Messi's World Cup ends on a bitter note

Messi's World Cup ends on a bitter note -- Lionel Messi's final act in the 2014 World Cup was lifting a free kick high over the bar, wasting Argentina's last chance to equalize in the final against Germany.

It was far from a fitting finish for the four-time world player of the year.

This was supposed to be Messi's World Cup, just like the 1986 tournament belonged to another Argentine great, Diego Maradona.

But after carrying his team through the group stage in Brazil with four goals, Messi seemed to run out of steam.

He created chances in the final Sunday but, like the rest of the team, lacked the finishing touch to turn the game for Argentina.

''I'm hurt for losing the way we did. We were close to penalties,'' Messi said. ''I think we deserved a little better, we had chances.''

He was a picture of disappointment as he collected the trophy for the tournament's best player, and then stood in silence at the entrance to the player's tunnel, watching the Germans receive the trophy.

''At this moment, I don't care at all about that prize, only lifting the trophy matters,'' Messi said.

Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella said he thought Messi deserved the best player award, ''because he played an extraordinary role. He was the fundamental factor in the team.''

Messi has won everything there is to win with club team Barcelona, but many critics say he needs a World Cup title to be considered among football's all-time greats.

''He's been there for quite a while already, in the pantheon of the greats,'' Sabella said, when asked to compare Messi with players like Maradona and Brazil's Pele.

Germany's goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, recipient of the Golden Glove trophy, stands next to Argentina's Lionel Messi after he receive the Golden Ball trophy following Germany's 1-0 victory over Argentina after the World Cup final soccer match between Germany and Argentina at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, July 13, 2014. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Messi stood out in an otherwise mediocre Argentine team in the group stage, scoring against Bosnia-Herzegovina and Iran and twice against Nigeria.

The free kick he curled inside Nigeria goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama's left post was a masterpiece. Then, game by game, Messi's influence started waning.

Against Switzerland he had little impact until extra time, when he drilled a hole in the Swiss defense and set up Angel Di Maria's winning goal. In the next game, against Belgium, he started the movement that resulted in Gonzalo Higuain's first-half winner and helped Argentina keep possession as the Belgians tried to level the score.

Man-marked by Nigel de Jong, Messi struggled to find space in the semifinal win over the Netherlands, and besides a few runs and deft passes into the area against Germany, he didn't rise to the occasion.

His last chance came in the final seconds of extra time as he was given a free kick about 10 meters (yards) from the area. Messi wiped the sweat off his face, took aim and sent his final shot of the World Cup well over the target. (Associated Press)

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Messi's bouts of nausea puzzle world of football

FILE - In this March 5, 2014 file photo, Argentina's Lionel Messi appears to vomit during an international friendly soccer game against Romania on the National Arena stadium in Bucharest, Romania. Messi has vomited at least a half-dozen times with Argentina and club team Barcelona, mystifying doctors and fans alike. (AP Photo, File)

Messi's bouts of nausea puzzle world of football  — Shortly after coming on as a second-half sub in Argentina's last World Cup warm-up, Lionel Messi doubled over and appeared to vomit on the pitch.

He's done it at least a half-dozen times with Argentina and club team Barcelona, mystifying doctors and fans alike.

"Nerves," says Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella, and that's a diagnosis as good as any.

The Argentina captain and four-time world player of the year is under tremendous pressure to lead the Albiceleste to its first World Cup trophy since 1986.

"I reckon that in these moments there is anxiety more than anything," Sabella said before the team departed for Brazil, where it opens its World Cup campaign against Bosnia-Herzegovina on Sunday. "It's difficult to remain calm."

Top athletes throwing up before, during or after a competition is not unusual. Sometimes it's because of the physical stress on their bodies, sometimes because of performance anxiety.

What's unusual about Messi is that it seems to happen quite randomly, not when the pressure would seem the greatest or when he's exhausted himself to the limit.

After Messi threw up less than 10 minutes into a friendly match between Argentina and Romania in March, his coach at Barcelona, Gerardo Martino, said "something is not right," though he added that it wasn't affecting Messi's play.

FILE - In this March 5, 2014 file photo, Argentina's Lionel Messi wipes his mouth after appearing to vomit on the pitch during an international friendly soccer game against Romania on the National Arena stadium in Bucharest, Romania. Messi has vomited at least a half-dozen times with Argentina and club team Barcelona, mystifying doctors and fans alike. (AP Photo, File) ROMANIA OUT

Messi's father Jorge says the player has dealt with it for years. "They've done all the necessary (medical) tests, with great professionals in Barcelona. The doctors say there's nothing to worry about," he said.

This happens not only to him, but also to other great athletes. The professionals say we have nothing to worry about."

Messi made that point clear against Slovenia on Saturday, scoring Argentina's second goal just four minutes after TV cameras showed him dry-heaving and receiving a tablet from the bench.

