There is possibly no individual happier and more thankful on God\u2019s green earth this period than Lionel Messi who was understandably ecstatically happy when speaking to the press after his beloved Argentina team beat Brazil 1-0 in the final of the Copa America on Saturday night.<\/p>\n
Having lost more finals with his national team through the years than he would have liked to be reminded of, the great but humble man was finally able to feel the immense burden lifted off his chest and shoulders as he spoke to Marca after his team\u2019s victory over their traditional arch rivals:<\/p>\n
\u201cI needed to get the thorn out [from my side] of not being able to achieve something with the national team,\u201d Messi said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was close for many years, I knew at some point it was going to happen. I\u2019m grateful to God for giving me this moment against Brazil in the final, and in this country.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he was saving this moment for me. The happiness I feel is crazy, inexplicable. Many times I\u2019ve had to leave [a tournament] sad. I knew that once it would happen to me, there\u2019d be no better moment. This group really deserved it, it\u2019s something impressive.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany times I\u2019ve dreamed of this. I want to dedicate it to my family, my wife, my children, my parents, my brothers, who many times had to suffer, just like me or even worse.<\/p>\n
The decisive goal came in the 22nd minute when Rodrigo de Paul threaded through an excellent ball to find ex-Real Madrid man Angel di Maria, who finished clinically and coolly past Ederson.<\/p>\n
Messi, a free-agent following the expiration of his contract with Barcelona,\u00a0actually squandered a gilt-edged chance to make it 2-0 later on. Not that it would have made any difference anyway as he\u2019s finally landed his holy grail.<\/p>\n
Messi didn\u2019t shine in the final but had already been in the limelight as always all through before it. Having played 100% of Argentina\u2019s minutes throughout the entire Copa America, he earned himself the accolade of player-of-the-tournament, scoring four goals and contributed five assists in seven appearances, directly participating in 60% of their goals.<\/p>\n
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