AT 35, Lionel Messi has been in the form of his life in the FIFA 2022 world cup. The Argentine superstar has made a huge impact in this world cup by scoring goals and providing assists in every game so far. The semi-final between Argentina and Croatia was expected to be a hard-fought and a contest of eveners. But Messi, the magician, made it a lop-sided one for Argentina with a score-line of 3-0. The third goal, in particular, was sensational. Although the goal was scored by the Manchester City forward Julian Alvarez, it was the mercurial Messi who set it up nicely with his astonishing dribbling skills through a 40-metre sprint on the right wing that totally stumped and confounded the young defender Josko Gavardiol of Croatia. It seems Messi has been scientifically destined to be the greatest dribbler of a football! I watched the video of this dribble at least a dozen times, and I still couldn’t satiate my hunger of watching it more. Can Messi replicate his thaumaturgy skills against France in the finals and lift the world cup for Argentina after 36 years? The entire world, especially fans in India, who are utterly mad of Messi, are waiting with bated breath for this extraordinary moment to transpire.
Ranganathan Sivakumar