The Messi complex: Is he in danger of missing out on football's pantheon?
Whether it's Diego Maradona, Gabriel Batistuta, Daniel Passarella, or Mario Kempes, Argentina's legends are all remembered for what they accomplished in sky blue and white rather than the clubs they represented throughout their careers. A simple Google search will confirm such is the case.
For example, if Maradona's name is searched, the images that pop up are a reflection of his days with La Albiceleste. There are photos of the Hand of God, of the 1986 World Cup, of the No. 10 standing during the national anthem, and of his time as the team's manager. Almost nowhere are there pictures from his years at Boca Juniors or Napoli, despite the success he enjoyed at both clubs.
A Google search of Lionel Messi, however, produces very different results, as an avalanche of images appear from the phenom's exploits at Barcelona. Only a handful of photos show him representing Argentina, most of which exhibit sadness.
Google, of course, isn't a tool for measuring greatness, nor should it be implied that a player's success at the international level is what defines his career. That being said, the search results that Messi manufactures speak volumes about the underlying current of his journey, one that continues to threaten his place in football's pantheon and that came to the forefront in the aftermath of the Copa America Centenario final.
After Argentina capitulated to Chile in a penalty shootout that saw Messi send his shot to outer space, Messi suggested that he may have represented La Albiceleste for the last time, saying: "In the dressing room I thought that this is the end for me with the national team, it's not for me. That's the way I feel right now, it's a huge sadness once again and I missed the penalty that was so important."
As Sergio Romero subsequently said, Messi was speaking in the heat of the moment. It's hard to envision that the native of Rosario, Argentina won't take the pitch for La Albiceleste again, and his frustration was likely exacerbated by the disarray in which the Asociacion del Futbol Argentino finds itself. It would be shocking if his last international appearance came at MetLife Stadium and at the Copa America Centenario.
Unfortunately, while the debate over Messi's international future will almost certainly be over with by Argentina's next fixture - a 2018 World Cup qualifier against Uruguay in just over two months time - the argument surrounding his place in football's pantheon will go on for at least two years, when the 2018 World Cup will provide La Albiceleste with another chance of ending a trophy drought that will then stand at 25 years.
It can't be argued that Messi's good deeds at Barcelona are enough to place him alongside Maradona when it comes to football's gods. If they were, then the planet wouldn't have witnessed a distraught 29-year-old break down into tears and flirt with the idea of retiring from international football.
Argentina's population knows this, and Messi obviously knows this as well.
Football is cruel.
Titles, especially in South America, are what counts above all, and in the eyes of Argentina's population, Messi is guilty of leading the public on, giving the country's citizens reason to dream and therefore making the fall that much worse each and every time La Albiceleste lose a final by the most narrow of margins.
Adding fuel to the fire is that Messi played directly into the words of Maradona, who criticised the former's leadership qualities ahead of the Copa America Centenario, saying: "He doesn't have the personality to be a leader." One can only imagine what Diego is thinking after Lionel hinted at retirement following the tournament's final. Do leaders talk about quitting when things don't go their way?
Cesar Luis Menotti, Argentina's manager when La Albiceleste won the 1978 World Cup, echoed Maradona's sentiments but was significantly less scathing in his analysis, saying: "I've always said that (Messi) grew up in Barcelona, surrounded by the big stars and doesn't have the DNA of Maradona, who came through a small team of Argentina, with all that this implies. For me, Messi is not a leader in that sense of being born from fighting from below, but for me Messi has an exceptional and overwhelming footballing personality and is a tremendous football player."
An apparent refusal from Argentina's greats to accept Messi for who he is does the diminutive figure no favours. Maradona is nothing short of a god in the country, and, no matter how crazy he comes across, his words set a standard. As do those of Menotti, who is also revered in his homeland.
If Messi isn't good enough for Maradona and Menotti, then, in the unforgiving eyes of Argentinians, he doesn't belong in football's pantheon.
Of course, there is still time for Messi to be honoured the way he deserved to be honoured, and the search results he triggers on Google might look very different after the 2018 World Cup.