Lionel Messi: The king without the crown; an apt summation of his international career. Fitting that the man who thus described Messi was Mario Kempes, Argentina’s original No. 10, the force behind their first World Cup title. For Kempes, the king with the crown was always Diego Maradona, though he had his differences with him in later years. Kempes, perhaps, was the king who never wore the crown. He would often joke “I was more famous for my hair than the goals.” His long, lazy locks were envied and coveted, allied with his debonair good looks. He was a hero, though never a cult hero, more of an aloof hero, his fame never soaring to the reaches of outer space like Messi or Maradona.
Argentina vs France World Cup Final live: Why Wayne Rooney thinks Argentina will win today
Former Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney believes that what separates this Argentina team from their previous iterations is Messi’s support cast. Much has been made of Lionel Scaloni building a team of warriors with its crown jewel being Lionel Messi and his campaign to win a World Cup for Argentina. The Messi in 2014 may have been younger, but had other stars in the Argentine team like Gonzalo Higuain and Sergio Aguero. Rooney believes that it’s the working-class nature of this Argentine team, where everyone is geared to work defensively and Messi is the bonafide star, that gives Argentina a better chance at their second crack at the World Cup in eight years. “They are almost a working-class team, in the sense they’re stubborn, hard to beat, and they’ll fight — fight for Messi, fight to stay in a game knowing that if they do, their captain will win it for them. They are a team of scrappers who just don’t know how to give in,” said Rooney in his Sunday Times column.
