August 17, 2005. Hungary and Argentina faced off in an international friendly match at the Ferenc Puskas Stadium in Budapest. Argentina took a 2-1 lead in the 62nd minute of the match. Two minutes later, coach José Pekerman brought on a young talent.
The minute after entering the field, he fouled the opposing fullback and received a straight red card! Walking to the dressing room after his first appearance for the national team. His eyes were wet with tears.
Who would have thought that the same teenager would one day play the most matches for Argentina (194), score the most goals (114), become the best advertisement of the century. Not only that, but he would also bring home the World Cup, ending a three-decade wait.
You must have understood who we are talking about – Lionel Messi. His debut was like a nightmare, but in the end he was the embodiment of all the dreams of Argentina.
But in the twilight of his career, injury seems to be Messi’s constant companion. After his latest hamstring injury, coach Lionel Scaloni has rested him. Argentina played without him in their final World Cup qualifier yesterday. Result – 1-0 loss to Ecuador.
Messi has had to go through many ups and downs in his more than two-decade international career. He has also missed many matches. In his absence, others have worn the Argentina number 10 jersey.
According to the famous Argentine sports magazine El Gráfico and the website TransferMarket, which is based on football transfers, market values and statistics, Argentina has played 264 matches since Messi’s debut until yesterday. Of these, Messi has played 194 matches. The team did not get him in the remaining 70 matches.
Of those 70 matches, Argentina won 43, lost 14, and drew 13. That means Argentina’s defeat rate without Messi is only 20 percent.
When it comes to competitive matches, Messi has not played in 22. Of these, Argentina has won 12, drawn and lost 5. Here too, the defeat rate is not very high—22.73 percent.
Since Messi’s debut, 10 people have stood in the dugout for the Argentina national team. Of these, the most missed matches were under current coach Scaloni—21. The second most missed matches were under Gerardo Tata Martino and Alejandro Sabera, who each missed nine matches. In Scaloni’s absence, assistant coach Walter Samuel stood in the dugout for Argentina in two matches. Messi was not present in those two matches.
Messi had to warm the bench in a few matches at the beginning of his career. However, since he became a star, he has not been able to play most of the matches due to injuries and rest. He has also not been able to play in some matches due to suspension. Again, in some matches, the coach did not feel the need to keep him in the squad to test the youngsters.