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I Quit: Lionel Messi’s Retirement Turns Argentina Copa Dream into Nightmare
Published: June 27, 2016
After such optimism, the nation finished the competition in a crisis that may take years to mend.
While the captain's bombshell decision to retire from international duty was not exactly expected, a sign of his devastation was obvious from the moment the first penalty against Chile was launched into the stratosphere. Messi had fought a losing battle throughout the final, and when it came to the shootout, there was nothing left in the tank.
The shootout may have turned out very differently had the Barcelona star drilled his kick down the middle instead of harmlessly over Claudio Bravo's crossbar. Arturo Vidal and Sergio Romero had given the Albiceleste the advantage, but the omens were once more against a team that just cannot kick the habit of finishing second.
Lucas Biglia followed his captain by putting a tame penalty well within Bravo's reach, and the photo of Messi sitting disconsolate on the bench was another photographic stain on his glittering career following the iconic images that followed defeat in the 2014 World Cup and in the Copa just 12 months ago.
"That's it, the national team is over for me," he admitted to TyC Sports in the mixed zone once the dust settled on another failure in Argentina colours (per Ole). "We've had four finals, this isn't for me unfortunately. This is what I most desired, I sought victory but it was not to be. That's it."
Those were the words of a broken man, the best player in the world who for a fourth time had seen his dreams and those of a nation shattered by the whims and cruelty of the beautiful game.
It had all looked so different...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football
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