Centenary La Pulga: Lionel Messi puts together another show in blue and white and leaves full of Argentine love

There was a closing ceremony for the full orchestra. And the person in charge of directing it was a certain Lionel Andres Messiwho took advantage of the second friendly of this unforgettable party in the country of the world champion team to continue making the history of the greatest. Here, in a Santiago del Estero totally surrendered to his figure, in front of more than 40,000 spectators and exactly one hundred days after lifting the Cup in Qatar, the The blue-and-white captain scored his 100th goal for Argentina against weak Curacao. But Leo has a serious problem and it is that he can’t take any match lightly, even if it’s an exhibition, that’s why he bet more and scored a hat-trick in the show at the Scaloneta, which he beat 7-0 on the Estadio Único Madre de Ciudades. . He already has 102 shouts in 174 engagements with the AFA shield on his chest. Inexhaustible. incomparable.

Don’t calm down, Messi. Never. It doesn’t stop. Never. It doesn’t take its foot off the accelerator because this is its essence, always going further, being a car to compete at the highest levels, regardless of who’s in front of it. That’s why he came out to play in the warm night of the Argentine North in World mode. Total owner of football, the 10 was very inserted from the start and was unstoppable due to Curaçao’s too fragile defense. Two minutes later he had already given an unbeatable assist to Lautaro Martínez who missed with a free arc in the small area.

But it was marked: the first of the day had to be made by Messi. The curious thing was that he did it with his less able right leg. Germán Pezzella stole in the middle and Giovani Lo Celso found the best in the world who hooked him and struck with his right foot. The stadium screens immediately showed the number 100. It was also, according to the statistics bearing the flag of his country, his tenth goal with his right foot and the number 102 in his entire career.

He had already had a couple of shots that goalkeeper Eloy Room had covered. For a moment it seemed that the match could be as difficult as against Panama’s last closed line last Thursday at the Monumental. But Leo was in charge of pulverizing every illusion of Curaçao to steal attention.

The referee, Uruguayan Gustavo Tejera, took the ball from Messi’s goal as Rosario’s star was being complimented by all his team-mates and handed it to a collaborator for safe custody. The captain wanted it for his collection. Furthermore, at the end of the game, it was Leo himself who asked him to change the Room goalkeeper’s shirt. Of course, he also wanted to preserve the memory of his centenary victim.

What he didn’t know is that he would also get another one for the hat-trick he completed later. Those three goals came in a span of 17 minutes. Nicolás González, the author of the 2-0, dressed as an assistant for the third of the Selection, the second of the Pulce, which this time he defined as left-handed. With everything sorted out, he never pulled the handbrake. And he scored another: masterful overhead pass from Gio Lo Celso, which left him at 10 in the one-on-one. Foolproof, Messi billed against a stick.

Thus he leaves behind more and more Gabriel Omar Batistuta, second scorer of all time in the national team with 54 goals. Third is Sergio Agüero (42) and then Hernán Crespo (35), Diego Armando Maradona (32) and Gonzalo Higuaín (32). All already retired. And that Messi could have scored more goals on the night in Santiago. A free kick goes wide. The goalkeeper covered him face to face after a nice assist from Ángel Di María and another violent left against the post. And he gave the penalty for the sixth goal to his friend Fideo.

It has been 17 years since his debut on the net with the national team. Messi scored for the first time in 2006 against Croatia. His cries painted in blue and white are distributed as follows: 13 at the World Cup, 13 in the Copa América, 28 in qualifying matches and 48 in friendlies. And for his records, he added Santiago del Estero as one of the cities where he scored: he had already converted in Buenos Aires (18), of course, in Mendoza (3), in San Juan (3), in Córdoba (2 ) and one in La Plata.

The end of the party was perfect. Lionel Messi once again lifted the Cup of his life in front of the Argentines, received a plaque and a special jersey from Claudio Tapia, president of the AFA, and made the Olympic tour with his teammates with jumps and chants pure. This time his family wasn’t there, but the emotion was great because the recognition goes hand in hand with what Messi himself continues to give on the pitch.

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