It's always worth remembering that things could have panned out very differently for Messi, and indeed the rest of the football world; in an alternate timeline, his international career ended a decade ago.
Messi would fail to find the back of the net at both the 2010 World Cup in South Africa or the 2011 Copa America, as the Albiceleste disappointingly bowed out in the quarter-finals on both occasions.
First came the extra-time defeat to Germany in the 2014 World Cup final, followed by the shock loss to Chile in the showpiece of the 2015 Copa America.
More heartbreak at the hands of the same opponent on the same stage the following year seemingly pushed Messi over the edge.
He helped to guide his country to the 2018 World Cup, and while more heartache would await there, Scaloni's appointment - initially as caretaker - in the wake of the last-16 exit would prove to be seismic.
It's always worth remembering that things could have panned out very differently for Messi, and indeed the rest of the football world; in an alternate timeline, his international career ended a decade ago.
Argentina were determined to make the ex-Barcelona attacker the focal point of the team after he emerged as a genuine superstar in the late noughties, but he was initially unable to deliver on the biggest stage. Messi would fail to find the back of the net at both the 2010 World Cup in South Africa or the 2011 Copa America, as the Albiceleste disappointingly bowed out in the quarter-finals on both occasions.
That foreshadowed the darkest period in La Pulga's international career, as he would go on to fall agonisingly short in three consecutive finals after taking the captaincy at the age of 24 - a losing streak that would prompt him to announce his international retirement.
First came the extra-time defeat to Germany in the 2014 World Cup final, followed by the shock loss to Chile in the showpiece of the 2015 Copa America. More heartbreak at the hands of the same opponent on the same stage the following year seemingly pushed Messi over the edge.
However, Messi's international retirement in 2016 would last less than two months, as he dramatically U-turned on the decision, saying at the time: "We need to fix many things in Argentinian football, but I prefer to do this from inside and not criticise from outside."
He helped to guide his country to the 2018 World Cup, and while more heartache would await there, Scaloni's appointment - initially as caretaker - in the wake of the last-16 exit would prove to be seismic.
.jpg)
