Messi Takes the Prize for Top Player in the World Cup With Some Bitterness

07/14/2014 - 11h02

Rarely has an award been received with such disgust. Lionel Messi's disappointment was unmistakable when he won the award for best player in the World Cup, minutes after his defeat to Germany in the deciding match of the tournament.

"This means very little to me to tell the truth," said the captain of Argentina. "What I wanted was to have won the final."

At 27, the striker is at an age that is considered the technical and physical peak of a professional soccer player. Since the beginning of the preparation, the Argentine press dubbed the tournament in Brazil as the "Cup of Messi".

"I think he deserved the award for best player of the tournament. Leo played a great World Cup", praised coach Alejandro Sabella.

Messi was especially brilliant in the group stage, where he scored four goals. He was directly responsible for victories over Bosnia, Iran and Nigeria. He sacrificed for tactical scheme starting in the round of 16, no longer marking. He delivered the pass to Di Maria that decided the game against Switzerland.

Required to assist in marking and covering spaces on defense more than he was used to doing, his offensive performance shrank.

In the deciding game on Sunday, July13, he had a great chance to put Argentina ahead on the scoreboard. He kicked it out.

Despite everything, it was the best Cup in Lionel's career. In previous years when he's been on the field (2006 and 2010), he scored only one goal. Both times, the team fell in the quarterfinals.

The choice of Messi was done by the group of FIFA technical studies, made up of experts designated by the organization. Until the 2010 World Cup, there was a poll by journalists accredited to cover the competition.

ACCUSATIONS

At Maracanã, he had the chance to match the player that has always been compared to. Maradona had won a world title with the national team in 1986.

The current Argentine superstar has always been accused of not showing the type of play for the national team that he does with Barcelona, with whom he won all possible titles and was voted best in the world four times (2009-2012).

If it's any consolation, the award given by FIFA fills in part of that gap. Sabella doesn't believe that Messi's legacy is threatened by the lack of a winning World Cup. In 2018, in Russia, the player will turn 31.

"This is a tournament that requires a lot of players. Lionel is already in the olympus of the greatest in history. And for a while", the coach said.

VOMITING

Messi vomited again during the World Cup final. The Argentine playmaker has a history of feeling sick in some games with Barcelona and the Argentina national team as well.

The Spanish club have performed many tests, but have never detected anything.

Friends and colleagues have also talked about the vomiting and the Argentine playmaker said he has no problems playing under the pressure of being the star of the team.

Translated by STEVE HUGHES

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	Agustin Cuevas/Brazil Photo Press/Folhapress
	Lionel Messi's disappointment was unmistakable when he won the award for best player in the World Cup