There were so many reasons to lose the will to live in a death-march of a World Cup final that Lionel Messi’s anti-climactic send-off could soon be forgotten.
The hostile takeover of the spectacle was complete with a 24-minute half-time show featuring Madonna and Justin Bieber and worse still, curated by Chris Martin. The pitch was terrible, the football worse and the kick-off delayed. The ending even more of a disgrace, Spain’s Eric Garcia grabbed by the neck and Gavi shoved onto the floor in a despicable new low from an Argentina side that never deserved to grace such an occasion.
While all around were losing their heads, the sound of a jovial Viva Espana echoing over the PA only further aggravated the tournament’s most ungracious losers. As Spain lifted the trophy they deliberately turned their backs.
In England’s self-inflicted semi-final defeat, Messi was at least able to kick free of the poisonous energy around him, eclipsing a tepid first half with two assists to put Argentina into a second successive final. When that final arrived, his teammates entangled him like seaweed until he was eventually drowned in their venom.
The greatest footballer of all time was reduced to the petty, pathetic dark arts that risk becoming what his nation is remembered for at this World Cup. There has rarely been such an unbefitting final chapter to an international career.
