La Bajada is the poorest town in Rosario, Argentina. However, it has something that everywhere is jealous of. It was here that Lionel Messi grew up, kicked his first ball and formed his football dream.

Messi’s house is still there, but no one lives in it, mixed in with many old houses in La Bajada. Creating vitality for the town are countless murals of Messi. The latest is a painting just completed in July, painted on the wall of an apartment building built in the 1940s. It is a portrait of Messi with shoes hanging around his neck, below is a picture of Messi in his childhood. The words “From another galaxy and from my neighborhood” run on both sides.

Image of Messi in the neighborhood where he was born.

However, if you pay attention, you will see that the paintings, as well as the characters Leo10 or M10 painted on light poles, gate posts or sidewalks are all quite new. It reminds that the love and pride of the people of La Bajada with Messi flared up not long ago. A few years ago, many reporters who visited the origin of the “number one superstar”, “soccer genius”, and “contemporary legend” were surprised. Don’t say La Bajada, even Rosario doesn’t have the “smell” of Messi.

Maxi Bagnasco is a famous mural artist in Argentina. He can’t remember how many giant paintings he has painted of Diego Maradona, in Buenos Aires, Cordoba or even Naples. However, he was only invited to draw one painting of Messi in Rosario. Messi is just part of a trio of players, alongside Angel Di Maria and Maxi Rodriguez, his compatriots.

Bagnasco knows why. “Messi is a machine on the field but boring in real life,” he said, “He finished playing and left, no one knows what happened after that.”

Usually Messi still returns to Rosario every summer. He will land by private jet and then climb into the car (according to the description of his old neighbor in La Bajada, it looks like a spaceship) to go straight to the villa in Fumes Hill, a place for the upper class. of the city. Messi never goes outside. Even eating, he will eat in the family-owned VIP restaurant. It was close to Torre Aqualina, the detached apartment complex where he had several apartments, and not too far from the neighborhood where he grew up.

People in Grandoli, the local team Messi played for since he was 4 years old, or Newell’s Old Boys Academy, where Messi joined when he was 8, still remember the image of “the tiny boy who only stood up to his knees but played football like a football player”. a giant”. They also laugh about how matches are often shortened because of Messi. There is an unwritten rule here, that when a team leads by 7 goals, the referee will end the match early. Messi’s team always scores 7 goals.

The problem is that Messi will never grow up. Messi’s parents were shocked when their youngest child was diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency. Messi is more optimistic. “Are you old enough to be a football player?”, he said to doctor Diego Schwarzstein. His eyes lit up when he replied: “Don’t worry, you’re taller than Diego Maradona.”

Schwarzstein gave him a growth hormone injection pen, and 9-year-old Messi, only 1.29m tall, accepted it as a treasure. For the next five years, Messi injected himself with ampoules into his thighs every morning. The problem is that medical bills bring a burden to Messi’s family. Then they went to Barcelona, ​​where they accepted to pay for treatment to own the boy with divine legs.

As is known, from a difficult beginning, Messi has developed into a global superstar, creating a glorious career at an iconic club. With Barca, he not only has all the titles, but also has them in such large quantities that it would take a museum to display them all.

But Argentina has nothing. For a long time, the land of tango struggled to own a certain title, but in vain. The bitter thing is that they have in their squad Messi, who is said to be able to do everything.

“In Argentina, we praise or curse based on whether the ball went in or not. Messi will always remain anonymous until he wins the Cup,” said sports writer Eduardo Sacheri. Not to mention the media or fans, even Messi’s grandfather criticized him after his performance in the failed World Cup final against Germany in 2014.

And Diego Maradona, who always gave the impression that he would protect Messi unconditionally, also turned to criticize his junior. “We should stop considering Messi a god,” he said on Fox television channel, “He’s just normal like everyone else.”

For many years, Messi and Argentina were stuck in an unhappy marriage. Compatriots say Messi has given everything that is quintessential to Barca. As for Argentina, it is a different version of Messi, tired, indifferent, lacking personality and passion.

Honestly, they’re not wrong. Messi was already a shy, almost autistic boy, a consequence of his height inferiority complex and the physical pain of injecting himself with growth hormone tubes into his thighs. Although Messi later grew taller. Dr. Schwarzstein was proud that he had predicted correctly. “Maradona is 1.67 meters tall and Leo is 1.69 meters tall,” he said. But the introversion and quietness still remain.

Former Argentinian player Juan Sebastian Veron revealed, “Messi always feels embarrassed every time people look at him.” During the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, every time La Albiceleste’s camp was bustling with players’ families visiting, he hid in his room.

The pressure to succeed with the team makes Messi even more withdrawn. Even lose yourself. Maradona once said after Messi and Argentina’s consecutive defeats at the Copa America that “don’t try to turn a guy who goes to the bathroom 20 times before the match into a leader.” Maybe he was exaggerating a bit, but certainly not too far from the truth. Veron said that normally Messi sleeps more than others. But the first time he had to speak in front of the team as captain in 2010, he was so nervous that he couldn’t sleep and couldn’t stop moving around the room.

