Football giants

Chapter 960 Messi, please stand up!

With the whistle of the referee from Colombia, the game time is up again!
Why again?

Because the time for the whole game has just passed once, and now it is the second time.

Yes, extra time, it's 1 to 10 minutes now.

This is the National Stadium in Santiago, the capital of Chile. The Copa America final is underway. Argentina played against the host Chile. The score is now zero to zero, and neither side has been able to score a goal within regular game time.

The game lasted from afternoon to night, and everyone was very tired.

Messi dragged his exhausted but sweaty body and walked down the field slowly with heavy steps.

"Come on, drink some water!"

His friend Aguero, who was substituted early, greeted him and handed him a bottle of water.

Messi unscrewed the bottle cap and drank in small sips, not daring to drink too fast.

But in the end, he raised it above his head, poured it all over his head and face towards himself, and exhaled happily.

Di Maria also walked slowly from the side. He was also on the court just now, but his right leg was strained, and he was off the court in less than half an hour. If not, I believe Argentina would not be in such a passive situation.

At least Messi is sure, if Di Maria is there, Argentina will definitely have a chance to score!

But now... it's all life!
"How is it? Is it okay?" Di Maria asked with concern.

During the World Cup in Brazil last year, Argentina lost the final. Di Maria cried like a tearful person, very unwilling.

Therefore, like Messi, he is eager to win a national team championship and fill the gap in honor.

Messi nodded, "It's okay, I can hold on!"

In fact, his body was really tired and tired, and he was all supported by a single effort.

For him, everyone is watching, only those fans who don't know what's going on are still complaining about his bad state.

Just kidding, as a professional player, playing so many games a year and scoring so many goals, he can still maintain this state and maintain this desire to play, not bad!
As friends, they don't need to talk too much to understand each other.

Therefore, the three of them were a little silent.

Just at this time, the head coach Martino walked out of the coach's bench and waved at the players, apparently about to start arranging the penalty kick.

So, everyone immediately surrounded it.

"Okay, now that the game has been played, there is no need to say anything. I believe that even if we enter the penalty shootout, we can still win. You have to have confidence in yourself!"

Martino is making the final mobilization.

But very few responded.

Obviously, in the eyes of many people in the team, Martino does not have the qualifications to coach them.

Martino also saw this, but there was nothing he could do.

As long as there are people, there must be a rivers and lakes. Whoever gets on and who doesn't, who is the core and who is the assistant, there must be a division of labor, and as long as there is a division of labor, there will be people who are happy and others who complain.

You know, in the Argentine team, many players are well-deserved core players in their respective club teams.

Let me ask, who is willing to help others when they come to this national team?
Even if the core is Messi!

Martino has heard players discussing and complaining in private more than once, such as "What about Messi?", "Is Messi very strong?" "I don't think Messi is much better than me?", There are many such remarks.

In Martino's view, the well-deserved core of the Argentine national team must be Messi.

Di Maria, Aguero, Mascherano, Biglia, Otamendi and other players assisted.

But the problem is that now Argentina lacks a midfield playmaker.

During the World Cup in Brazil, Messi had to be sacrificed to allow him to withdraw more to the midfield to participate in the organization.

It can be said that without Messi's sacrifice, it is impossible for Argentina to reach the World Cup final.

And after the World Cup, who will be the midfielder to share Messi's pressure, so that Argentina's biggest superstar can devote himself to the offense and play his powerful attacking power in Barcelona, ​​which has become a topic of concern for Argentine fans.

It can be said that Pastore is what everyone expects, and the whole country hopes that he can liberate Messi, and he himself is full of eager expectations for this, and believes that he can do it.

But in fact?
Pastore's playing did not activate Messi. On the contrary, he still played according to his own style of play in Paris Saint-Germain. He hoped that he could control the midfield and let everyone, including Messi and other teammates, play around him.

The most direct manifestation is that he did not choose to pass the ball when many Messi and Di Maria had already run out of space.

The way the core players play is that I can pass the ball to you or not, the choice is mine.

Pastore played every game, but the Argentine midfield was chaotic, and that was why.

The reason why Martino replaced him every game was to try to adjust some changes, but the game was too tight, and he couldn't help it.

But it's not the worst.

The worst thing about this game was that Di Maria left the field early, which directly disrupted Martino's plan and had to replace Lavezzi early.

A player who dared to spray water on his head coach's face in front of the world's media in the World Cup.

More importantly, even though he has a close personal relationship with Messi, on the football field, he is the oldest player in the Argentine national team who has no relationship with Messi.

It is conceivable that under such circumstances, no matter how good Martino is, he cannot reverse the situation.

However, all of this has passed and must be temporarily suppressed.

Now the top priority is the penalty shootout!

