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‘Leo has surpassed Diego’: after two decades Argentina embraces Messi
Argentina's football team have reached Sunday's World Cup final against Spain after an impressive 2-1 semi-final win over England, in a match hailed as fresh proof that the country has fully embraced Lionel Messi as its footballing icon. The victory marks a symbolic shift for Argentina, whose footballing identity was for decades defined almost exclusively by Diego Maradona, and suggests that Messi, by asserting his own legacy, is helping to shape a new national footballing identity rather than living permanently in Maradona's shadow.
For years many Argentinians measured Messi against Maradona and found him wanting, doubting he could match Maradona's impact even as the rest of the world admired him. Commentator Tomás Abraham, a 79-year-old writer and philosopher who organises his life around football, argues the England defeat "hurts more than the Hand of God" because it came from a genuinely superior side. The article contrasts Maradona's brash, outspoken embodiment of a self-assured Argentina with Messi's quieter demeanour, framing Messi's growing acceptance as a sign the country's relationship with football, and itself, is changing.
In short
- Argentina beat England 2-1 to reach the World Cup final against Spain.
- Messi is finally being embraced by Argentinians beyond Maradona's shadow.
- Commentators say the win symbolises a shift in Argentina's footballing identity.
Explained simply
Diego Maradona was Argentina's greatest footballer and a towering national figure for decades. He led the country to World Cup victory in 1986 and embodied Argentine boldness and pride, defining how the nation understood itself through football.
Lionel Messi has been Argentina's other supreme talent, but for years many Argentinians doubted him, comparing him unfavourably to Maradona despite his brilliance earning worldwide admiration. This reflected deeper anxieties about whether modern Argentine football could ever match the Maradona era.
Argentina's footballing culture now appears to be entering a new chapter. After two decades of measuring Messi against his predecessor, the country seems finally to have embraced him as an icon in his own right, suggesting a fundamental shift in how Argentinians understand both their football and themselves.
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