Messi to win against the machine

Argentina forward Lionel Messi scoring a goal from a penalty shoot-out during their semi-final match against the Netherlands. Photo: Getty Images

The moment has come.  The moment is to decide who will take the World Cup home—Argentina or Germany? Who will have the final smile— team with a superstar or an all star team?

The moment referee blows the whistle to get the match going; no man on the earth will be so closely watched, possibly in many years to come. At least 300 million people will keep their eager eyes on one man-- Lionel Messi of Argentina. The final at the famous Maracana Stadium will settle two issues that remain in discussion for the last four years.

Despite being a legend already and having the tag of the greatest attacking club player of all time, Messi still needs to prove a crucial point. His critics will wait to see whether the champion club footballer is also a world champion or not.  Little Leo, the record four-time Fifa World Player of the Year, must rediscover, at this final moment, the magic he generated for his club Barcelona over the years to be considered for the tag of 'greatest of all-time' alongside Pele and Maradona.

Neither Pele nor Maradona had the same success at club level as Messi. Many of his 382 club goals off 238 matches were seen as absolutely phenomenal. Yet, the shy man of 27 could not be regarded as better than Maradona or Pele for not having a World Cup medal in his trophy trove.

His last two World Cup appearances in 2006 and 2010 ended in a whimper, with the mild-mannered goal-scoring machine managing only one goal. This time the pressure is off from his shoulder. Messi is playing like Messi, scoring and assisting goals in every match.  Though Argentina struggled as a team against easy opponents up to the quarterfinals, Messi was class apart on every occasion.    

It's now the one final hurdle to cross for the little magician. Can Messi do the final act against opponents of mechanical precision?  The German machine will certainly operate at a higher level and try to contain Messi. But can the machine contain Messi? His deadly combination of speed, skill and finishing prowess is unrivalled to the machine. Machine cannot match his creativity either.  Messi will find a way to throw a wrench in the machine.

Without any hesitation, I'm going to put my money on Messi.