Lionel Messi may be the back-to-back Ballon d’Or winner, but he still has his doubters at international level; however we silenced them with his stellar hat-trick in Argentina’s 3-1 win over Switzerland.
The game in Bern appeared destined for a 1-1 draw before Messi hit his decisive double blow.
It may have only been a friendly, but the Barcelona forward was a relieved man and full of joy post game.
“I had been waiting for a long time for this moment because on a lot of occasions things didn’t work out for me,” Messi told Argentine TV.
“Now, things have worked out, the team won and we did well. It’s special because it happened with the national team.”
Messi may be the star man at world, European and Spanish champions Barcelona but he failed to score at the 2011 Copa America nor the 2010 World Cup, which has led to some criticism of him at international level.
The Argentine continued: “I’ve said on a lot of occasions that we can’t compare with Barcelona, they are two different things, but it’s also the case the national team has great players capable of playing great games.
“I’ve known the Kun ( Sergio Aguero) for a long time and the same goes for Pipita (Gonzalo Higuain), it’s easy to strike up an understanding with them on the pitch and we have a good relationship off it, which is also important. There is still a big margin for improvement, we just have to continue like this.”
Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella wasn’t fond of the criticism aimed at Messi for his World Cup performance and was delighted to see him silence his doubters.
“The fact that he didn’t score doesn’t mean that he didn’t play well at the last World Cup,” Sabella told reporters.
“He set up several goals and created a lot of chances. Sometimes, the ball goes in and sometimes it doesn’t.”
Sabella added having Messi was a “blessing” for the Albiceleste.
“Having him in the team is a blessing, we all have to take care of him,” he said. “Messi almost always plays well. Lately, [he] is having great performances with the team.”
Again, it was only a friendly, but getting the monkey off his back will no doubt do Messi the world of good. We know he’s a superstar. After he’s a back-to-back Ballon d’Or winner. Lets hope it’s the catalyst to bring the best out in him at international level.