Tears brought you back to a calm July night 36 years ago. When Leo Messi stood on the pitch at MetLife Stadium – in defeat – on Sunday night, it was impossible not to remember. Diego Maradona. ‘El Diego’ was not comforted as the Germans went on to win the World Cup at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico after a 1-0 win in the 1990 tournament.Two geniuses, two completely different characters, yet very similar in trying to protect the last glory that their professional lives have to offer. Messi could have easily walked after Qatar High. Not many would have asked Maradona if Argentina had not matched the incredible distance of 1986 in four years. But they were not ready to give up. The two war artists longed for a trip back to the surface of the earth, an Odyssey of sorts, when the economy was drying up.Entering the final, just as Argentina’s Maradona was underpowered against the German team of his time, so was Messi’s Albiceleste against La Roja who excelled.A look at Argentina’s possession in the two finals also shows how they have struggled to keep up with their European rivals. On Sunday, it was a 35% miss for the Argentines – the lowest of any team in a World Cup final – while the available statistics say it was 39% for Maradona’s team against the Germans.Even red cards – the sending off of Gustavo Dezotti at the end of the game in 1990 – took the final fight from the Argentines, as they did for the Copa America champions when Enzo Fernandez was ordered to march on Sunday. Maradona, through the 1990 World Cup, had a team that had already passed, similar to Messi’s this time. Unlike his predecessor, who could not score in Italy, Messi had eight this time.
But then, Maradona’s power was great. His support for Claudio Cannigia knocked Brazil out of the Round of 16 while the threat of the Argentine master did not allow Yugoslavia and Italy – both European units with the most drilling – to show their teeth.As Messi missed a penalty against Egypt in the Round of 16, Maradona, too, lowered his lines since he played against Yugoslavia in the group, only for the player Sergio Goycochea to get up and save Argentina from embarrassment.The 1990 World Cup was also marked by Maradona’s dedication to his host country, where he played his football for Napoli. Before the semifinal in the stadium that is now called the Diego Maradona Arena, the city of Naples was divided – one group cheering for their son while the other stood by the national colors and the Azzurri.Meanwhile, Messi’s Argentina had a similar effect on the football game. If you believe the noise, FIFA was participating in the rise of the champions, while the others stood out with the magic of Messi and the incredible ability of the team to come back, time after time.And in the end, Maradona, like Messi, was the biggest threat and the German striker Juergen Klinsman explained on ESPN how he planned to overcome the power of the professionals. “We knew that one minute of Maradona could finish us. Our coach Franz Beckenbauer told (midfielder) Guido Buchwald to go with Diego wherever he goes, even to the toilet… Bucky stuck with Diego every minute of the game, making him ineffective. “Buchwald’s persistence earned him the nickname ‘Diego’,” Klinsmann said.
Times have changed, it was no longer a time for man-to-man branding and Spain’s approach to Messi was a little different. It was left to Rodri and Marc Cucurella to look after him when he was in their area. The idea was to separate him and freeze him. It wasn’t until the 117th minute that Messi had his first shot, which would have been had Mikel Merino not stopped and fired his header.The advice of Spanish coach Luis de la Fuentes to his team to keep Messi was very similar to that of Beckenbauer to his boys all those years ago “I told my players that facing Messi was very difficult in football. They pushed us to our limits because that’s what great players do,” said de la Fuentes.The inevitable happened. Ferran Torres looked like the image of Andreas Brehme from all those years ago, putting a knife in the Argentinian heart late in the game. And when the final whistle blew, two magicians, separated by time, stood on the same platform, tears in their eyes. Only, they weren’t the only ones crying around the world.