Similarly, in 2011, he scored for Barcelona after throwing up in the Spanish Super Cup Final against Real Madrid.

Barcelona's medical staff hasn't been able to find the cause. Neither have Argentina's team doctors, nor Messi himself. The decorated forward tends to not make a big deal of it, saying it's just something that happens to him in training, during matches and even when he's at home.

"I don't know what it is. But I had a thousand exams," Messi told Argentine broadcaster TyC Sports earlier this year. "I start to feel nauseous to the point where I almost vomit, and then it goes away."

In those decisive moments that make or break a football career, Messi doesn't show any nerves or lack of confidence. His more than 350 goals for Barcelona, a club record, and 48 goals for Argentina speak for themselves.

But unlike some of the sport's other bright stars, like Portuguese football diva Cristiano Ronaldo or Swedish tough guy Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Messi doesn't act like a superstar off the pitch.

He is a gentle, unassuming person who once told Spanish newspaper El Pais "I'm more concerned with being a good person than being the best footballer in the world."

Still, the pressure on him to be the latter is huge. Even though he's just 26, his impressive record with Barcelona, including six Spanish league and three Champions league titles, has already brought comparisons with all-time greats like Pele and Diego Maradona. His detractors like to point out, though, that unlike those two, Messi has not won a World Cup. He's only scored one goal and never gotten past the quarterfinals in his two attempts on football's biggest stage.

Argentina counts on Messi to do a lot better in Brazil, where the team is considered one of the title favorites much because of him.

Adding to the pressure is the view among many Argentines that Messi, who left the country at 13, doesn't play his heart out for the national team.

That's something Messi admits affects him deeply.

"Argentina is my country, my family, my way of expressing myself," he recently told Spanish sports paper Marca. "I would change all my record to make the people in my country happy." ( Associated Press )

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Tevez excluded from Argentina World Cup squad

Tevez excluded from Argentina World Cup squad  — Striker Carlos Tevez was left out of Argentina's preliminary 30-man squad for the World Cup on Tuesday.

Despite having just led Juventus to the Italian league title as the team's top scorer, Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella ignored pleas from Tevez' passionate fan base in Argentina.

Sabella has never called up the hard-working striker since taking charge of the national team in 2011. Instead he's put his faith in Ezequiel Lavezzi and Rodrigo Palacio as substitutes for star attackers Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain and Sergio Aguero.

Barcelona's Lionel Messi from Argentina reacts after failing to score against Elche during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Martinez Valero stadium in Elche, Spain, on Sunday, May 11, 2014. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

All were included in Sabella's initial 30-player squad, which will be reduced to a final 23 by a FIFA deadline of June 2.

The 30-year-old Tevez has scored 19 goals in the Italian Serie A this season.

"I am sorry I had to leave out good players," Sabella said, without mentioning names.

He also excluded veteran midfielder Esteban Cambiasso of Inter Milan but included Manchester City's Martin Demichelis, who hasn't played for the national team for two years.

While Argentina's attack is among the world's strongest, the team looks weaker at the back.

Sergio Romero remains Sabella's first-choice goalkeeper even though he's not a regular starter for French club Monaco. Mariano Andujar of Catania and Agustin Orion of Boca Juniors were called up as Romero's backups in the preliminary squad.

Sabella included central defenders Federico Fernandez and Ezequiel Garay along with fullbacks Pablo Zabaleta and Marco Roja.

Boca Juniors midfielder Fernando Gago was selected despite receiving a knee injury last month. Gago damaged a ligament in his left knee last month in the Argentine league.

The midfield lineup also includes Javier Mascherano, Angel Di Maria and Ever Banega.

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Argentina:

Goalkeepers: Sergio Romero (Monaco), Mariano Andujar (Catania), Agustin Orion (Boca Juniors).

Defenders: Federico Fernandez (Napoli), Ezequiel Garay (Benfica), Martin Demichelis (Manchester City), Pablo Zabaleta (Manchester City), Marcos Rojo (Sporting Lisbon), Jose Basanta (Monterrey), Hugo Campagnaro (Inter Milan), Nicolas Otamendi (Atletico Mineiro), Lisandro Lopez (Getafe), Gabriel Mercado (River Plate).

Midfielders: Fernando Gago (Boca Juniors), Ever Banega (Newell's Old Boys), Augusto Fernandez (Celta Vigo), Javier Mascherano (Barcelona), Angel Di Maria (Real Madrid), Lucas Biglia (Lazio), Maxi Rodriguez (Newell's Old Boys), Ricardo Alvarez (Inter Milan), Enzo Perez (Benfica), Fabian Rinaudo (Catania), Jose Sosa (Atletico Madrid).

Forwards: Sergio Aguero (Manchester City), Gonzalo Higuain (Napoli), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Ezequiel Lavezzi (Paris Saint-Germain), Rodrigo Palacio (Inter Milan), Franco Di Santo (Werder Bremen). // ( The Associated Press )

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