The number 10 shirt must not retire with Messi

When Lionel Messi announced his status from the Argentina nationalist squad past Monday, the absorption bordered connected nationalist mourning. Children cried successful schools, journalists shed tears connected television, newspapers filled their pages with affectional tributes and a telephone enactment was adjacent opened for fans to explicit their gratitude to their idol. All play matches successful Argentina were concisely stopped successful the tenth infinitesimal arsenic a tribute to the idol.

“I emptied myself. I person thing much to give,” Messi wrote successful his farewell.

It was an bonzer extremity to an bonzer relationship. For much than 2 decades, Messi had carried the expectations of a state that could ne'er rather determine what it wanted him to be. He was compared endlessly with Diego Maradona, criticised for not displaying the aforesaid benignant of passionateness and, for years, accused of someway being little Argentinian due to the fact that helium had near for Barcelona arsenic a child.

Yet by the clip helium walked away, the narration betwixt Messi and Argentina had been transformed. The subordinate erstwhile treated arsenic an outsider had go a nationalist awesome successful his ain right.

“And we are full,” Jorge Valdano, a World Cup victor with Argentina successful 1986, replied to Messi’s farewell. Messi whitethorn person emptied himself, but Argentina was afloat of everything helium had fixed it.

Messi played 207 authoritative matches implicit 21 years with his nationalist team, an full lifetime. He scored 125 goals and provided 68 assists. With him connected the pitch, Argentina began each lucifer with astir a extremity guaranteed. He played successful six World Cups, won 1 successful Qatar successful 2022, and reached 2 different finals. The past came little than 2 months agone successful the United States, where, astatine 39 years old, helium had his astir productive World Cup, scoring 8 goals and providing 4 assists.

His past large show came successful the semifinal against England successful Atlanta. Argentina trailed until the last minutes earlier staging a spectacular comeback to triumph 2-1, 1 of the astir celebrated victories successful the past of the nationalist team.

For Argentina, beating England has ne'er been conscionable astir football. The rivalry is inseparable from the quality implicit the Malvinas Islands and the 1982 war. After the semifinal, the players unfurled a defiant anti-colonialist banner asserting Argentina’s claim. Beating England means beating the aged Empire. And for Argentinian football, it inevitably evokes different fig 10: Maradona, whose defining 1986 World Cup included that different historical triumph implicit England.

Messi’s ain triumph implicit England would beryllium to beryllium his past large display. Four days later, determination was small left. Exhausted, helium was hardly progressive arsenic Spain dominated the last but needed other clip to triumph 1-0. “My legs gave retired connected me,” helium aboriginal wrote successful a nationalist missive to his father, who died 20 days aft the match.

Much of the planetary property accused Messi and Argentina of “not knowing however to lose”. As Spain received the World Cup a fewer metres (feet) away, the Argentinian players remained connected the transportation with their backs turned towards the ceremony, aft a fewer of them had been progressive successful a little but disfigured confrontation pursuing the match.

The country was not pleasant. But look astatine it done Messi’s eyes, and it becomes thing else. He stood still, tears successful his eyes, looking towards the supporters who loved him. What others saw arsenic gracelessness successful decision was besides a farewell. Messi already knew that this was goodbye. And, for the archetypal time, his dying begetter could not beryllium determination with him.

Messi had erstwhile been criticised relentlessly successful Argentina because, for each his occurrence elsewhere, helium spent much than a decennary failing to triumph a large rubric with the nationalist team. He adjacent walked distant from it once, successful 2016, earlier coming back. Today, helium leaves arsenic a awesome of persistence, a rarity successful times erstwhile everything is fleeting.

His departure has besides prompted calls for Argentina to discontinue the fig 10 garment successful his honour.

The Argentine Football Association (AFA), which published an affectional farewell video, volition not bash so. In authoritative competitions, FIFA’s squad-numbering rules marque that impossible. Argentina has been present before.

When Diego Maradona died successful 2020, during the societal isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic, the grief was overwhelming. “I would bargain Maradona’s coffin and transportation it done each neighbourhood of mediocre kids … until the sun, the rain, the world and the upwind turned it into ashes that would alert crossed the full territory of the homeland,” the writer Liliana Campazzo wrote astatine the time.

There were calls then, too, to discontinue the fig 10. But doing truthful would person taken the garment distant from Messi, who had worn it for Argentina since 2009 and was inactive penning his ain past successful it.

That matters due to the fact that successful Argentinian football, the fig 10 has ne'er been conscionable a squad number. Traditionally worn by the large originative player, it became a favoritism reserved for the existent genius of the team. Maradona gave it eternal value aft Mexico 1986. Messi past made it his own.

Pele had already made the fig 10 synonymous with footballing genius connected the satellite stage, and generations of large players followed. But obscurity has the garment carried rather the aforesaid value arsenic successful Argentina, wherever it passed from Maradona to Messi.

Maradona and Messi played successful 10 of the past 12 World Cups successful which Argentina competed. Each won one: Maradona successful 1986 and Messi successful 2022. Between them came 3 much appearances successful World Cup finals: Italy 1990 for Diego, Brazil 2014 and the United States successful 2026 for Leo. Together, they scored 29 World Cup goals.

The numbers archer america however overmuch Argentina owed them connected the pitch. They bash not explicate what each came to mean beyond it. And the 2 men could hardly person been much different.

Diego was each excess, generosity and caprice. Millions of Argentinians became his “emotional slaves”, arsenic the Spanish writer Ramon Besa erstwhile wrote. Leo, by contrast, has ever been acold much reserved, possibly due to the fact that helium witnessed Diego’s diminution astatine adjacent quarters and saw the terms of fame.

Messi did not inherit Maradona’s fig by becoming different Maradona. He carried the aforesaid tremendous anticipation successful an wholly antithetic mode and, eventually, made the fig his own. Whoever comes adjacent volition person to bash the same.

These are days of mourning and orphanhood for the nationalist team. Argentina has mislaid Maradona, and now, from the transportation astatine least, it has mislaid Messi. But Argentina has ever been a mill of large players, and shot lives connected the anticipation that determination tin ever beryllium another.

In Spanish, we accidental “no hay dos misdeed tres”: “There is nary 2 without three”. There is nary 3rd yet. Perhaps determination ne'er volition beryllium different Maradona oregon different Messi. But retiring the fig 10 would mean giving up connected the possibility.

Argentina is not acceptable to bash that.

The views expressed successful this nonfiction are the author’s ain and bash not needfully bespeak Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.