Men

On Sunday, spectators were given an unconstrained glimpse into the mind of Lionel Messi, a footballer whose cryptic statements and enigmatic private life only add to his magical legend.  

Messi’s a consummate professional, dedicated to the game on an otherworldly level. Argentina’s crushing defeat to Chile in the 2016 Copa America Centenario final gave proof to his wholehearted devotion to the cause.

Messi has come out and said he plans to retire from the Argentina National Team. Is he serious?

I don't think he is. Not even a little bit. This is an empty threat by Lionel Messi and his teammates. Despite speculation being that Sergio Aguero, Javier Mascherano and others could follow Messi’s lead and retire from Albiceleste duty, this comes, not only after another final defeat, but during a time when Argentine Football is undergoing a massive organizational transition.

The world champions have awoken in France, and the rest of the field have been warned. Germany’s comprehensive 3-0 victory over Slovakia in their round of 16 encounter gave evidence to the brilliance, balance and cohesion this German side is able to muster. 

Jerome Boateng scored a wonderful opening goal in the eighth minute, Mario gomez added a second in the 43rd and Julian Draxler capped a superb individual performance with Germany’s third in the 63rd minute. 

Following a penalty shootout loss to Chile in the Copa America Centenario final in which he missed a penalty in a shootout for the first time in his international career, Lionel Messi announced his retirement from the Argentina National Team.

Chile has beaten Argentina in a penalty shoot-out in the Copa America final for the second time in two years. 

Arturo Vidal got Chile off the the most inauspicious start possible in the penalty shootout when he had his opening penalty saved. 

But then the impossible happened. In a shocking turn of events, Lionel Messi missed Argentina’s next penalty, failing to capitalize on Vidal’s miss and put Argentina ahead.

Portugal defeated Croatia 1-0 after 117 minutes of sleep-inducing tedium. To call it a tactical battle is to turn a blind eye towards both sides' lack of ambition and risk taking. A show that promised the likes of Luka Modric, Ivan Rakitic, Nani and Cristiano Ronaldo resulted in 116 minutes of football without a shot on target — Ricardo Quaresma sparing us from the second shootout of the opening day of knockout fixtures. 

Every time Lionel Messi’s teammates step out onto the pitch, they must be thankful that the Argentine wizard is wearing the Blaugrana shirt. In this video from the official FC Barcelona YouTube page, Messi can be seen humiliating some of Barcelona’s biggest stars during training.