England vs. Italy is not the only major final this weekend. In Rio de Janeiro on Saturday night, Lionel Messi finally ticked the last empty box in his glittering soccer career by leading Argentina past host Brazil, 1-0, in the final of the Copa América, the South American continental championship. The trophy was Messi’s first after a string of painful, agonizing, maddening failures with his country’s national team, including three recent Copa América finals and perhaps the most demoralizing defeat of his career — against Germany in the World Cup final — inside the same stadium, Rio’s hulking Maracanã, in 2014. When the whistle blew to end the final on Saturday night, Messi — his relief palpable — dropped to his knees and was immediately surrounded by his teammates. Moments later, they were lifting him above their shoulders and tossing him in the air. This is what it means 👏 Messi is being tossed by his Argentina teammates pic.twitter.com/6LR9aHxhBf — FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 11, 2021 “I needed to remove the thorn of being able to achieve something with the national team,” Messi said after the celebrations in the dressing room, according to The Associated Press. “I had been close for other years and I knew it was going to happen. I am grateful to God for giving me this moment, against Brazil and in Brazil. I was saving this moment for myself.”
Source: Soccer - nytimes.com
