Soccer-Messi farewell closes a long, hard-won love story with Argentina

Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup 2026 - Final - Spain v Argentina - New York/New Jersey Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, U.S. - July 19, 2026 Argentina's Lionel Messi in action IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters/James Lang

Oct 4 (Reuters) - When Lionel Messi makes his final appearance ⁠for Argentina on Tuesday, it will bring to an end a journey that began with the country's football authorities not even knowing his name ⁠and evolved into one of the most enduring relationships in sporting history.

The farewell against Benin at Buenos Aires' Monumental stadium ends an ‌international career spanning more than two decades, which began with Argentina scrambling to identify a teenage prodigy developing far from home.

"He went through so many moments that they're really very different eras. At first he suffered enormously with the national team. He truly endured it," Argentine journalist and author Sergio Levinsky, who wrote "Messi and Everything Else", told Reuters.

Messi moved to Barcelona as a teenager and, ​while Spain tried to persuade him to represent them, his own country barely knew he existed.

At ⁠the 2003 Under-17 World Cup in Finland, Spain beat Argentina ⁠3-2 after extra time in the semi-finals.

According toLevinsky, a young Cesc Fabregas, who scored twice and was Messi's teammate at Barcelona's La Masia academy, told Argentine ⁠delegates ‌afterwards: "You lost to us because we've got your best player at Barcelona and he's a genius."

Argentina youth coach Hugo Tocalli recalled a similar encounter. He said at the Ole Summit last month that Spain's head chef told him Argentina needed "a kid who plays in Barcelona" to win the tournament.

Finding the ⁠boy from Rosario proved difficult.

Argentine Football Association (AFA)employee Omar Souto tracked down the Messi family in ​Spain through a Rosario telephone directory, only to ask ‌for "Leonardo".

"His name isn't Leonardo, it's Lionel,"Souto was told, according to the documentary "Messi: The Forgotten Tape".

The confusion evenextended to the paperwork.

The AFA sent Barcelona ⁠a fax asking about ​a player called "Mecci," spelling the surname with a double "c" because officials believed he might be Italian, Levinsky said.

A LOVE UNDER CONSTRUCTION

After those complications, Messi played two under-20 friendlies for Argentina in 2004, his first appearances in the blue and white stripes.

Yet scepticism lingered.

At the 2005 Under-20 World Cup in the Netherlands,Messi began on the bench as Argentina lost their opening game.

"There ⁠was strong resistance to calling up a kid who didn't play in the country," ​Levinsky said. "He had to fight against those early suspicions, against being considered a foreigner because he lived in Spain."

He was later criticised for failing to reproduce his club form and labelled "pecho frio", lacking heart or fire, by some fans.

A World Cup qualifier against Colombia in 2011 began to change that perception,asMessi helped Argentina rally from a ⁠goal down to win in difficult conditions.

"He was exhausted, even vomiting, and he ended up winning," Levinsky said. "It was the first time fans saw him differently."

The bond strengthened when Messi briefly retired after Argentina's penalty shootout defeat by Chile in the 2016 Copa America final. Rather than blame him, Argentines pleaded publicly for him to return.

"People realised he was not responsible for the defeats.He was the one getting them to finals," Levinsky added.

Under Lionel Scaloni, Messi became the undisputed leader of ​a new generation, guiding Argentina to two Copa America titles and the 2022 World Cup.

His evolution into a more ⁠outspoken captain drew comparisons with Diego Maradona, but Levinsky said the usual debate between Argentina's two biggest icons missed the point.

"It is Messi and Maradona," he added. "They were ​both geniuses in different eras."

For Levinsky, Argentina's affection for Messi was not as immediate as it was ‌for Maradona. It developed around a player whose upbringing and career unfolded largely ​abroad but who grew closer to supporters over time.

"Messi was like suddenly finding out you have an 18-year-old son," Levinsky said. "You have to start loving him without having known he existed. It was a love under construction."

