Messi Enjoys Deciding Games

07/16/2014 - 11h06

Lionel Messi enjoys deciding games. There are players who gain fame by disappearing in big games. This is not the case of jersey number 10 on the Argentina squad.

"What people do not understand is that Leo faces every game with more seriousness than usual", said his father, Jorge Messi.

Messi has decisive goals in two Champions League finals (2009 and 2011). He scored two against Santos in the Club World Cup in 2011.

He made goals that gave the Argentina U-20 a title in 2005. Not counting matches that were not finals. He only went blank in his contention for a gold medal in the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

"Having Messi on the pitch is a privilege, a factor of imbalance. Everyone knows what he can do", said Lavezzi.

Messi has been double, and sometimes triple, covered throughout the 2014 World Cup.

He assumed the cliche that a star player needs only a ball to rule. In individual play, he scored the winning goal against Iran. Facing Switzerland in the round of 16, he only received a pass freed up. He made the pass in which Di María advanced Argentina.

"You do not want to be near Leo if he is defeated. It's as if the world had ended. He knows the expectations that he carries, even more in important games", defined Lucas Scaglia, a childhood friend and the brother of Messi's wife, Antonella Roccuzzo.

Piqué remember when Barcelona lost a meaningless game. In the locker room, Messi was alone, crying in a corner.

Messi is used to being the star at decisive moments. But a Cup final is the biggest stage he's ever stepped on with the mission to be the protagonist.

Translated by STEVE HUGHES