The biggest wins sometimes follow the biggest lows. Ten years ago, a 29-year-old Lionel Messi – who had eight La Liga titles, four Champions Leagues and five of his eight Ballon d’Or awards in his bag at the time while playing for Barcelona – decided he had had enough of living with the pain.“It’s over me, that’s it. I tried so hard but it just isn’t happening,” Messi, crestfallen and his psyche shattered, announced as the ‘end’ came with his missed penalty in a loss to Chile in the Copa America final in New Jersey, extending his personal misery to four lost finals with the national side — in the 2014 Copa America and 2005 now in World Cup and 2005 World Cup. 2016). “It hurts not to be a champion with Argentina,” he let everyone know his disappointment, his face betraying a tortured soul sadness.The world received the news with shock and surprise, some calling it ‘Mexit’ and many urging him to stay as social media was immediately flooded with the hashtags #NoTeVayasMessi and #QuedateMessi. Diego Maradona also came to the support of his protégé, urging him to “fight against all those who forsake him.”By the time La Albiceleste gathered two months ago for World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay and Venezuela he was back in the mix, saying he loved Argentina “too much” to stay away from the team. The rest, as they say, is history. He finally rode the World Cup lore in 2022 – a coronation with his peace of mind in La Albiceleste colors – between two Copa America titles (in 2021 and 2024), and the legend of Messi was thus born in his hometown of Rosario, elsewhere in Argentina and everywhere in the world.However, the burden of being Messi on the Argentine psyche has always been complex and nuanced. His fate remains linked to Maradona since the boy from Rosario decided to leave Argentina and carve his legacy as a Barcelona player. What emerges is a rich picture of a connection between two World Cup-winning captains, always revolving around the axis of his inherent weakness. As England appear on the horizon over Argentina at the World Cup again, the question remains. How can Messi and his legacy be Maradona-ized?Four decades ago, when the two countries clashed, it resulted in seismic waves in world football as the game, national identity and the lingering shadow of a war converged in the 1986 World Cup quarterfinal at the Azteca stadium. It was a match where Maradona’s magnum opus was played out in every bit of Argentina’s magic and defeat. The ‘Hand of God’ goal was shrouded in deception, bringing to the fore the rivalry and prevailing distrust between the two teams four years after the Falklands War. Maradona’s second came as a moment of catharsis.However, the 1986 quarterfinals may not be as wild and emotionally chaotic as what Messi, born three years after the Falklands War, is willing to endure on the way to the fulfillment of his destiny in Lusail, 2022.Messi’s march towards the mastery of his legacy is without the paradox of Maradona and this is the reason why he can be easierto rebuild the second piece of the Azteca magic of his teacher.It is true that the second semifinal at the Atlanta Stadium did not take any tangible concept of Malvinas, but it comes with its own psychological space. It was “special” for Messi because it was his first against England, giving us a glimpse of how an entire generation hasn’t seen La Albiceleste cross swords with the Three Lions since 1986.For an Argentine, Maradona has always been a rebel and a redeemer. An unknown and accidental manager Lionel Scaloni inherited a team in a state of evolution after the 2018 World Cup and made Messi break away from the ‘savior’ complex and unleash a new set of players with hunger and a predominant we-play-for-Messi mentality. The other day, Leandro Parades said, “We also play for him, because we don’t want the day to come when this is his last game for us.“Pablo Aimar, Scaloni’s assistant, was also identified as the next big No. 10 after Maradona and failed to take the country over the line.They suffered together and made Argentina great again. Maybe in a small way that is not Maradona.