As everyone is aware already (and possibly still in disbelief), Messi missed a penalty kick against Chile in the Copa America Centenario final. As the first penalty kick taker for the Argentina, he skied the ball over the crossbar and put Argentina in an early hole. Another miss by Biglia in the fourth spot sealed the deal for Chile as they made their ensuing kick to win the tournament.
I find people’s reactions funny. On social media, many are showing their sympathy towards Messi, saying how they feel bad for him and hope he can jump back from it. If it was Ronaldo, everyone would be bashing on him and making fun of him for missing such a big kick. But since it’s the beloved Messi, everyone has to feel bad for him and tell him to keep his chin up.
“It’s a penalty kick, you’re bound to miss sometime,” people are saying. Yes, this is the case, but a player of Messi’s caliber can’t be missing penalty kicks in big moments like these. Not only did he miss, but he didn’t even hit the target! And that’s not due to a lack of skill. On the training ground I’m sure Messi can put the ball off the crossbar and in every single time. He missed here because of nerves and nerves alone. It’s just not a good look for arguably the best soccer player of all time.
I don’t believe at all that Messi will be retiring from international soccer like he said he would after the game. There’s just no way that anyone could end their international career on something like that……can they? For arguably the greatest player of all time it just wouldn’t make sense. However, if he does actually retire, this says a lot about him as an individual and has to be a damper on the legacy that he is going to leave behind him when he ends his career. For such a great player, it would really be a shame to end his international career, with 0 trophies, by quitting because of a penalty miss.
I do love watching Messi and I think he is the greatest soccer player the world has ever seen skill wise, but it just seems like there is something inside him that is lacking, which gives me trouble definitively proclaiming him the GOAT.
~ Steven Hold
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