Lionel Messi led Argentina to World Cup victory last year, stepping out of Diego Maradona’s shadow. The South American Football Federation (CONMEBOL) unveiled a life-size statue of Messi holding a replica of the World Cup trophy alongside those of Maradona and Pele at their museum in Luque, Paraguay.
Messi, who emulated Maradona by leading Argentina to their first World Cup triumph in 36 years in Qatar in December, said he had never dreamed of this.
The Argentine Football Federation renamed the national team’s training facility after Messi on Saturday, two days after he scored his 800th career goal in a 2-0 friendly win over Panama.
The Argentina players and coach Lionel Scaloni also received miniature trophies of the World Cup and the Copa America, which they won in 2021.
The 100th Goal of World Champion
Messi has scored 99 goals for his country and will become the first Argentina player to net 100 international goals if he scores in Tuesday’s friendly against Curacao.
Messi said that his dream was to enjoy what he liked when he was little, to be a professional soccer player, to do what he always loved in this life. He added that he had a very long road, made many decisions, and experienced defeats but he always looked ahead and wanted to go for a triumph and a victory. He believed that the most important thing is to fight for your dreams, to know that everything is possible, and to enjoy the game, which is the most beautiful thing there is.
