Ever since Diego Maradona’s forced exit from the national team after he was banned at the 1994 World Cup for doping, Argentine football had been searching for a new Diez. 

Ariel Ortega, Pablo Aimar and Andrés D’Alessandro, to name a few, all sat on the throne — or rather, were placed on it by fans and the media — and suffered under the freezing cold of the long shadow cast by the 1.61-meter Argentine superstar.

That was the weight of expectations Lionel Messi carried on his back when he stepped onto the pitch in 2006 for his World Cup debut, at just 18.

Admittedly, the shoe seemed to fit almost too well. A short, skillful and pacey left-footed creative midfielder, more adept at exploiting narrow spaces to score than performing trick moves or setting up the perfect assist, it almost felt like déjà vu.

Now, as the heir-turned-king vacates the throne once again, it’ll be his own shadow that weighs heavily on the shoulders of the new generation, one that — as Messi himself said in his goodbye letter — is knocking on the door.

But if Messi’s story has taught us anything, it’s that even for “the chosen one,” claiming the legendary Argentina No. 10 shirt and making it your own is never easy, and accepting that will be the first step forward for the fans.

Messi’s Argentina career started on the wrong foot. Brought on as a substitute in the second half of a friendly against Hungary in August 2005, he was sent off just 43 seconds later — the first of only three red cards he received throughout his career — after striking a defender who was grabbing his shirt.

Still, his talent was so apparent that head coach José Pekerman called him up for the 2006 World Cup in Germany. He would score his first World Cup goal in his tournament debut against Serbia and Montenegro, but nobody truly expected Messi to take the crown then and there.

He was a promising talent, perhaps Argentina’s most promising in years, but others had occupied that position before, and he never broke into the starting eleven.

Four years later, it was a very different moment.

In that span, the Rosario-born star — still only 22 — had gone from a prospect to inarguably the best football player in the world. 

Under the guidance of Pep Guardiola, he blossomed at Barcelona as the deadliest forward in European football, winning two Ballon d’Or and becoming the main star of a team that lifted six trophies in one year,........

© Buenos Aires Herald