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Lionel Messi Clawing Out of Maradona’s Shadow at 2014 World Cup
Published: June 22, 2014
It's not enough.
Unless you can surpass the legend, that is. Unless you can crawl free from the shadow of Argentina's greatest hero, Diego Maradona.
Welcome to life as Lionel Messi. And welcome to the 2014 World Cup, where despite the immense pressure he finds himself under, Messi appears to be wading free from the undertow of Maradona's legacy, the man who famously led Argentina to a World Cup title in 1986.
Who could ever forget this moment, after all?
But with two crucial goals in two games thus far in the tournament, Messi is making his own memories. Still, it's been a long road to get here.
Messi's done everything at the club level. La Liga titles? He has six of those. Champions League titles? He has three. Ballon d'Ors? He won four in a row from 2009-12. Historical achievements? He scored 91 goals for club and country in 2012, a record tally.
You name it, he's done it.
But he hasn't been able to conquer the international level. He hasn't ever been as beloved in Argentina as he is around the world. (The fact that he left to play for Barcelona as a youngster has a lot to do with that.) He's just never been Maradona to them.
Heck, he's never been Carlos Tevez, a player adored by Argentines.
But the World Cup has been his chance to change all of that. At the 2006 World Cup, he was just 18 years old. He scored a goal as a reminder to all that glory would come. And boy, did it ever. By the time the 2010 World Cup rolled around, Messi was established as a global superstar and was already arguably the game's top player.
But the 22-...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football
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