Messi’s hero, a party for those who love football – commentary by director Barigelli

It wasn’t the World Cup of Games, it was the Players’ Championship. At that time, it was he, Leo Messi, who lifted the trophy, the strongest in the last 20 years. He had lacked the trophy trophy to fulfill the task that an entire people had given him for some time. When I speak of the entire population, I am referring not only to Argentines, but to a much larger audience of football fans. Messi is a genius in any body, but rather in a body that does not have anything athletic in it. Flea already. But in football, physical fitness can suffice if you have the head of an artist and the feet of a god. Messi turned to football even those who are not interested in football, even those who despise it. It is the miracle of talent that cuts through any prejudice and reaches into anyone’s heart. It is the connection with Maradona, no matter how different it is from him. Different personalities, different lives. But on the football field instead of brothers.

Who’s bigger? Does that really matter at this point in the story? Ratings are fun, but unfair. Useful for an evening out, useless if you want to find a grain of truth in it. Maradona was a man against, he would not have participated in Emir of Qatar’s team. He chose Napoli, and in this coveted, sure, never betrayed choice, there is pure Diego. Messi does not have that size. But he only succeeded in bringing the World Cup back to Argentina, at the last possible opportunity. His footballing time is almost over, Mbappe announced.

The Frenchman is an absolute phenomenon that does not know where to place him in the family tree of the best footballers. She is not like anyone but herself. Like everyone else who interprets football these days. On the basis of great athleticism (you have to train quickly, talent is not enough) Mbappe added an extraordinary artistic sample. He twice put France back on track when all seemed lost. He scored four goals in the World Cup final, three of them right from the penalty spot, but this fact does not make the result any less spectacular. His team supported him less than Argentina supported Messi. Lost before starting Benzema, Pogba and Kante. He lost during yesterday’s match Theo, Jiro and Griezmann. A lot even for Mbappe. France as a whole is more valuable than Argentina, they have a better team: the future is theirs. He may not even win the next European Championship or the next World Cup, but it is unlikely that he will not be the protagonist of both.

It was the nicest World Final, at least as far as memory can go or old footage can come to the rescue. The occurrence of the most insane tournament in its location and the most mysterious in its attribution confirms that football and sports know how to find a cure for themselves when everything conspires against them. We’ve seen so much, we missed a final at Christmas, but honestly we don’t feel the need to show up. The next edition will return in the summer, on the other hand, it will be played in three countries (Canada, the United States, Mexico) and it will feature 48 teams instead of 32. Just to stay in practice with anomalies.

It is hard to believe that there will be no Italy. We have become specialists in cheering for other national teams, after two World Cups as spectators. Since 2006 we’ve accumulated bad impressions or we haven’t even introduced ourselves. We had our fullness of justifications, and I think they are exhausted now that the Italians have run out of patience. There is a European to be affirmed and a world to be conquered, at least in terms of participation. Let’s go back to Italy. Not much to ask for, but just right.