Oh Aziz. you made it now The second it happened, the Argentine players knew there was only one way it would end. Everyone who has seen Lionel Messi many times has, and there has been a lot to see from him. As they exited Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, the site of his 1000th game, his teammate Alexis Mac Allister laughed at the apparent inevitability of it all. Australia chose the wrong one: That’s not a knife, that’s a knife.
With 10 minutes to go to half-time, there was little sign of a breakthrough and Messi had given the ball away the last two times he had it when he and Aziz Behich collided on the right touchline. The Dundee United player rushed him, grabbed his shirt and had a word or five. Shortly thereafter, he also gambled away a free-kick after a foul on Alejandro Gómez. Messi took the free kick quickly. Within seconds Argentina had taken the lead and the captain had scored his 789th career goal – seven hundred and eighty-nine – and his first in a World Cup knockout game.
On the other side of the touchline, Messi rolled towards Mac Allister, turned and continued into the area. “I always try to fit in with him, try to make sure the ball comes to him because when he has it everything is much easier,” said the midfielder three hours later, but this time was different. Yet when one of those rare moments where he wasn’t looking for Messi, he found him anyway, like the ball had a mind of its own. And let’s be honest, whose feet would you most like the ball to fall on?
“The pass was for Otamendi but it came for Messi, which was a bit of a surprise,” admitted Mac Allister, mission accomplished albeit accidentally. Otamendi lost control – “I told Leo it was an assist,” he later joked – but Messi saved him, took a touch and then played another pass, this time into the net. The shot went through the legs of Stoke’s Harry Souttar – unfortunately it wasn’t wet, nor on Wednesday – and over Matty Ryan’s jump. It was Argentina’s first shot on goal and the first time he was in the penalty area.
Argentina’s Lionel Messi beats three Australian defenders. Photo Credit: Charlotte Wilson/Offside/Getty Images“It’s probably the only chance I’ll ever get to share space with what is arguably the greatest that has ever existed [and] It’s a bit surreal, a moment you have to think about at the end: looking back and saying you have to go head-to-head with one of the greatest,” said Australian Jackson Irvine. “What stands out is his understanding of the game, how he chooses his moments to bring to life. And when he does, he’s hard to stop. We controlled him so well for most of the first half but it’s that one little moment, that half yard that you give him. We’ve seen it hundreds of times: so ruthless, so clinical, and that ultimately made the difference.”
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There was only one doubt. Did Messi choose this moment himself? Or had Behich – who, one might say, almost scored the World Cup goal when he was more Messi than Messi for a moment – accidentally picked it for him? A rule that has been valid for years is: Don’t annoy “La Pulga”. Behich had done that, awakened something in him, the animal in him, and it paid off quickly. Finally, Mac Allister laughed when it was later claimed that the Argentine players’ first thought when they saw the foul was, “Oh, you fool,” that they saw it coming. “Sure, sure,” he replied.
“When those things happen it brings out the fire he has, the personality he has and that makes him even bigger than he is,” said the Brighton midfielder. “He’s always trying to do his best, but those moments work for him, they’re useful: he plays even better and in games like him he’s even better. He has those touches that come out of nowhere and win you the game.”
“He’s the most important player we have: he knows that, he helps us a lot and we’re proud to have him,” said Mac Allister. “I like playing with him, it makes me happy: I think he’s the best player in the history of the world.”
At home, not everyone agrees. Mac Allister’s father, Carlos “Colorado” Mac Allister, only played three times for Argentina, his international career lasted less than a month, playing two games against Australia in the playoffs that took him to the 1994 World Cup and a friendly against Germany at center. At the very least, he can and always does say that his captain at the time was Argentina’s other big No. 10, Diego Maradona. His son’s captain is the man trying to emulate him.
“We always have this argument,” said Mac Allister junior. “For my father, Maradona was very important, not only in his career but also in his personal life and he is very grateful. For me it’s a source of pride to be at Leo’s side and to play with him. To me, he’s obviously the best in history. We argue: He says Maradona is the best ever; I say it’s Messi. It’s a discussion that I believe will never end.”