Where is Messi?English, Asian and Arab journalists ask amidst anger and concern, as if in an echo, at the same time. Where is Messi, has something happened to him?they repeat with different accents, Spanish and South American, disenchanted by the absence of the reason why they participate in the first training open to the press of the national team in Doha.

Nearly 300 journalists from different latitudes were present at the Qatar National University to see Messi. We Argentines had another priority: to see how the “touched”“. But most of the media present, clearly higher in number than those who had gone to watch the training of world champion France the day before, focused their powerful cameras on a door from which the 35-year-old from Rosario never came out.

We had to explain to them that there was nothing to worry about, that it was just the first fifteen minutes, that is Lionel Scaloni used that time to show Marco Acuna, Christian Romero, Papua gomez, Paul Dybala Y Lautaro Martinezthose who were under physical observation, among the 17 who went out to train.

messi wasbut in the gym, next to angel of mary, Nicola Otamendi, Leandro Paredes, Rodrigo De Paul Y Lisandro Martínez. Soon after they joined the others to complete the training. A first technical part and a second tactical part thinking of the debut on Tuesday 22nd against Saudi Arabia, at seven in the morning for Argentina. But there were no more external witnesses.

The disappointment was immense. A Peruvian journalist has promised a live presence with a powerful voice, exclusively for his country, inviting children to experience a historic moment with contagious enthusiasm. He could not obey.

Messi’s magnet is increasingly magnetic. The football planet feels that Qatar 2022 will finally be Leo’s World Cup, after four editions in which he was a protagonist, but without shining at the level of what his magic has allowed us to expect.

Similarly, from Germany 2006 to Russia 2018 he added 19 games, one behind Javier Mascherano and two behind Diego Maradona. That means, Leo touches the Argentine with the most appearances. It is one of the individual records that he can beat, in addition to that of top scorer: he has six goals, the same as Mario Kempes, two fewer than Maradona and Guillermo Stábile, and a little more behind Gabriel Batistuta, leader in the category with 10. .

He is also close to beating Diego’s other record, that of games as captain: Leo has 12 e 10 eternal16.

Also, he reached a world final. It is no small thing, perhaps it is insufficient (even unfair) for the expectation that Messi generates.

For his 15 years at the highest level and for his reduced present at Paris Saint-Germain, but also for the messages of his body when he wears the national team shirt (more and more his own, more and more fun) no one is even encouraged anymore to talk about it.

There is an imperial Messi willing to conquer the part of the world that is not yet his and the football planet knows it.

That is why the eagerness to see him overwhelmed the Qatar National University, even though it was in training.

Doha, Qatar. Special delivery.