-
Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!
Lionel Messi retiring from international soccer
- Thread starter GhostWriter24
- Start date
- Status
Spat_triate
Member
Without Masch and Messi, I'm not sure Argentina will make it to WC 2018 quarterfinals - those two literally carry the rest of the team in every tournament. Hopefully everyone will come back except for Higuain...
I get the sense that this is more about the AFA than anything else.
If they had won, he probably still would have retired from the team, and everyone would have lauded how he went out on a high note.
Mattlikewhoa
Member
This is rather crazy.... And there's a World Cup in 2 years. That could have been his last chance. I guess all of the previous defeats have finally gotten to him after that miss PK.
enanogrande
Member
I don't think this is some grand plan to send a message to the Argentinian FA. If he wanted to do that, he'd say it directly like the Venezuelan players did. You're kidding yourselves if you think he (or any of the European-based players) are going to get any type of pushback for that.
Going out like this just gets him hate from a certain section of the national team's fanbase - that wouldn't happen if they came out and said it was explicitly to get change in the FA.
Pretty sure he'll be back though, this is just a spur of the moment thing brought up by a mix of emotions. He carries a lot of pressure from his country to win something, plus some people have accused him of not feeling "argentinian", of being a "foreign spaniard", shit like that. All that, mixed with him missing the penalty just got to him.
Going out like this just gets him hate from a certain section of the national team's fanbase - that wouldn't happen if they came out and said it was explicitly to get change in the FA.
Pretty sure he'll be back though, this is just a spur of the moment thing brought up by a mix of emotions. He carries a lot of pressure from his country to win something, plus some people have accused him of not feeling "argentinian", of being a "foreign spaniard", shit like that. All that, mixed with him missing the penalty just got to him.
sabertoothzombie
Member
Yeah I was just listening to the Total Soccer Show podcast and they were saying how other players of the Argentina side are leaving or rumored to be leaving. I'm trying to find the artciles that say that though, because i missed that part of this discussion
TheSpecialOne
Banned
Rubbish comments bereft of even the slightest inkling of rational reasoning.
Aguero just hit out at people blaming him for the loss today saying many more players may retire for the treatment they receive from the federation. This has the potential to be something amazing. A team with that much talent and ability basically never winning anything during its peak.
Maybe he just can't handle having his country on his shoulders and carrying all the burden when they lose. Some guys can, some can't. Not going to fault him but this just sounds like a tantrum that will pass. Heck, Lebron had to deal with this since he entered the NBA and just now delivered the title to the land.
I will say he does seem to falter in situations like these. I don't think Maradona was off base calling him out on that a few years back.
I will say he does seem to falter in situations like these. I don't think Maradona was off base calling him out on that a few years back.
PdotMichael
Banned
In fact Messi never reached even the Euro group phase.
Regulus Tera
Romanes Eunt Domus
How many titles has he got for Portugal?
John Dunbar
correct about everything
it's even worse: ronaldo is one goal away from being the all-time best scorer at the euros, while messi has failed to score a single goal.
Regulus Tera
Romanes Eunt Domus
But what he just did is standard pecho frío attitude.
synchronicity
Member
Out. of. your. mind.
I wouldn't wanna play for fans who do this
Anyway I'm pretty sure this is all a power angle against the AFA along with a bunch of his teammates.
Anyway I'm pretty sure this is all a power angle against the AFA along with a bunch of his teammates.
To be fair, Messi plays with loads of talent for his club Barcelona which is great but then again shows how brilliant he is whether he is on a "stacked" team or playing for his country.
I don't believe Argentina is a good team at all, Messi can win you games single handily so can Ronaldo but Di Maria/Higuian are just the biggest chokers/overrated players in the world. Argentina has no mid field what so ever and no real "attacker".
Messi will always get the blame but it's not his fault and can show his emotions were real in the interview as he wanted to win so bad for his country.
I don't believe Argentina is a good team at all, Messi can win you games single handily so can Ronaldo but Di Maria/Higuian are just the biggest chokers/overrated players in the world. Argentina has no mid field what so ever and no real "attacker".
Messi will always get the blame but it's not his fault and can show his emotions were real in the interview as he wanted to win so bad for his country.
Gonzalo Higuain scores 36 goals in one season in the Serie A which is historically the one with the toughest defences in the major European leagues breaking the previous decades old record.
Suddenly he's the biggest chokers/overrated players in the world along with another godly player like Di Maria...
lolok.
---
Messi is the strongest in the world only with the players of Barcelona nothing more nothing less, in other teams as strong or weak as they can be he doesn't perform as well.
He and all the people knows that and it's also one of the reason he never left Barca, never got out of his comfort zone.
Suddenly he's the biggest chokers/overrated players in the world along with another godly player like Di Maria...
lolok.
---
Messi is the strongest in the world only with the players of Barcelona nothing more nothing less, in other teams as strong or weak as they can be he doesn't perform as well.
He and all the people knows that and it's also one of the reason he never left Barca, never got out of his comfort zone.
Mad Season
Banned
At the end of the day you're a pro. Start acting like one
Club accomplishments don't count unless your international team wins everything, apparently.
Ape Gone Insane
Member
You're living in the past. Serie A does not have the toughest defences, probably not of any of the top leagues. Most goals were actually scored in Serie A last season, significantly more than the other leagues. They are sure letting in a lot of goals for being so defensively good.
