He has probably won every possible individual award a footballer can achieve, but the only silverware missing from the trophy cabinet of Argentine superstar Lionel Messi is the World Cup. Already a great player of this era, Messi will undoubtedly become a legend if he leads Argentina to their third World Cup glory.
Messi’s dream is not to become the highest scorer and take the golden boot, rather he wants to help his team lift the trophy and turn their dream into reality.
“As an individual player I have won all but winning the World Cup is the best, nothing can be compared to it,” said Messi during his interview at Argentina’s base camp at Belo Horizonte yesterday.
“It’s something you dream since childhood, and the dream never ends. I asked my fellow Barcelona teammates Xavi, Iniesta and Piqué how it feels lifting the World Cup, but they could not explain. We are trying hard to make this dream a reality.
“I concentrate on the team. We focus on tactics, so our game will give the answer. If I follow with scoring goals and this would allow Argentina to reach the final, it will be the most important thing,” he said.
An all South America final will be very special as Messi said “The fans are full of passion and keeps the team going forward. Playing a World Cup final at the Maracana is the dream of every player,” but his main focus is on the Netherlands for they “have to win the semifinal first.”
“I’m feeling positive pressure. It is a great honor to be captain of Argentina and convert any extra pressure to good performances for my country. I want to return that trust placed in me to lead Argentina to conquer the World.”
A key Barcelona player in the La Liga, Messi shed lights on this World Cup of upsets as 2010 champions Spain were knocked out from this year’s group stage. “This World Cup is full of surprises and some great teams lost to lesser-known selections. Spain has great players, who will again be stronger and return into the next tournament with full of actions.”
Messi, who is often compared to Diego Maradona, might have already appeared in two World Cups - in 2006 where he played mostly in a substitute role and in 2010 where he was a potential candidate for the Golden Ball – but this is probably the best time for him to guide Argentina to their third World title. Only once before had a South American nation brought the glory from Europe, led by Pele Brazil won in Sweden 1958, and with the next World Cup in four years time in Russia, Messi might also be just past his peak.
The signs have already been there as Argentina ended their 24-year drought of reaching a semi-final with Messi in sublime form and with the stage set, now is the probably the right time for him steal the show - the 2014 World Cup.