In the early morning of June 30, Beijing time, in the final round of the group stage of the 2024 Copa America, Argentina, the defending champion who locked the top spot in the group in advance, played against Peru, while the Chilean team, the two-time Copa America champion and one draw and one loss in the first two games, must fight to fight for Canada, which won one and lost one in the first two games, to fight for the only remaining group qualifier. Of course, Argentina's opponents in this game, Peru, also have a chance to qualify, provided that they beat Argentina by a big margin, while Canada cannot win and cannot lose too badly...... Such conditions, no matter how you look at it, are unreliable!
Locked the top spot in the group in advance, Messi, who played the whole game in the first two games, finally got the opportunity to rest, plus the coach Scaloni was suspended in this game, and assistant coach Samuel temporarily served as the interim coach to command the game, Messi sitting on the bench on the sidelines seemed to have become the "third coach" of the Argentine national team's stable military heart: he didn't need to point fingers at all, he just needed to sit on the sidelines to give the younger brothers a sense of security! The reason why Messi is still on the bench is that in the case of De Paul, McAllister, Alvarez, Gonzalez and other main players "collectively herding sheep", let all the "substitutes" know that the king of the ball is still with them! Even if there is still the executive champion Di Mania on the field......
In the end, thanks to a brace from Lautaro Martinez, Argentina won this "insignificant" hand-to-hand fight, which is called "hand-to-hand" because although this match is "insignificant" for Argentina, it is the last hope for Peru. However, in the case of Messi, De Paul, McAllister, Alvarez, Lima, Enzo, Gonzalez, Romero and other absolute main players are resting, the Argentine "substitutes" did not disappoint the fans, 2-0 to win the opponent neatly, winning three consecutive victories, and this is still a result achieved when Argentina's goal was canceled and Paredes hit the post with a penalty, which is enough to make Argentine fans feel gratified.
Messi is great, but after all, he is thirty-seven years old, and the end of his career is coming, and Argentina obviously cannot expect Messi to live forever. Therefore, "successor" is not only the expectation of Messi, but also the expectation of countless Argentine fans. When Lautaro Martinez swept away the slump at the World Cup in Qatar, scoring three goals in a row and leading the scorers with two braces, we not only saw the blue and white sea cheering in the stands of Argentina fans, but also saw the smile of Messi on the bench, which was a heartfelt joy...... Happy for the growth of the "juniors"!
Yes, there have been talented people from generation to generation, each leading the way for hundreds of years. The era that belongs to Messi will eventually come to an end, and if Argentine football wants to prosper for a long time, it needs countless people like Enzo Fernandez, Alvarez, and Garnacho to grow up! …… When we see the deputy champion Di Mania lead the Argentine group of substitutes to defeat Peru and advance to the quarterfinals of the Copa America, we must see the pathos of the 36-year-old Sanchez and the 41-year-old Budavo who are out of the tournament......
Chile, the team with Sanchez, Budavo, Vargas and Vidal, twice made Argentina with Messi fall to the closest place to the championship in the 2015 Copa America and the 2016 Centennial Copa America, which is also the place that makes countless Argentine fans "uneasy", even if they have Sanchel, Budava and Vidal and Messi in their team as teammates in Barcelona. Now, Messi is playing a role in Argentina as the king of the ball, and the team of De Paul, Paredes, Enzo Fernandez, Alvarez, McAllister, Romero, Lautaro, etc., have also grown up rapidly after following Messi to the top of the world, and what about Chile? is still struggling to support the veterans of 10 years ago......
Today, Messi is still using his experience and skills to help Argentina move forward, but we must admit that Messi is old, and we can no longer see the long-haired, galloping Messi galloping on the field, and what supports Messi on the field is his love for football and perfect foot skills. Age, physical strength and injuries have also become unavoidable topics, so we heard De Paul's moving words at the Qatar World Cup, "If we run one more step, Messi can run one step less", even more tearful than Emiliano Martinez's "I am willing to die for Messi"! It is with this inheritance that Enzo and Álvarez have grown rapidly, and Argentina has the confidence to stand on top of the world!
If we look back at the gray-eyed Budavo, Sánchez, Vargas, and then look at the group of young Chileans, maybe we will involuntarily have a word in our minds, that is, "green and yellow"! Yes, green and yellow! The biggest problem that the Chilean team is facing! Sanchez, who is already 36 years old, and Budava, who is 41 years old, can still "pull" Chile? If it is reasonable to lose to Argentina in the group stage, it is somewhat unreasonable to be forced to draw by Peru and Canada and miss the quarterfinals. Yes, against Canada, Chile, the only way to win, almost no way to Canada, a team that prefers to play ice hockey and baseball, the old Sanchez is alone, I see pity, see this guy who once beat Messi and took the lead in winning the national team championship, I can't help but feel sad! Maybe that's the cruelty of competitive sports! Like the sun and the moon, it can't be stopped......
So when we saw Messi smiling from the bench in this "innocuous game", that damn word popped into our heads: kindness! Yes, seeing the competition of the younger generations, Messi, as a senior, leader and parent, that smile is really a relief and a kindness. Paving the way for the younger generations and guiding the direction for the younger generations, perhaps this is Messi's responsibility and obligation as a patriarch now, as for scoring one more goal and scoring one less goal, it has actually become not so important! The important thing is that after Messi, Argentina's juniors are growing up rapidly......
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