Nobody Does It Better

And so farewell the 2022 World Cup. Arguably, the greatest tournament of all time, featuring the greatest final of all time. Such a shame that the world’s greatest sporting event – oh yes it is – was held in Qatar in designer stadia, built by slave labour at a cost of around 6000 lives. I’m afraid nothing that happened on the pitch can detract from what happens every day off the pitch. A country where women are repressed and gay people cannot be themselves is not one that should host any major sporting tournament, never mind the biggest one of all. For all that, this was Lionel Messi’s tournament. Probably the greatest player who has ever lived.

If Qatar was to have been an exercise in sports-washing, then it has had the opposite effect. While many of us did enjoy this World Cup, much more than we thought we would if we were being totally honest, more is now known about what kind of country it really is. To that end, we have had the best of both worlds. A great tournament and a deeply flawed country with an horrific human rights record.

Messi rose above all that. Yes, there are critics who bemoan the praise being lavished on this footballer by pundits and football fans alike. If you follow social media, you will have read the bitter and twisted comments by people who just want to complain. No one has said Messi won the tournament on his own – he was a key cog in a much bigger wheel – but throughout his career he has carried the hopes and dreams of his country on his back. This is a good, not great, Argentina side but the little man took them to a different level. If you want to have a whinge about the attention being paid to him, I suggest you give your head a good wobble.

I cannot prove to you that Messi is the best player ever, but I have never seen anyone better. There was Pele, of course, and Diego Maradona. Johan Cruyff, Gordon Bans, Andres Iniesta, Xavi Hernandez. Oh and that posturing show pony, the supremely talented Cristiano Ronaldo who continues to trash his legacy by his own misguided actions. At 35 and still in possession of all his footballing faculties, he mesmerised and tormented his opponents and entertained anyone who genuinely loves football the way it is rarely played simply because he is so great. No one keeps the ball so close to his feet as Messi because no one can. He sees openings no one else can see, he takes the beautiful game to another level.

If you are sick of Messi, then I can’t really help you. If somehow you don’t think he deserve the plaudits he receives, then I can’t help you with that, either. If you prefer mediocrity, that’s your look out, because below Messi everything else isn’t as good. Brilliant, perhaps, world class even, but not ahead or even level with Messi.

Qatar has been exposed for what it is and the smallest man on the pitch won the World Cup. Even the crooks of FIFA couldn’t steal from us the joy of a genius in his pomp.