9781422278284

The magic of Messi’s dazzling

footwork is summarized here

By the time of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Messi had emerged as an international superstar. He had been named FIFA World Player of the Year in 2009, which led to a new contract with his club team in Barcelona worth more than $16 million annually. At the World Cup, Javier Mascherano was Argentina’s captain, but Messi was one of the team leaders. The team had not played well during qualifying, but nonetheless was expected to do well in the tournament. The Albiceleste did not disappoint in the group stage, going undefeated. Argentina faced Mexico in its first match of the knockout stage, and won 3–1, with Messi assisting on the opening goal. Argentina was once again eliminated by Germany in the quarterfinals, a decent result for what was considered to be an average team. Looking to improve upon these disappointing international results, Argentina hired Alejandro Sabella as manager in August 2011. Sabella immediately secured an agreement with Mascherano to transfer the captaincy to Messi. This change in leadership and responsibility was a launching board for Messi. In 2012, he scored a team record of 12 goals in just nine matches. During qualifying for the 2014 World Cup, he scored another 10 goals in 14 matches.

Messi was now considered by many to be the top player in the world.

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