Messi always plays football to enjoy, but not when playing for Argentina. For Messi, the Albiceleste shirt weighs tens of tons. Everyone saw him miss the penalty kick in the penalty shootout of the 2016 Copa America final. He announced his retirement from the team afterward with the words in despair: “I tried my best.” When he reversed the decision and returned, Messi was no better. He was moody and tired during the 2018 World Cup journey. It felt like he was there because the Argentines wanted it. La Nacion newspaper quoted an insider as saying: “The Leo I know did not go to Russia. He is absent even when he is physically standing before you.”

And Argentines have even more reason to dislike Messi. He already did not belong to them. He did not grow up in the slums, received a Spanish football education and never played professional football in Tango. He didn’t even sing the national anthem. The luckiest thing is that Messi still retains his Argentine accent, pronouncing the “y” consonant with the “sh” sound. Otherwise, he completely loses connection with his homeland.

Now the connection between Messi and his homeland is stronger than ever. When Argentina advanced to the 2022 World Cup final, he said that the three most important factors determining success were “family, teammates and the Argentine people.” He also emphasized the word “we” more than once in his statements, for example declaring “this is our chance to get what we want”.

On Qatar soil, Messi played exactly as Argentines expected of a superstar. No, according to them, a God. He was involved in 8 goals, more than anyone else. He leads in both lists, Top Scorer (5 goals) and King Assist (3). Most of Messi’s effects can only be described by the word “genius”. The goal against Australia, the unbelievable assist in the match against the Netherlands or the magical dribble before passing to Julian Alvarez to shoot into the Croatian net are examples.

At the age of 35, Messi is playing his best World Cup, with his most outstanding performances in an Argentina shirt. Shaking off all the pressure, he truly enjoyed himself.

Losing the opening match against Saudi Arabia could have pushed Argentina into a nightmare, but instead of collapsing, Messi put everything in the right direction with an excellent performance against Mexico. The missed penalty kick in the match against Poland brought back the ghost of Copa America 2016. However, once again Messi showed his bravery. He dared to face and defeat it. In the match against the Netherlands, under incredible pressure, he still successfully completed the first penalty shot. Before that, he also successfully scored an 11m penalty in the 73rd minute.

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In the past, young players were afraid of Messi, especially when he was always on his phone, from the bus to the dining room. He never said. Others have to read body language to guess Messi’s thoughts. When he bows his head, it means “don’t bother”.

But now, Alvarez, Alexis Mac Allister or Enzo Fernandez are comfortable next to Messi. There were moments of love for his teammates when they surrounded him after every goal or victory. He inspired them, made them better and encouraged them to reach their full potential.

Remember the match against Australia, Messi assisted Lautaro Martinez five times seven times. He knew that the Inter striker needed goals to relieve pressure, so he tried to give his young teammate as many opportunities as possible. Even if Martinez misses, it’s okay, there will be another pass, and another pass.

Messi’s change may come from the fact that he no longer has much time for football. The tearful farewell to Barca also had a lot of impact on Messi. That was when he realized that Barcelona was not “home” and at the same time his love broke down when he was betrayed. Argentina is your true home and you should fight with all your heart for it.

The positive changes at La Albiceleste brought about by coach Lionel Scaloni also awakened Messi’s passion. Then the first sweet fruit to enjoy, the 2021 Copa America Cup, made the long-standing burden lifted. As the Argentines say, “the backpack is taken off”. Messi is no longer a cursed man and the obsession of Argentina never winning has disappeared. The land of tango began to believe that their time had come, with Messi leading the way.

Argentines learn to love Messi again. Currently in La Bajada there are about 30 murals related to Messi. The number is constantly increasing. It also appears in Cordoba, Buenos Aires or Santa Fe.

Everywhere in Argentina is talking about Messi. His number 10 shirt and Messi card in the Panini World Cup album are highly sought after, leading to prices being increased many times over. Yet they still sell like hotcakes. Remember that the economic situation in Argentina is very bad. Inflation is expected to reach 130% by 2023 and the 1,000 peso bill, Argentina’s largest denomination, is only enough to buy a cake and a cup of coffee.

Messi has made the Argentine people forget the difficult reality. They are living on the drunkenness of victory. Tens of thousands of people poured into the monument square in central Buenos Aires with Argentine flags, number 10 shirts, banners and portraits of Messi. There was a young man who even took down the door of his house, drew a picture of Messi on it and brought it to the celebration. Besides the familiar songs that they have been singing for decades, there are now more songs about Messi.

“Messi is a god,” a girl in Buenos Aires said with tears in her eyes, “I love him with all my heart. The love we have for him is so great that it is indescribable. We sincerely pray that all the best things will come to him.”

Even now, fans are comfortable talking about the long-standing taboo topic: the comparison between Messi and Maradona. “Messi is better than Diego. Diego is a thing of the past,” said a person living in Rosario. Another person discovered details that Messi should be loved more. “Maradona grew up in the capital, while Messi is in the province,” he said.

“Argentina is like that, moving from one extreme to another very quickly,” commented Raul Damiani, Director of the Newell’s Old Boys youth football school where Messi played.

Anyway, this is good for Messi. It made him feel loved by his own people, then continued to soar and lead Argentina to its final destination: winning the World Cup.