00:00Can you believe that for the first time in 21 years we're not going to see Lionel Messi in the jersey
00:05Argentina's white and sky blue?
00:07After a love affair of more than two decades, one of the most beautiful eras of Argentine football has come to an end.
00:13But it wasn't always like that.
00:17Lionel Messi turned 34 years old without having won anything with Argentina.
00:22Today, with his retirement from the national team announced and the future in perspective, it's easy to remember that back-to-back championship.
00:29America and the world title in Qatar 2022.
00:33But the truth is that at the beginning, and for most of the time, everything was difficult for Messi in the
00:38light blue and white.
00:39To the point of retiring from it before turning 30.
00:43He played his first World Cup in 2006 when he was just 19 years old.
00:47He was surrounded by a very talented generation, headed by Juan Román Riquelme, and an orchestra conductor who was already
00:54José Néstor Pekerman knew what it was like to be a youth world champion.
00:58Pekerman is not just any name in this story.
01:00He was the one who led Messi to become an under-20 champion, which, along with the Olympic medal, were his only achievements.
01:06which the legendary number 10 could proudly boast about.
01:08But let's go back to the World Cup in Germany.
01:10That first big date ended in disappointment and left an image to remember.
01:15Messi sitting on the substitutes' bench at the Berlin Olympic Stadium without having enjoyed a single minute of
01:21that quarter-final match against Germany, which had extra time and penalties.
01:25Then came another blow, even harder than the previous one: the 2007 Copa América final.
01:30At just 20 years old, the Argentine star was 90 minutes away from winning his first title with Argentina.
01:37But it all ended in a 3-0 rout and a silver medal.
01:40South Africa 2010 was a déjà vu of Germany 2006.
01:43Same stage, same opponent, but now dismissed with a 4-0 defeat and without having been able to score a single goal
01:50in the tournament.
01:51It seemed that the 2011 Copa América in his country was the perfect opportunity to silence all those voices that were criticizing him.
01:57They called him cold-hearted and European.
02:00Comments that increased every time they focused on him and he didn't sing the Argentine national anthem.
02:05However, the Charrúa buried the gauchos that night in the elephant cemetery.
02:11Argentina went to Brazil 2014 as the best team in the qualifiers.
02:15With a firm step and an unwavering inner conviction, she reached the final.
02:19However, once again the Albiceleste fell short of a title.
02:24And Messi was once again singled out for not showing up in important moments with the national team, something that did happen in
02:31his club in Spain.
02:32The hardest blows came in the 2015 and 2016 Copa América tournaments.
02:36Argentina came close to glory again, but fell in the final.
02:39Again on both occasions, by penalties, against Chile.
02:43Messi had never been seen crying after losing a match, but that day it seemed that something inside
02:48It broke him.
02:50In the mixed zone he said he was giving up on the national team, that he had tried, but it simply wasn't for him.
02:56Eleven years had passed since her debut with the senior team in 2005, and she had already lost four finals, three of them in the finals.
03:02consecutive them.
03:04Months later, the Argentine retracted his decision and both the press and the public moderated their criticism against him
03:10he.
03:11Because yes, today everyone loves Messi in Argentina and around the world, but the criticism he received before
03:16Winning a title with Argentina is something few people want to remember.
03:20Russia 2018 was their most discreet World Cup at a collective level, eliminated in the round of 16 and deeply disconnected
03:27of his coach, his teammates, and his country.
03:30However, with the arrival of Escalón and the bench, something changed.
03:35Messi began to show himself as many had shown him when he wore the Albiceleste jersey: fierce, competitive, defiant, and he was already singing the
03:43hymn.
03:43Although they were eliminated in the semi-finals of the 2019 Copa América by their arch-rivals Brazil, the image was different.
03:50both from Lionel and from the team.
03:52Everyone called up saw it as a dream every time they shared the training camp, the practice, or a match with them.
03:59He and they vowed to help him win a title with Argentina.
04:02The first came in the 2021 Copa América, decided at the Maracanã, but the best was yet to come a year later.
04:09later in Qatar.
04:09And then it all paid off when he became champion of America for the second time in a row in 2024 and reached his third final
04:17of the world this year.
04:19Although the road was mostly rocky and stormy, on September 7, 2026,
04:25Lionel Messi brought an end to an extraordinary career with the Argentine national team.
04:30All-time top scorer and assist provider, player with the most appearances for the national team,
04:34the only player in history to score a goal in every stage of the same World Cup,
04:39with more matches in a global event, more World Cups played,
04:43The only man chosen twice as the best player in a World Cup
04:47and a legacy etched in the memory of all Argentinians,
04:52who today shed a tear or two because they will never see him again under Argentine law.
04:56But with the gratitude of more than two decades of fighting and never giving up
05:01for achieving that long-awaited title with his country.
