Great players never give up. Great players do historic things in key moments. Lionel Messi is the most accomplished, successful and feted footballer of his generation because he cannot be subdued for long. Tightly marked and facing a Swiss defence that resembled a forbidding mountain range at times, Argentina's No 10 conjured up some magic when it mattered most.
Collecting the ball after 118 minutes, Messi angled his run across the Swiss box, glided round Fabian Schaer and stroked a pass right to Ángel di María. Argentina's No 7, whose Real Madrid form had hitherto deserted him in this stultifying game, caught the ball sweetly, sending a low shot into the net, sending the reserves spilling on to the pitch, and sending the Argentina fans into raptures, waving their shirts above their head.
There were grown men, stripped to the waist, crying with joy at the vision of Messi and the finish of Di María, a combination that sent Argentina into the quarter-finals. They all gave thanks to Messi, to the man who had kept their World Cup dream alive. Di María scored but the nation's gratitude belonged to Messi.
How he craves this trophy; it was clear in his every move, his every attempt to escape his many markers. In front of the watching Pele, Messi knows he needs to hold the World Cup to stand among the legends of the game like Pele and Diego Maradona. Messi has achieved so much with Barcelona. He has won Champions Leagues and Ballons d'Or. At 27, he has to do it with Argentina.
Messi is keeping his side of the bargain with Argentina. His determination, stamina and technique have enabled him to either score or engineer late goals at this World Cup. Four times he has played in this wonderful tournament here. Four times he has been voted man of the match.
"I don't know whether I deserved it or not,'' Messi said. "What's important is that we went through, Like everybody I was very nervous because we couldn't score. We suffered, suffered and suffered. We started to think it wasn't going to happen. We knew if we made a single mistake we would have been going home.
"Big teams have gone that nobody expected to be gone and others that nobody thought would be here still are. There are no easy opponents in the World Cup. We didn't want it to go to penalties and wanted to finish it off. When I first got the ball I thought about taking the chance and shooting myself but then I saw Ángel and made the pass.''
Messi was speaking after collecting the man-of-the-match trophy and it was a surprise that Valon Behrami and Gokhan Inler did not track him on to the rostrum. The Swiss guards were out in force against the Pope's compatriots. One fan strode into the Arena Corinthians dressed as the Pope, smiling beatifically at fellow Argentines. The fans had arrived in the mood to pay homage to Messi. His name adorns the shirts of countless fans, who sang his name with passion at the end. He is a bringer of hope, a shaper of reverie, a messiah in stripes.
Some of his 20,000+ travelling disciples had left their cars a couple of miles away from the ground, outside the security cordon, paying a few reals to park in petrol stations. They rolled up the hill, a tide of blue and white, some pausing at the pavement stalls to buy chocolate cakes made by local children, others hurrying on, eager to be in situ for the warm-up, to seize every opportunity to watch a maestro at work.
Inside Arena Corinthians, many Argentine fans broke into "we are not worthy" bowing salutes when Messi's name was read out. Awaiting the call to arms, Argentina's captain stood in the tunnel, smiling occasionally, adjusting the armband on his left biceps and spraying water on to the nape of his neck. He knew all eyes were on him. He also needed help. At times, it seemed Messi was playing the Swiss on his own.
From the kick-off, Messi took the ball from the ineffective Gonzalo Higuaín and tried to launch a move. Almost immediately, Ottmar Hitzfeld's tactics were apparent, Swiss swarming around Messi. The veteran coach had promised a well-prepared reception committee and he was true to his word. Within seconds Messi was being closed down by Admir Mehmedi. It set the theme of the half: Messi taking the ball and the Swiss crowding him out, sending him down cul-de-sacs.
Switzerland's game plan stayed within the bounds of legitimacy for the most part. They hustled and harried, disrupting Argentina's moves, slowing their tempo. They looked to hit on the break. Argentina were very aware of Switzerland's danger-man, Xherdan Shaqiri, who quickly became a favourite of the watching Brazilians with some of his trickery against Argentina. They booed when Fernando Gago slid in on him.
They cheered when Shaqiri created a good opportunity on the left, ending with Inler shooting over as a lone Swiss cow-bell tolled plaintively.
Inler and Behrami continued to shadow Messi. Johan Djourou was terrific at the heart of the Swiss defence. Argentina's own defence, a much-scrutinised unit, was grateful to their oft-criticised keeper Sergio Romero, who saved from Granit Xhaka and Stephan Lichtsteiner. As the half closed, Romero read Josip Drmic's intentions and caught the striker's attempted chip. The Brazilians were furious, gesticulating at Drmic for failing to score against their great rivals.
Argentina went close. Higuaín had a powerful close-range pushed over by Benaglio but then came Messi and Di María. Switzerland threw everyone forward, including Benaglio. Blerim Dzemaili almost forced penalties with a header on to the post and then a shot. Shaqiri sent a free-kick into the wall and then the final whistle blew.
For Hitzfeld, the denouement carried unwelcome echoes of events in 1999 in the Nou Camp that was to become Messi's home. The former Bayern Munich coach even mentioned that stunning last-minute loss to Manchester United in the Champions League. He still recorded two Champions League trophies with Borussia Dortmund and eventually with Bayern and heads into retirement, into the television studio, with the memory of a magnificent coaching career and the admiration of the football community.
Messi, meanwhile, marches on.
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