Some say he's the greatest player ever. Most did for a while, anyways. Some, including me, continue to say it to this date. One argument those, like me, who say he's the greatest player ever continue to face is that he's never won the World Cup and never shined all that bright on the international stage. Argentina have suffered from a radical imbalance within their team for years now. Too many attackers, no base for them to work off. Messi, in particular, has also suffered from the attention that his reputation has bestowed upon him from defending teams, regularly being double-marked out of the game during World Cup 2010. In Brazil, with the temperature and humidity high, such marking for 90 minutes will be tough, if not implausible. That, combined with some presence of balance finally being brought into the Argentine midfield, with a structured transition from defence to attack and Angel di Maria proving a much more useful link centrally, as opposed to in wide positions during the past, means Messi has never had a better opportunity to shine in football's grandest arena. Alike Casillas, Messi is a player whose 2013-14 campaign saw a fall from grace somewhat, reports of disharmony and disenchantment in the Barcelona dressing room leading to a series of lacklustre performances on the pitch. Some have gone as far as to question whether Messi will ever return to the record-breaking heights of the game he defined for himself in his Ballon D'Or winning years between 2009-12. This is Messi's chance to silence the doubters and, in doing so, take his team to World Cup glory.
Betting on being a brilliant brother to Bodhi since 2008 (-1 Asian Handicap). Find me @LiamJJohnson on Twitter where you might find some wonderful pearls of wisdom in a stout cocktail of profanity, football discussion and general musings. Or you might not. Depends how red my eyes are.
