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The World Cup Final That Haunted Lionel Messi For Years After Brazil 2014
There was one defeat that followed him for years. A wound that not even his countless club trophies could heal.
The day the dream slipped away
July 13, 2014 seemed destined to become the greatest day of Lionel Messi's career. After years of comparisons, criticism, and questions about his performances with Argentina, the captain had guided his country all the way to the FIFA World Cup Final in Brazil.
Instead, that night at the Maracanã became one of the most painful moments of his football journey. Mario Götze's extra-time goal handed Germany a 1-0 victory and left Argentina just minutes away from winning its third World Cup title.
The image of Messi walking past the trophy during the post-match ceremony became one of the defining photographs of his career. What few people knew at the time was that the real suffering was only beginning.
A defeat he could never forget
Years later, Fabián Soldini, one of the men who helped guide Messi during his early football development, revealed a remarkable conversation that illustrated the depth of the heartbreak.
Speaking to Infobae, Soldini recalled meeting Messi in 2015 and hearing a confession that shocked him. According to Soldini, the Argentine star admitted that he was still waking up in the middle of the night thinking about the World Cup Final.
The pain lingered long after the tournament ended. Even while continuing to dominate European football and collect trophies with Barcelona, the disappointment of Brazil remained impossible to escape.
The toughest years with Argentina
Rather than fading away, the pressure only intensified. Following the World Cup came consecutive defeats in the 2015 and 2016 Copa América Finals, creating the feeling that international glory would always remain just out of reach.
For many players, such a series of setbacks could have broken their confidence. Messi responded differently. He continued returning to the national team, carrying the hopes of an entire country despite the criticism and scrutiny that followed every tournament.
Over time, those disappointments transformed him. The player who once carried the burden of expectations became a more mature leader, capable of handling adversity and inspiring those around him during the most difficult moments.
Everything began to change in 2021 when Argentina defeated Brazil to win the Copa América at the Maracanã. The victory ended a long wait for a major title with the senior national team and lifted a weight that had followed Messi for more than a decade.
Yet the ultimate chapter was still waiting to be written.
At the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Messi once again carried Argentina to the final. Eight years after the heartbreak of Brazil, he found himself standing one match away from football's greatest prize.
This time, the story ended differently. The trophy he had stared at with sadness in 2014 was finally lifted above his head in Qatar. The defeat that had haunted him for years ultimately became one of the experiences that forged the resilience, leadership, and determination required to complete the greatest achievement of his career.
Before the glory came the pain. And perhaps no defeat shaped Lionel Messi more than the World Cup Final he lost in Brazil in 2014.
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