As we all know, Messi plays for the Argentinean national team, but things could have been different considering that Messi is also a Spanish citizen and could've chosen Spain instead of Argentina. Today, I'll try to take a look at how Messi would have performed if he had chosen to play for Spain instead of Argentina, so without further ado, let's look at this what-if scenario.
We'll start by June 2004, with the POD that Messi accepts Spain's invitation to join their national team for the upcoming 2004 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. He would have most likely won the tournament (as per OTL) and would have also been the top scorer and the best player. In the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship itself, Spain would've probably won the tournament (they were the favourites to win it before Messi's Argentina kicked them out) and Messi would have won the Golden Boot and be awarded the MVP as he did with Argentina. After those performances, he would have probably made his debut against Uruguay in a friendly.
In the 2006 World Cup, he would get few minutes due to his injury, probably making his debut against Saudi Arabia as they were already leading, but that would be it. But from 2007 onwards is where the fun really begins. He makes Spain's life easier in the Euro qualifiers which lands them in first place. The following year, 2008, Spain wins the Euro with Messi as their main man. This may or may not be enough to win him the Ballon d'Or.
In the following years, Messi gives Spain the Confederations Cup, which they lost in OTL, and probably wins the Golden Ball. In 2010, just like in OTL, Spain wins the 2010 World Cup now with Messi as their main man, perhaps winning the Golden Ball once again and maybe even the Golden Boot. 2012 comes around and Messi probably becomes the MVP in the 2012 Euro. Messi's Spain would have most likely been an unstoppable force at their peak. The 2013 Confederations Cup would have most likely fallen to Spanish hands as well and could have maybe pushed Messi to another Ballon d'Or. And what I haven't mentioned is that more successes in the national team mean higher morale and therefore better performances from him consistently, which could in fact have given him the Ballon d'Or this year and maybe following years as well.
In 2014 things become tricky, since Costa was the main problem and it could have been solved by Messi since he had good chemistry with the team + The massive quality, but it's hard to say. In the 2016 Euro, once again it's hard to say, but Spain would have most likely gotten first instead of second in the group, and if they beat Portugal in the Round of 16, they would have probably won the tournament, which would have resulted in another Golden Ball for Messi. Finally, in the 2018 World Cup a 1st/2nd place finish doesn't seem too far off since after kicking Russia they would have faced Croatia and England, which would mean another Golden Ball for Messi as well.
Overall, Messi's international career would have been incredible, and considering how similar it once was to Barcelona in terms of tactics, having great chemistry with a good amount of his Barcelona team-mates and having the ability to play against weaker teams more often, he would have probably scored over 100 goals, breaking Ali Daei's record most likely.
No comments:
Post a Comment