"Which one of you wants to play the first goal?" Martino asked in a deep voice, scanning the eleven players in front of him.

Everyone knows the weight of the penalty shootout. The first person to kick the penalty bears the heaviest pressure, and at the same time bears the hope of everyone in the team, and assumes the key role of finalizing the start.

"Who's coming?" Martino asked again.

The Argentine internationals around looked at me and I looked at you, but no one took the lead in expressing their views.

At this time, whoever is the first to kick and score is certainly a hero, but if the kick misses, he is a sinner.

So, it looks like a lot of people are hesitant.

Seeing this situation, Martino couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. He wished to see everyone vying for it, but...

"I'll do it!" Messi took the initiative to step out, glanced at his teammates firmly, and then looked at the coach.

"I'll kick the first one!"

Martino looked at Messi, who was short, but carried the hope of a team and even a country on his shoulders.

At this moment, he really thought of Maradona!

Although Messi's character is not as domineering as Maradona's, he is extremely strong in his heart.

If I remember correctly, Messi was also the first in the penalty shootout against the Netherlands in the World Cup last year.

What is the core?What is a soul?

This is the core!This is the soul!
…………

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"The penalty shootout officially started, and the first Chilean to take the penalty was Fernandez."

"Wow, good job, a strong volley to the upper left corner!"

"This is a dead end in the absolute sense!"

"Argentine goalkeeper Romero is completely unstoppable, this is an absolute dead end!"

"Let's look at the first player in Argentina to take a penalty kick, Messi."

"All the fans are booing. Is this an attempt to interfere and influence Messi?"

"Good job, the ball has been scored. In the lower right corner, the speed of the ball is very fast. Although Bravo judged the right direction, there is no way to stop it. One to one, the two sides are tied again!"

"In the second round of penalty shootout, Chile chose Vidal!"

"The ball went in, the bottom left corner was pushed, and both times it was left. Chile seems to be prepared."

"Argentina's No.2 penalty shooter is Higuain..."

"Wow, oh my god, Higuain, the penalty kick was too high!"

"My God, the situation is not good now, two to one!"

"It's a bit of a disadvantage for Argentina right now."

"In the third round of the penalty shootout, Chile chose Aranguiz."

"Okay, the ball went in, the lower right corner!"

"Three to one, Argentina is under a lot of pressure now."

"We saw that the Argentine players were cheering on Banega, the No.3 player who took the penalty."

"His free throw is crucial. Argentina can no longer make mistakes."

"Banega took the penalty..."

"Ah, the ball was saved, Bravo, Bravo saved the penalty!"

"Argentina, three to one, my God, the current situation is too bad for Argentina!"

"We saw Messi holding his head and looking on the sidelines, it seemed that he was on the verge of collapse!"

"In the fourth round of penalty shootout, as long as Sanchez scores a penalty kick, Argentina will only be runner-up!"

"This is really cruel to Messi. Before the America's Cup, he also told the media that he is willing to use everything he has in exchange for an honorary champion of the national team. He is eager to leave a precious championship trophy for his motherland."

"However, this superstar who has won almost all club championship trophies has never made a breakthrough in the national team."

"Sanchez appeared at the penalty spot, and Romero on the opposite side failed to save a penalty in this game. I don't know if he can perform a miracle this time."

"The ball has been scored!"

"Sanchez scored!"

"Four to one, the Chilean team won and won the Copa America!"

"Argentina, Messi, can only be runner-up!"

"It's really quite an unacceptable thing."

"Just last year, Messi led Argentina to the World Cup final, but he won a runner-up. Now, he once again led the Argentine national team and appeared on the stage of the final. In the end, what awaited him was another runner-up!"

"We saw that Messi has completely collapsed!"

"On the stage of last year's World Cup, both Aguero and Di Maria cried, but Messi was strong and he didn't cry!"

"But tonight, at the National Stadium in Santiago, Chile, he cried and broke down!"

"It's really sad, he did his best!"

"After playing dozens of club matches, he dragged his exhausted and painful body, led the national team of his beloved country, fought all the way, and finally reached the final of the America's Cup. In the end, what awaited him was another runner-up!"

"We can't blame Messi anymore, he has done enough."

"This is a tragedy. We saw Messi's tears. I believe that at this moment, there will be countless fans around the world who will cry with Messi."

"He is 28 years old, and to some extent, he probably won't be able to win any national team honors anymore."

"His tears will break the heart of countless people with him."

"However, we must say, Messi, please stand up!"

"Tonight, on this football field, although you lost the game, you won the respect. No matter what other people think of you, no matter what they say, you are a well-deserved number one star in the world!"

The camera is always aimed at Messi, at the man sitting on the grass hugging his head and crying!
(End of this chapter)