It was only 65 minutes in, but it had seemed an age. Nothing was going right. Free-kicks flew wastefully into orbit; darting runs were extinguished almost at inception; passes were snuffled up by the blue meanies of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The Maracana stadium, an Argentinian enclave in Rio de Janeiro for the night, yearned for their little master to assume his rightful place as the true star of this World Cup, but it was not his night.
Lionel Messi had only scored one World Cup goal in his career, the same as Matthew Upson, and that was eight years ago. In match time, 623 minutes had expired since he last struck for Argentina on this stage.
And then it happened. Oh, it was lovely. Not just the move but the possibilities offered for this tournament. Messi with a monkey on his back is no Messi at all. Messi, liberated from pressure by a goal in his opening game, may now elevate this World Cup to a higher plane.
It was a beautiful passing advance, triangles working their way through the deep Bosnian midfield, before the ball found Messi, as it so often does for that is his genius, and he played an neat one-two with substitute Gonzalo Higuain.
Receiving the ball once more he ran from right to left with such nimble feet that two Bosnian guards, Ermin Bicakcic and Muhamed Besic, collided in his wake.
Now with clear sight of goal, he checked the position of goalkeeper Asmir Begovic and finished perfectly, the ball coming off the inside of a post, so exceptionally was it judged.
And that is what the greats do. Until then, it wasn’t his game. And then he made it so. Until then, Bosnia looked more than capable of earning a point – an 85th minute goal by Vedad Ibisevic confirmed the threat – and then it was out of their reach. Messi had made it his night after all.
From here, the tournament begins – particularly if Cristiano Ronaldo decides to match him for Portugal on Monday, as he so often does when similarly challenged in Spain.
Messi was announced as man of the match at the end, a FIFA award he will recognise as nonsense. If anything, the best players were the half-time substitutes Fernando Gago and Higuain, whose introduction changed Argentina’s formation and the course of the game.
Until then, the team considered by many to be the finest at the tournament had laboured with three at the back. Despite going a goal behind after three minutes, Bosnia were having the best of the game.
The Maracana stadium, an Argentinian enclave in Rio de Janeiro for the night, yearned for their little master to assume his rightful place as the true star of this World Cup, but it was not his night.
Lionel Messi had only scored one World Cup goal in his career, the same as Matthew Upson, and that was eight years ago. In match time, 623 minutes had expired since he last struck for Argentina on this stage.
And then it happened. Oh, it was lovely. Not just the move but the possibilities offered for this tournament. Messi with a monkey on his back is no Messi at all. Messi, liberated from pressure by a goal in his opening game, may now elevate this World Cup to a higher plane.
It was a beautiful passing advance, triangles working their way through the deep Bosnian midfield, before the ball found Messi, as it so often does for that is his genius, and he played an neat one-two with substitute Gonzalo Higuain.
Receiving the ball once more he ran from right to left with such nimble feet that two Bosnian guards, Ermin Bicakcic and Muhamed Besic, collided in his wake.
Now with clear sight of goal, he checked the position of goalkeeper Asmir Begovic and finished perfectly, the ball coming off the inside of a post, so exceptionally was it judged.
And that is what the greats do. Until then, it wasn’t his game. And then he made it so. Until then, Bosnia looked more than capable of earning a point – an 85th minute goal by Vedad Ibisevic confirmed the threat – and then it was out of their reach. Messi had made it his night after all.
From here, the tournament begins – particularly if Cristiano Ronaldo decides to match him for Portugal on Monday, as he so often does when similarly challenged in Spain.
Messi was announced as man of the match at the end, a FIFA award he will recognise as nonsense. If anything, the best players were the half-time substitutes Fernando Gago and Higuain, whose introduction changed Argentina’s formation and the course of the game.
Until then, the team considered by many to be the finest at the tournament had laboured with three at the back. Despite going a goal behind after three minutes, Bosnia were having the best of the game.
posted from Bloggeroid
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