Photo: Collected
Just one more match. Lionel Messi will take the field in the Argentina jersey for the last time. Training with his teammates one last time before the farewell, he seemed to look back on a long journey. Those times, filled with familiar faces, countless memories and success, have now become the emotion of farewell.
So on social media a note of melancholy flowed in Messi’s voice too — ‘I know I will miss the special moments.’
Lionel Messi will bring the curtain down on his international chapter in the Argentina jersey with the match against Benin at 5am Bangladesh time on Wednesday. The 39-year-old superstar has also trained with his teammates for the last time. He was seen smiling at the Ezeiza training centre. The training complex is now named after him.
After the final training session, Messi posted several photos with teammates, coaching staff and officials. One photo featured the entire Argentina team, the coaching staff and officials including Argentine football association president Claudio Tapia. The photos reveal a picture of this team’s deep bond off the pitch as well.
Messi joined the national team camp on Sunday. Before that, he was not in Argentina’s matches against Bolivia and Burkina Faso. But on returning to the team he seemed to be back in his old rhythm. In training under coach Lionel Scaloni, he was caught up in laughter and banter with his teammates. He also spent quite some time with close friend Rodrigo De Paul.
Messi’s path in the Argentina jersey, however, was not so easy. After years of disappointment, defeats in finals and criticism, he won the Copa America in 2021. The following year he fulfilled the long-awaited dream by winning the World Cup in Qatar. Then, by winning one more Copa America, he placed himself in one of the brightest chapters in the history of Argentine football.
Now it is time to write the last page of that chapter. The match against Benin is therefore not just another international match for Argentines. The galleries of the Monumental Stadium are waiting to fill up to bid Messi farewell. Several members of the Qatar World Cup-winning team will also be at the event. There will be special arrangements and the presence of guests and artistes.
Nicolas Otamendi will also be on this farewell stage. The defender, who has announced his retirement from the national team, is also ready for his last match in the Argentina jersey. Messi’s close teammates Rodrigo De Paul and Giovani Lo Celso are also in the squad.
The presence of former Argentina stars Ezequiel Lavezzi and Cristian Gonzalez has added to the emotion of Messi’s farewell. They joined the team’s training as special guests and watched Messi’s final preparations up close.
In the very jersey in which his dreams were once shattered again and again, Messi ultimately conquered the world. For Argentine supporters, therefore, the match against Benin is not merely another international match; it is the end of an era.
