Lionel Messi was the driving force behind Argentina’s Copa America victory in the summer of 2021.
Lionel Messi has won an incredible number of awards during his football career. The young prodigy at Barcelona won the Copa del Rey seven times, four Champions Leagues, and an incredible ten La Liga titles.
Messi has received a staggering number of individual honors as well. The 35-year-old holds an all-time record with seven Ballon d’Or victories, along with six European Golden Shoes.
The Copa America, though, is the one trophy that meant more to Messi than any of the others named so far.
The Paris Saint-Germain attacker last summer finally captured a significant international prize after a decade of failure while wearing an Argentina jersey.
Messi also played a key role in the success of the country. With four goals and five assists, the skipper took the lead and earned the Golden Ball for the competition.
Although Angel Di Maria received credit for Argentina’s goal in the championship match versus Brazil, the Rosario native’s total contribution will always be unmatched.
Lionel Messi
A forward for Ligue 1 team Paris Saint-Germain and captain of Argentina’s national team, Lionel Andrés Messi was born in Argentina on June 24, 1987.
Messi, who is recognized as one of the all-time best players, has a record seven Ballon d’Or victories, a record six European Golden Shoes, and in 2020, he was selected for the Ballon d’Or Dream Team.
After Argentina won the Copa America and therefore earned their first international title, An emotional Lionel Messi exclaimed, “The euphoria I feel is indescribable.”
After 16 years since his first international appearance, the superstar finally celebrated a huge victory with his nation after Angel Di Maria’s first-half lob gave Argentina a 1-0 victory against archrival Brazil in the Maracana final.
After experiencing final heartbreak in three prior Copa Americas and the 2014 World Cup, an international trophy had long been the 34-year-old icon’s sole prize left to win.
Most significant victory of Lionel Messi’s illustrious career
Messi’s celebration of the victory, both on the occasion in the venerable Maracana Stadium and in the weeks that followed, made it quite evident how important the victory was to him.
Furthermore, a new Netflix documentary series on Argentina’s first Copa America victory since 1993 has provided additional proof to back up the claim that Messi treasures the trophy.
Messi was invited to rewatch footage of the celebrations in the documentary, which sadly isn’t available to watch in the UK, and he couldn’t help but cry.
The PSG player doesn’t typically display emotion, but that all changes when the 2021 Copa America comes around.
Rewatching the Copa America celebrations and Messi’s reactions
Messi’s love for Argentina is clear to see, and he will now be entirely focused on following in the footsteps of the late Diego Maradona by leading his country to World Cup victory in Qatar.
La Albiceleste is one of the favorites to win the competition, especially now that their captain is back playing football at a level that is above the capabilities of common people.
Argentina will also enter the competition with a 35-game winning streak under its belt, which is tied for the second-longest streak in the annals of international football.
The highly gifted team led by Lionel Scaloni will overtake Italy’s mark of 37 wins if they win their remaining three World Cup group games against Saudi Arabia, Mexico, and Poland.
