It's bizarre how long it took Argentinians to learn to love Leo Messi. His exile from his declining homeland always made him suspect. The comparison with Maradona hung over him from the start. And why was he hardly ever as good for Argentina as he was for Barcelona? We tell the story of the world's best player's complex relationship with his own country, and how it finally had a happy end.
Timestamps:
00:00:02 - Introduction
00:01:18 - Messi's fraught relationship with Argentina
00:06:24 - Messi as the embodiment of the Pibe archetype
00:11:36 - Messi's early international career and struggles with Argentina
00:18:52 - 2014 World Cup and Argentina's attempt at a "Messi strategy"
00:24:06 - 2014 World Cup disappointment and Messi's frustrations
00:29:19 - Psychoanalysis of Messi's perceived lack of Argentinian-ness
00:36:58 - Messi finally wins Copa America in 2021
00:39:35 - 2022 World Cup in Qatar and initial struggles
00:40:24 - Argentina's resurgence and Messi's leadership
00:42:15 - Winning the 2022 World Cup as a team
00:44:26 - Messi's place in Argentinian history compared to Maradona
00:46:10 - Speculation on Messi's life without football
00:48:02 - Would the hosts want to hang out with Messi?
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