The Argentine looks back at lifting the trophy with his national teammates – an achievement many and he himself would argue is his greatest one.
Lionel Messi insists winning the Copa America with Argentina and getting his hands on his first major trophy with the national team felt “like a dream.”
Argentina narrowly got over the line against Brazil at the Maracana in the Copa America 2021 final.
While Messi wasn’t the best player on the pitch or even for his team that night, he was the star of the tournament. The record six-time Ballon d’Or winner, who contributed four goals and five assists, was deservedly awarded the Golden Boot and the Best Player of the Tournament.
The former Barcelona man came close to winning silverware for his nation on multiple occasions, having suffered defeats in 2007, 2015, and 2016 Copa America finals as well as in the 2014 World Cup final, and was finally able to gain “peace of mind” this summer.
“I have peace of mind of having achieved the dream that has been denied to me so many times,” Messi told ESPN.
“It was like a dream, a spectacular moment. I couldn’t believe it had happened. I enjoy watching the images now more than at the time as I was in a daze. I didn’t quite understand what was happening.
“Scaloni is one of us, he has great merit. It was he who selected the national team, the one who believed, the one who took charge at a difficult moment.
“He gave us confidence, he was bringing in new people, he always knew what he wanted and we grew. From the Copa America 2019 we took a leap.”
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