Man, it’s hard getting old. Things ache, hair thins, sleep is harder to get, you move slower – and you just can’t dribble through rows of world-class defenders like you used to.

Instead, you have to settle for two incredibly sublime assists to beat England in the last minutes of a World Cup semifinal – sending your team, for the second time in a row, to the championship game of soccer.

If you’re Lionel Messi, that is.

I was actually rooting for England in that July 15 semifinal. And I wouldn’t mind seeing Spain beat Argentina in the July 19 final game. Just to see a different team lift the trophy. Argentina has won the once-every-four-year tournament in 1978, 1986 and 2022. Spain won in 2010.

But as an old(er) guy, I’m sure I’ll have wide grin on my face if somehow the 39-year-old Messi finds a way to conjure up his special magic and put La Albiceleste back on the podium.

In normal human years, 39 is far from geriatric. But soccer is mostly a young person’s sport. (Just ask my knees and........

© USA TODAY