When Messi stares into nothingness with his moist eyes, he has the ability to bring the world to a halt. You become enraged when he becomes agitated and argues with a referee.
And when you see him running circles around the best players in the world and then making them chase shadows, as he did with defender Josko Gvardiol on Tuesday night in Doha, the world appears to be a better place.
You’re giddy with delight. Some would have roused their sleeping loved ones to share their joy.
You can win any trophy in the world, but the FIFA World Cup is unique. Pele touched it three times, and Maradona had the opportunity to caress the hands that held the ‘Golden Globe’.
And if Messi blows this opportunity now, it would be a chapter unfinished in pages of football history.
Messi wants to win the Blue Riband trophy in his fifth and final World Cup appearance, just as global cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar did in his sixth and final appearance.
Can Messi and Argentina have a Tendulkar moment on Sunday? Tendulkar fulfilled his dream, and millions of people hope Messi does as well.
“I have seen God walk on earth. All I want now is to see Messi lifting the World Cup. I wouldn’t have any regrets in my life if I don’t watch any sport after that day. But Man, Messi, should win. Think of it, what a memorable moment it would be one last time for the Albicelestes,” Deepto Roy, a Mumbai-based lawyer who is in Doha to watch the semi-finals and finals, told reporters.
“Being an Indian and also someone who watched that cricket World Cup final in Mumbai, Messi gives you that Sachin Tendulkar like feeling. It seems the entire world wants to see Messi lift that World Cup. We hear about fairy tales and I want to live this fairy tale on Sunday night,” Deepto stated.
Even before the internet, when social media was unheard of, Maradona’s skills united Bengalis, Malayalis, and Goans, India’s three football-crazed states.
“Messi is as much a Barcelona player as he is an Argentine. However, there is a social context associated with the fervent Argentina fandom, particularly in Kolkata and Kochi. Bengalis and Malayalis are art enthusiasts, and in Maradona, they discovered an artist they had never seen before.
“There is a generation which actually watches football only once in four years but Maradona made them fall in love with the Argentina football team and Messi.
“So Messi and Argentina became a sentimental connection for many who aren’t even following Messi in PSG these days. But one must admit, as an Indian, the 2011 World Cup seemed like everything about SRT and you get the same feeling for Messi,” said Dwaipayan Chatterjee, an avid club football watcher.
As strange as it may seem, Julian Alvarez was a hero in Argentina’s semi-final victory, and that 40-metre down-the-middle run is one for the ages. But his second goal will not be discussed. He scored another goal, the third of which will be remembered, but not for him.
And Alvarez will have to accept that, for the first time, the creator of that goal will be talked about more than the scorer.
Gvardiol is only 20 years old and is expected to rule the football world for at least a decade as one of the best defenders, capable of playing both as a stopper and a lateral back (side back).
Gvardiol, who was wearing a black mask to protect his fractured nose (he played with one in the World Cup), resembled ‘Captain America’ with Messi’s’spider-man’ skills at times.
Gvardiol did nothing wrong for the majority of that sprint because he was technically flawless. He stayed by Messi’s side, not allowing him any room to move as the maestro began his stride down wide right (left of Gvardiol).
When he got to the side of the penalty box, the ‘Messi Magic’ happened. One that exudes joy and is orgasmic.
Messi turned his back on Gvardiol in a split second and beat him on a half-turn with a swivel of his hips and a sudden body feint before keeping a perfect cut-back for young Alvarez.
And being at the stadium was the most “surreal feeling” for Melbourne-based software professional Dipanjan Ghosh.
“Messi’s performance was to me what Argentina and “my team” would do in a tournament. I live in a country of fine wine. Messi is that fine wine, ageing perfectly with time,” Ghosh said.
“I will still be a supporter of Argentina after he is gone but when my eight-year-old grows up and I grow even older, I would tell him ‘Buddy, you will be richer than me, smarter than me but you can’t be luckier. You know why? I watched Lionel Messi live and play.”