Messi finally won the title that had eluded him by leading Argentina to victory in Qatar 2022, following four unsuccessful tries.
The BBC explores that achievement in an hour-long documentary featuring commentary from several of those involved, including players Emiliano Martinez, Alexis Mac Allister, and Julian Alvarez, as well as manager Lionel Scaloni.
View Lionel Messi: Destiny on BBC iPlayer right now.
What you should remember is…
Saudi Arabia’s setback was followed by a restless night.
Argentina entered the competition as one of the favorites after a 36-game winning streak.
However, they suffered one of the biggest World Cup upsets ever when they were defeated 2-1 by Saudi Arabia in their opening Group C match.
Goalkeeper Martinez says, “I couldn’t sleep. It was the hardest night of my life.” “I was worried about losing in the first round of the World Cup.”
The 30-year-old player for Aston Villa likens the contest to a fight in which someone is knocked out. “We couldn’t fight back,” he claims.
Mac Allister described his performance as being in his backyard.
One of the unexpected stars in Qatar was Brighton midfielder Mac Allister, who also won the BBC Sport player of the tournament award after Argentina defeated France on penalties in the championship game.
Alongside Messi, Enzo Fernandez, and Angel di Maria, the 24-year-old thrived.
Pablo Zabaleta, a former right defender for Argentina, describes him as “a complete midfielder.”
Mac Allister receives high praise from Scaloni as well, who says, “He showed us something that we didn’t know about him – he doesn’t feel pressurized.
It appears as though he is playing in his backyard.
The Argentina players were comfortable in Qatar.
Scaloni did a terrific job of providing his players with the correct environment in Qatar, including bringing in some familiar items.
The team reportedly had 2,000 pounds (900 kg) of meat brought in from South America at the time.
“Everything was perfect,” declares Mac Allister. “It felt familiar. We even had Argentine meat while playing cards and drinking [caffeine-rich] mate tea.
These three elements, according to Zabaleta, are “like a religion” to Argentines.
Messi turned into “that bad boy” in the Netherlands match.
Argentina prevailed in a highly heated quarterfinal that saw 18 yellow cards issued, two of which led to the dismissal of Dutch defender Denzel Dumfries.
Following the game’s conclusion, the Argentina players ridiculed their opponents, with Martinez yelling at Netherlands manager Louis van Gaal after saving two penalties in the shootout that followed a 2-2 draw.
He remarked, “I heard Van Gaal saying that in a penalty shootout they had the advantage,” following the game. “I believe he ought to restrain himself,”
Even Messi, who is known for his polite demeanor, objected to Van Gaal’s statement that the Argentina captain did not “participate much” after his team lost the ball.
Messi immediately raced to the Dutch bench and clutched his ears after scoring during regulation.
The movie reveals that former teammate Juan Roman Riquelme, who felt mistreated by Van Gaal at Barcelona, served as the inspiration for such celebration.
But this new aspect of Messi startled a lot of people.
According to Martinez, “We are more aggressive than the national team he had before.” “That bad boy was probably starting to look a little more like us.”
Martinez is compared to “a child on the field.”
In the championship shootout, Martinez was once more Argentina’s shootout hero as La Albiceleste defeated the defending champs.
His actions as he danced, celebrated, and flung the ball away in front of France’s players attracted a lot of attention.
He claims that he has never danced as much as he did after Aurelien Tchouameni missed France’s third penalty, referring to the jig he performed. not in my lifetime.
It’s me there. I’m a kid playing on the field. I cannot predict what will occur next.
