Photo: Alfredo Luna.
At 9:08 p.m. on the cold night at Mas Monumental, when they averaged 52 minutes of the victory against Paraguay (1-0)what the crowd was waiting for so much at the River Plate stadium took place and what dominated the Argentine national team’s agenda throughout the entire week: the return of Lionel Messi.
It is true that it was not a return preceded by a long absence, but it was a desired return because, definitely, playing a game with the best in the world on the substitute bench is disturbing, to say the least.
The public knew in advance that Leo would not be available from the beginning due to the muscle discomfort that plagued him since his debut in the Qualifiers against Ecuador, on September 7, the night he rubbed the lamp and resolved the match with a free kick in the arch of the headwaters of the Río de la Plata.
Due to this injury, the Argentine captain did not play the next match of the South American qualifying round against Bolivia in La Paz and added a few minutes in just two games with Inter Miami in the Major League Soccer in the United States.
The Argentine fans throbbed their entrance from early on, throughout the day, with anxious reactions when the giant screen showed their arrival at the stadium, when they went out onto the field with the team for the previous warm-up and also when the lineups were announced over the loudspeakers. of the Monumental.
As in every match, thousands of fans, especially children, flock to the field to fulfill the dream of seeing the legend of the Argentine national team live in the final stage of his beautiful story with the “albiceleste.” How many more games will he have left in the country?
Photo: Alfredo Luna.
After watching Argentina’s great first half sitting on the substitute bench next to Leandro Paredes and Giovani Lo Celso and enjoying the early goal by Nicolás Otamendi, who inherited the captain’s ribbon, Messi began the pre-competitive movements and Scaloni called it past five minutes of the second period.
The enthusiasm in the stands translated into a unanimous exclamation and the immediate reverential chant: “Meeessi, Meeessi, Meeessi…”.
Leo put on shirt number 10, his shirt, and jumped onto the field for Julián Álvarez. Otamendi, in a hurry, approached to return the bracelet, his bracelet.
And the captain went into action without fear, hiding any physical conditioning resulting from his recent inactivity. Before 10 minutes, he made two frenetic transfers of the ball with his signature, in an attempt to open Paraguay’s defensive wall.
Two movements that meant peace of mind for the fans to the extent that they showed the characteristic Messi, capable of changing the rhythm of a play.
In any case, perhaps due to recommendation and good sense, their movements on the field were controlled, also by the context of a match that became shorter in the final half hour.
With an opponent not getting dangerously close to Emiliano “Dibu” Martínez’s goal, Argentina made the clock run, dominated the ball safely and that allowed Messi to avoid wear and tear, friction, sudden movements and for the moment walking, like It is also typical of its mature version.
Photo: Alfredo Luna.
Of course there were interventions to light up the stands: a dribble from foot to foot, a stop, a spoon pass, a tight corner kick that hit Carlos Coronel’s crossbar and another free kick that hit the post, from a position similar to the one it converted with Ecuador.
The goal was not possible but his return was, which represents great news for football. Next Tuesday, against Peru in Lima, there will surely be more of Leo and why not get the goal that transforms him into the greatest historical scorer in the South American Qualifiers.
2023-10-13 01:42:00
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