And you are the biggest choker in the world when you miss a clear-cut winning goal 3 major international finals in a row.
Higuain gets made fun of because he doesn't score as prolifically for the national team and has had some hilarious misses in massive games.
Head of Vengarl
Banned
Is this Messi guy a huge asshole or something? As someone who doesn't watch soccer, it's really weird seeing so many people - not just here, but on Facebook and Reddit too - take such pleasure in someone's anguish. Those pictures of him after he missed the penalty kick are really sad. Dude looked absolutely crushed.
He's the best in the world. It's like if Lebron had lost this years Finals, people would have been trolling hard.
Dragon1893
Member
Yeah, I'm convinced he will reconsider, I know he's frustrated right now but this is crazy.
Head of Vengarl
Banned
I follow basketball a bit (as in, I watch like 2 games a year), and at least I know why so many people dislike LeBron. He left his home team to go to that stacked Miami team, which many fans saw as a selfish move. Especially when compared to Kobe (which seems to happen often) who stayed with the Lakers through good and bad years. And there's also the accusations of bad sportsmanship and arrogance, but I take all that with a grain of salt (MJ was apparently a giant cunt on the court but everyone loves him).
Has Messi done anything like that? It's just weird that so many people shit on him for no apparent reason.
Iorv3th
Member
I remember the world cup and wasn't there a huge amount of argentina fans that didn't even want messi playing because he 'betrayed' their country by going to play for a spanish team when he was young?
I remember reading a lot about it at the time and he left because they wouldn't even pay for his medication for some rare disease he had and basically was forced to move and they are very hostile towards him for it.
He probably feels a huge amount of pressure and gets all the blame and tons of backlash when they lose.
Ape Gone Insane
Member
He could have played for Spain had he wanted and lavished in the international trophies. Argentina fans that behave like the don't appreciate what they have. They have a team that reached the World Cup Final and 2 Copa finals, they narrowly miss out on victory and meanwhile Brazil are getting smashed 7-1 and crashing out early.
Maradona meanwhile can sniff cocaine, get thrown out of WC for drugs, beat his wife, cheat his way to the final and be an awful coach and still be loved.
He's one of those fake good guys personality wise but is also the face of football worldwide so he's protected by all the associations that's why people don't like him... that and because some people are fan of Cristiano Ronaldo which is arguably as good as him only not as well seen in the media.
This whole debacle of him leaving is important because he hasn't managed to give Argentina a World Cup, goal managed to be achieved by another timeless legend of football that is Diego Armando Maradona which Messi resembles in the way he plays (that's why the constant comparisons and why he couldn't be seen as a standalone Argentinian marvelous player).
Argentina wants another socio-cultural event like Maradona was but Messi apparently just can't do it.
MegaManTrigger
Banned
Imagine thinking that Serie A has the toughest defences, when they've conceded the most goals of any European league. Not to mention, the quality of competition is poor compared to other leagues.
You should see the difference in level of play between Serie A Higuain and International Higuain. He has blown multiple scoring chances in each finals. In fact, he could have won the game last night if he simply hit the target.
SuperSonic1305
Member
As committed to his country as he is to paying taxes.
Skellig Gra
Member
You are talking shit. Argentina has no midfield? They are not a good team at all? Under what qualifications are you basing this? Do you have to have a world class all star at every single position on the pitch to be considered "good"?
Unidentified
Member
Higuain has almost the exact same goals per game ratio as Messi for Argentina. He scored almost as many goals in the Copa America just this past month. Aguero is rated as one of the best players in the world and he does not get nearly as much criticism even if he performs poorly.
Most people who criticize him probably just don't watch much enough of him to be able form a grounded opinion. I would apply the same to the preceding Serie A comments.
I am surprised no one has suggested maybe Argentina's lack of failures might have to do with the managers and the choice of managers rather than "X player being overrated." Granted a label of being the best player of all time might be questionable when you are not winning titles while playing in a team as good as Argentina regardless.
Regulus Tera
Romanes Eunt Domus
Higuaín has missed some incredible sitters in the last three finals. Nobody is saying he isn't talented, but dude seriously underperforms in moments of pressure.
Unknown Soldier
Member
It's a new day, has Messi un-retired yet?
No way anything will happen by the time of the Olympics. But I'll bet good money that Messi and the rest of the squad will be at Russia 2018 under a new association.
It's going to be very interesting to see.
serie a is still a competitive league with some pretty tough defenses(the best defense in the world is italian btw),i swear sometimes it looks like you only need to play in epl for being considered good lol,i have watched higuain playing here for 3 years and is an Incredible striker,definetely one of the best in the world,some of the goals that he made last year were absolutely amazing and besides history is full of great Players who fail big shot in big match(we italians know well sadly),it happens,higuain is definetely not the first and it wont be the last,failing a goal wont change my mind nor people who watch him play regularly on his Quality.
Kenzodielocke
Banned
Bad attitude.
True Savior
Member
He doesn't pay his taxes.
Context.
CMTV and Ronaldo have a feud going on because they covered private matters of his personal and family life.
What absolute horseshit.
Messi fans really will say anything to disregard the 10 other team members on the field with him.
TheExecutive
Member
Including me. People actually defending this sore loser drives me nuts. He should have just let it sit for a while.
- Status
Similar threads
- Poll