Lionel Messi and Argentina celebrate after winning the 2022 FIFA World Cup final

Lionel Messi and Argentina celebrate after winning the 2022 FIFA World Cup final | FOX Soccer

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"If indeed this was Messi’s last World Cup. What a way to close this chapter in his life. Absolutely beautiful game. Congratulations Argentina"

 

-- Sal

 

 

"Even if you’re not from Argentina you have to admit this was emotional. God bless you Messi"

-- Juan Escalante

 

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"Although I'm not Argentinian, I almost cried when I saw they finally won. I love Messi, and have been longing for his World Cup for years. The final tournament is really a good match, the referee is fair to both teams. Congrats, Argentina. Congrats, our King of football - Messi"

-- Wei Sun

 

"A beautiful ending to Messi’s international story. LETS GO"

-- Yoshitatsu Matsuoka

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Lionel Messi: One of the all-time soccer greats, an Argentine of Cisalpine ancestry

Lionel Messi (Wikipedia)

Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish club FC Barcelona and the Argentina national team. He serves as the captain of his country's national football team.

By the age of 21, Messi had received Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations. The following year, in 2009, he won his first Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards. He followed this up by winning the inaugural FIFA Ballon d'Or in 2010, and then again in 2011 and 2012. He also won the 2010–11 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award. At the age of 24, Messi became Barcelona's all-time top scorer in all official club competitions. At age 25, Messi became the youngest player to score 200 goals in La Liga.

Commonly ranked as the best player in the world and rated by some in the sport as the greatest of all time, Messi is the first football player in history to win four FIFA/Ballons d'Or, all of which he won consecutively, as well as the first to win three European Golden Shoe awards. With Barcelona, Messi has won six La Ligas, two Copas del Rey, six Supercopas de España, three UEFA Champions Leagues, two UEFA Super Cups and two Club World Cups.

Messi is the first and only player to top-score in four consecutive Champions League campaigns, and also holds the record for the most hat-tricks scored in the competition. In March 2012, Messi made Champions League history by becoming the first player to score five goals in one match. He also matched José Altafini's record of 14 goals in a single Champions League season. Messi set the European record for most goals scored in a season during the 2011–12 season, with 73 goals. In the same season, he set the current goalscoring record in a single La Liga season, scoring 50 goals. Also in that season, Messi became the first player ever to score and assist in six different official competitions in one season.

Messi with girlfriend Antonella Roccuzzo and son.

 
On 16 February 2013, Messi scored his 300th Barcelona goal. On 30 March 2013, Messi scored in his 19th consecutive La Liga game, becoming the first footballer in history to net in consecutive matches against every team in a professional football league. He extended his record scoring streak to 21 consecutive league matches, and the run came to a halt only when he sustained a hamstring injury. In March 2014, with a hat-trick against Real Madrid, Messi became the player with the most goals and most hat-tricks in the history of El Clásico.

Messi helped Argentina win the 2005 FIFA U-20 World Cup, finishing as both the best player and the top scorer (with 6 goals). In 2006, he became the youngest Argentine to play and score in the FIFA World Cup, and won a runners-up medal at the Copa América in 2007, in which he was named young player of the tournament. In 2008, he won an Olympic Gold Medal with the Argentina Olympic football team. In 2013, SportsPro rated him the second-most marketable athlete in the world.[8] His playing style and stature have drawn comparisons to compatriot Diego Maradona, who himself declared Messi his "successor". In 2014, Messi led Argentina to the World Cup Final, winning four consecutive Man of the Match awards in the process. He won the Golden Ball award after being adjudged the best player of the tournament.

Don’t Cry for Messi, Argentina. This Germany Team Is One of the Best in Years.

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World Cup 2006: In Retrospect

[Above: North Beach after Italy won the World Cup in 2006]

This blog started a few months after the 2006 World Cup of soccer, in which the Italian team won. I had always planned on writing something about it, but never did. I did mention it at least once, and had written a piece on the Torino Winter Olympics aftermath. Looking back, especially from our perspective, the Torino Winter Olympics of 2006, and the FIFA Soccer World Cup of 2006, had some amazing similarities. Both represented some amazing worldwide links, that were, at least temporarily, reconnected. In that way, there was an added excitement to those times. At least for me.

We had featured a video on our YouTube page, which showed a celebration in North Beach, San Francisco, just after Italy had won. What I found amazing is that it was mostly locals, who almost like, rediscovered their roots, with a mixture of Italian nationals, and others. That also was an interesting dynamic, as Italian nationals (chiefly tourists or those working abroad) mixed with the long-standing local Italian-American population, thousands of miles and seventy-plus years disconnected.

Of course, there's the issue of our concept(s) of "Italy," which I think is best saved for another time. I saw where a couple of east coast posters, on message boards, said they didn't care about the World Cup because their families were from Southern Italy, and most of the team was from the north. That's very unusual, as with the vast majority, it was "Italy, Italy, Italy," all the way.

What it boils down to, is that I wanted to send a message to our Padanian friends, that we are here. North Beach is indeed known in Italy, and there has always been at least a trickle of immigration from Italy. However, as a whole, we Californians are not well-known in Italy. Not remotely as much as those in New York, Chicago, or Philadelphia are. I realize that I'm mixing apples and oranges here, but it's difficult not to in this subject.

For me, Torino 2006 sewed stronger connections. It was in Piemonte, located in the same northwest Italian region where so many of us have roots. Then there was Californian Julia Mancuso, being cheered by the Italian fans as she won the Gold. That was an amazing moment!

However, it was in the World Cup period that we saw celebrations in the streets of the "Little Italys." Not only in cities like Rome, but in New York City, Boston, Montreal, Toronto, San Francisco, San Diego, Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, Melbourne, etc. You can still see them on YouTube.

Just a side note, but I find the World Cup of Rugby to be more exciting than soccer. Rubgy is the English sport which was the origin for American football. It's played with a ball that is like a hybrid of an American football and a soccer ball. The best teams are from the British Isles, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. A very up-and-coming team is the Argentine team, which seems to be made up of mostly Northern Italian-descended players. I would also like to add that, possibly, the greatest rugby player of all time was David Campese; an Australian of Northern Italian descent.

I wanted to finish with a little story that I already had written once here I think. I still remember how after Italy had won the World Cup in 1982, there was a huge amount of noise in the Southern Hills district of Daly City (just south of San Francisco), which had a sizable Italian-American population then. I visited the same neighborhood to watch the World Cup in 2006. After Italy had won, there was an eerie, almost complete silence.