Messi has won every possible tournament at his club, FC Barcelona. Argentina regularly produces world class soccer players that excel in Europe. Argentina has also won two World Cups. So, the question arises: why hasn’t the pulga lifted any trophies with the albiceleste?
Theories abound. Some claim that Messi relies on the midfield brilliance of Barcelona players Xavi and Iniesta. Others point to generational talent gaps in his national team. A decade ago, Argentina rode a wave of creative midfielders with Veron, Riquelme, and Aimar. Now, however, they feast on forwards like Tevez, Aguero, and Higuain. This lack of balance complicates team formations, especially since Ever Banega plays enganche about as well as he sets his parking brake. Some point to the long shadow of Diego Maradona. The pulga cannot escape the legacy of the pibe diez, they speculate.
All these theories are quaint. They are also wrong. Why? Because they are myopic. The soccer universe has constructed an elaborate lexicon and discourse to explain itself, yet this closed system chokes off alternative explanations. Messi, and Argentina, won’t win anything for the foreseeable future and it has nothing to do with soccer. Allow me to explain. Continue reading “Explaining Why Messi & Argentina May Never Win Again” »
It’s been over two years since I last spilled ink on South American soccer. Thanks to the excellent Futbol y Asociados, I brought you the story of the altered cedula (national id card). Basically, a young Argentine got a national ID card and wore his team’s jersey in the picture. He received his cedula a week later, but one of the officials apparently was a fan of a rival team and had handwritten in a margin the score of a recent victory. The result? The kid’s high school would not admit him because his identity document was altered. D’oh!