It happened one night. Within six hours and 2000km apart, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo said goodbye to the World Cup, in all likelihood never to return. From being the cynosure of all eyes, isolation will be their next address, their journey to be the greatest of all time having ended abruptly on Saturday.
At the Kazan Arena, Messi looked on hopelessly as a certain 19-year old French kid pulled the carpet from under Argentina’s feet, sending the message that it was time to abdicate. Deep down south of Russia on the shores of Black Sea, Ronaldo’s galley failed to weather one more storm and sunk. Iran first plugged a hole in the portside and the Cavani typhoon finally pulled the ship down to the ocean bed.
The larger than life characters had become a personification of the game itself, overcoming the shrinking boundaries of their clubs and countries for almost 15 years now. It was Messi’s fourth attempt to claim the biggest trophy of his career and the chase was more to put an end to the debate over the ‘greatest ever Argentinian’ tag. For the number of trophies Messi’s cabinet flaunts and the sheer delight he gave to the masses with his cultured left foot, Diego Maradona will still proclaim ‘l’etat, c’est moi (I am the state)’.