(Reporting by Angelica Medina in Mexico City, editing by Pritha Sarkar)

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足球 - 2026年国际足联世界杯 - 决赛 - 西班牙对阵阿根廷 - 美国新泽西州东卢瑟福纽约/新泽西体育场 - 2026年7月19日 阿根廷球员莱昂内尔·梅西比赛瞬间 图片来源：路透社/詹姆斯·朗

10 月 4 日（路透社）——周二，当莱昂内尔·梅西最后一次代表阿根廷国家队出场时，一段始于阿根廷足球当局甚至不知道他名字的旅程，将就此结束，而这段旅程最终发展成为体育史上最持久的关系之一。

在布宜诺斯艾利斯纪念碑球场对阵贝宁的告别赛，为这位球员长达二十多年的国际职业生涯画上了句号。他的职业生涯始于阿根廷竭力寻找一位远离家乡、正在成长的少年天才。

“他经历了太多时刻，那真是截然不同的时代。起初，他在国家队遭受了巨大的痛苦。他真的挺过来了，”阿根廷记者兼作家塞尔吉奥·列文斯基（著有《梅西和其他一切》一书）告诉路透社。

梅西十几岁时搬到了巴塞罗那，虽然西班牙试图说服他代表西班牙出战，但他的祖国却几乎不知道他的存在。

在 2003 年芬兰举行的 U17 世界杯上，西班牙在半决赛加时赛中以 3-2 击败阿根廷。

据列文斯基说，年轻的塞斯克·法布雷加斯（他在巴塞罗那拉玛西亚青训营与梅西是队友，并打入两球）赛后告诉阿根廷代表团：“你们输给了我们，因为我们在巴塞罗那拥有你们最好的球员，他是个天才。”

阿根廷青年队教练雨果·托卡利回忆起过类似的经历。他上个月在奥莱峰会上说，西班牙主教练告诉他，阿根廷需要“一个在巴塞罗那踢球的孩子”才能赢得比赛。

找到那个来自罗萨里奥的男孩很困难。

阿根廷足球协会 (AFA) 员工奥马尔·索托通过罗萨里奥的电话簿找到了身在西班牙的梅西一家，只是为了询问“莱昂纳多”。

据纪录片《梅西：被遗忘的录像带》记载，有人告诉索托：“他的名字不是莱昂纳多，而是莱昂内尔。”

甚至连文书工作也陷入了混乱。

莱文斯基说，阿根廷足协向巴塞罗那发了一份传真，询问一名名叫“Mecci”的球员的情况，之所以将姓氏拼写成“Mecci”，是因为官员们认为他可能是意大利人。

一段正在建设中的爱情

经历了这些波折之后，梅西在 2004 年代表阿根廷参加了两场 U20 友谊赛，这是他首次身披蓝白条纹球衣亮相。

然而，怀疑之心依然挥之不去。

在 2005 年荷兰举行的 U20 世界杯上，梅西在阿根廷首场比赛中坐在替补席上，阿根廷队输掉了比赛。

列文斯基说：“当时人们强烈反对征召一个不在国内踢球的孩子。他必须克服早期的种种疑虑，因为他住在西班牙，所以很难被视为外国人。”

后来，他因未能重现俱乐部时期的状态而受到批评，一些球迷甚至称他“缺乏激情”或“冷酷无情”。

2011 年世界杯预选赛对阵哥伦比亚的比赛开始改变这种看法，梅西帮助阿根廷在落后一球的情况下逆转取胜，比赛条件十分艰难。

“他当时筋疲力尽，甚至呕吐了，但最终还是赢了，”莱文斯基说。“这是球迷们第一次对他有了不同的认识。”

2016年美洲杯决赛阿根廷点球大战负于智利后，梅西短暂宣布退役，这反而加深了阿根廷球迷与他之​​间的情谊。阿根廷人没有责怪他，反而公开恳求他回归。

“人们意识到他不必为失利负责。是他带领球队打进了决赛，”莱文斯基补充道。

在莱昂内尔·斯卡洛尼的指导下，梅西成为新一代球员无可争议的领袖，带领阿根廷队两次夺得美洲杯冠军，并赢得了 2022 年世界杯冠军。

他逐渐成长为一位更加直言不讳的队长，这让人联想到迭戈·马拉多纳，但莱文斯基表示，阿根廷两位最大偶像之间的通常争论并没有抓住重点。

“是梅西和马拉多纳，”他补充道。“他们都是不同时代的足球天才。”

列文斯基认为，阿根廷人对梅西的喜爱并非像对马拉多纳那样立竿见影。这种喜爱是围绕着一位成长和职业生涯主要在国外展开，但随着时间的推移与球迷建立起越来越紧密联系的球员而逐渐形成的。

“梅西就像突然发现自己有个18岁的儿子，”莱文斯基说。“你必须在完全不知道他存在的情况下开始爱他。这是一种正在建立中的爱。”

（墨西哥城 Angelica Medina 报道，Pritha Sarkar 编辑）

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