice to bring seven Barcelona players to Mexico City just three days before the Spanish Super Cup, Argentina's match in Dublin is hardly a sacrifice for the players to make. 

Rather than criticizing National Teams for playing friendlies so close to the end of the World Cup, perhaps we should question why clubs such as Barcelona had decided to fly halfway around the world with knowledge that a large portion of their squad would be involved in the World Cup. 

What did Asia provide Barcelona that staying in Spain could not? A nice pay day for the fans in those countries to see a watered down Barcelona team for prices five times those of the average league match. 

In this day and age, it is important to put equal blame on the club sides during club vs. country disputes as the national teams.

Obviously National Teams are not innocent of seeking games based on the weight of the check, but in the case of Messi it is completely out of bounds for Barcelona to try and block him from joining his country from a short trip to Dublin, just as they did for the 2008 Olympics, when the player made it clear it was his dream to win the Gold Medal.

In that case, Barcelona took the AFA and FIFA to court, although Messi went to the Olympics anyway after a long discussion with Pep Guardiola. 

As part of the compensation, the AFA agreed to not call Messi for any more friendlies during the calender year. 

This accord prevented Messi from taking part in the first match under Diego Maradona, when Argentina beat Scotland 1-0. Even though he was not allowed to play in the match, Messi was in the stands, showing his deep commitment to the Argentina cause. 

Now in 2010, Barcelona have again tried to keep Messi from meeting up with the National Team under a new coach, but again La Pulga has defied the team's wishes.