It is a birthday Lionel Messi might not like to celebrate. Since the world knows every detail of his life, it is difficult to ignore the day the legend completed 31 years of his life, far away from Rosario where he was born and got married. It’s also quite a distance from Barcelona, where Messi has lived since he was 11, and where he learnt how to mesmerize the world with a ball at his feet.
ust outside the entrance of Argentina’s base camp in Bronnitsy, posters announce that the city will celebrate Messi’s birthday. A Moscow confectioner has even created a life-sized cake for the Argentinian star. Not having spoken to the press since the devastating loss against Croatia, the greatest footballer of this generation is fighting demons within – of leading the Albieceleste, now in his fourth World Cup, carrying the burden of expectations of the 43 million Argentinians and having failed them. After the results against Iceland and Croatia in particular, the South American nation has been engulfed by dark clouds of despair. The flock of journalists who made the 13,500 km journey to Russia, are finding it hard to keep their smiles on.
It is because Messi is not smiling. In the two matches and the few training sessions open to the media, there was hardly a moment when Messi smiled. Nor could he make the world happy with his game.