In 2005, after a good year from Messi, starting to break into the team and scoring 3 goals and giving 4 assists in 21 games, winning the Golden Boy award, it seemed to be over, but there was one game left to play, and it was a friendly for an all-star game between international Argentine stars and local Argentine stars. That is the subject of today's topic, so without further ado, let's analyze the game.
It was December 23rd, 2005, on the Estadio Único de La Plata. Messi, with the Nº 11 shirt, was part of the international Argentine stars team, and both teams were ready to play. He was alongside players like Riquelme and Verón as well. In the beginning, Messi made some good passes and made a shot too, but the real attraction came 17 minutes in, as the game was stopped to introduce Maradona into the pitch, who entered for the same team as Messi.
From then on, the real game started. Although there weren't many goals in the first half (1-0 for the local stars team), and Messi missed some chances, the second half was much better. In the second half, the Argentine international all-star team made a comeback and made it 2-1, then the local all-star team made it 2-2, and after the 3-2, Maradona got off the pitch. Messi was also subbed off for López. The game ended 5-4 in favour of the international all-star team, which was quite a spectacle for the viewers.
It was quite an experience for Messi, and although a game with the two on the same pitch never happened again, it's still interesting to see how much quality there was in that game. I hope you liked this entry, and as always, I'll see you in the next blog.