Leo Messi will shine on this earth as long as there is football Argentina

Maradona passed away exactly two years ago today. He has gone to eternity. He is gone, to an address from which no one returns. Flesh-blood Maradona is now the past, but his legend is really the past!

Maradona was, is. As is the case with Argentines, along with Lionel Messi. Maradona will be in full force when Messi’s side take on Mexico in a life-and-death battle at the Lucille Stadium on Saturday night. Not only as an inspiration, but his existence will be the logistics of the struggle.

Argentina’s loss against Saudi Arabia is incredible. Before the match, even die-hard anti-Argentina football fans did not think that something like this could happen. Argentina’s lead after the start of the match, followed by three goals disallowed by semi-automated offside technology – proved Argentina’s dominance of the match.

Argentina fans and opponents alike thought it was only a matter of time before the goal tally increased. But with time the whole scenario changed. In the second half of the game, just five minutes of storm blew away everything for Argentina. An incredible 2-1 win for Saudi Arabia.

He will also play with Messi tomorrow

A heartbreaking loss—Argentina’s Saudi-disaster can only be described in one sentence. The team that came to Qatar with sky-high confidence after going undefeated in 36 matches, the team that dreamed of winning the World Cup again after 1986, the team is standing in the sand of uncertainty after only one loss against Saudi Arabia. With the World Cup far away, getting through the first round is a tough test.

At this time, Messi, Di Maria, Angel Correa, Lautaro Martinez, Cristian Romero, Marcos Acuña, Nicolas Taliafico should hold each other’s hands tightly. And there is one more hand to pull the Argentina team out of this uncertainty. It is not the ‘hand of God’, but the unearthly hand of Maradona. It cannot be that the football of a country with which Maradona is so closely associated will not cling to his legacy in times of uncertainty and disaster.

Messi will look more towards Maradona this time. In the 1990 World Cup in Italy, Maradona himself stood at such a point with the Argentina team. 32 years ago, Argentina played the opening match of the World Cup as world champions in Milan’s San Siro and suddenly lost to Cameroon. Just like this time’s loss against Saudi Arabia—no one could have imagined before the match that the Argentina of Maradona, Canizia, Buruchaga, Batista, Valdano would lose to such a football powerhouse as Cameroon.

But despite losing that match, Argentina went on to the next round, beating Brazil in the second round, Yugoslavia in the quarter-finals and Italy in the semis to come very close to a second consecutive World Cup title. In the end, however, it was not to be, losing on penalties against Germany. But Argentina’s almost impossible journey in the 1990 World Cup is not easy! The story of that struggle is no longer a joke, in 2022, Messi’s Argentina will make the story of that struggle a strategy. Maradona is a big part of that logistics.

Well, if Maradona had not been living in a distant country due to a heart attack on November 25, 2020, then Maradona would have enjoyed watching the match against Saudi Arabia on November 22 in the gallery!

He used to get upset after the team lost. He may have said many things out of passion. Messi-Scalonis also used to shave their heads. Why did Scaloni play ‘catch’ in Saudi’s highline defense strategy, why Argentina coach couldn’t counter that strategy to cut the side, the journalists must have wanted to know from Maradona! Maradona must have made all the statements that caused a storm in the media. Journalists were also very busy.

Who can say that Messi or Scaloni did not call Maradona! Maybe then Maradona would have become affectionate. Argentine think tank to give advice from his own eyes. Argentina could have resorted to Maradona before the Mexico or Poland match. But one night two years ago let none of this happen.

1990 World Cup-winning German captain Lothar Matthäus lamented in a tweet a few days ago, recalling Maradona’s memory and wrote, ‘You are not in this first World Cup.’ Messi did not write such a thing, but it is also on his mind. However, he said before the Saudi Arabia match, “Maradona is always with us.”

Mexico will take on Argentina in Lusail on Saturday night. But that judges the strength and weakness of the flesh-and-blood Argentinian players. But how will Mexico deal with their invisible power, invisible motivation! Maradona’s legend always awaited Argentina with something extra. Maradona does not stay with them. He became the coach, captain, manager of the Argentina team without becoming many things. Maybe in the coming days too.