by Martin Rogers, USA TODAY Sports
Many things in soccer are easier to say than to do, and the entire concept of stopping Lionel Messi from wreaking havoc with his creative brilliance must surely top that list.
It sounds quite simple, doesn’t it? Just stop him.
In truth, such a task is perhaps the most difficult thing in the sport, which is why Messi, the little maestro from Argentina, is arguably the greatest player of this era and certainly among the finest of all time.
Finding a way to curtail his dominance is the next task presented to the United States, one that must be accomplished at Houston’s NRG Stadium on Tuesday if the host nation’s charmed run through to the semifinals of the Copa America is going to continue.
Buoyed by three consecutive impressive victories, USA head coach Jurgen Klinsmann is bullish about his team’s chances of handling Messi, citing their performance against Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal at the 2014 World Cup.
“We take it as it comes,” Klinsmann said. “There is no need to talk and make Argentina bigger than they are. We played two years ago (against) Ronaldo and that was a big game, too. We were winning 2-1 right into the 96th minute. We came so far now and we are hungry for the next step, even though we understand it is a big opponent.”
Klinsmann has a point, kind of. Yes, the USA did well against Portugal in what was the second game for both teams in the World Cup’s Group of Death. Ronaldo, Messi’s only legitimate contender for the tag of world’s best player, was indeed stymied and frustrated for most of the evening in Manaus.
However, Ronaldo was also nursing injuries, yet still managed to set up the late equalizer that broke American hearts, restricting them to a 2-2 draw when victory had looked assured.
Messi, now fully fit following an early summer back problem, is seeking to win his first major international trophy in Argentinean colors. He was in rampant form with a goal and two assists in a 4-1 victory over Venezuela on Saturday.
Yet even with the magic of Messi and the world’s No.1 ranked team in its path, a trip to the final of the Copa America, a tournament typically featuring almost exclusively South American teams but expanded for its 100th anniversary, is within reach.
“We have taken another step,” U.S. defender Matt Besler said. “We are closer to where we want to be.”
Getting to the title game would be the biggest achievement of Klinsmann’s five-year reign and be one of the most notable accomplishments in American soccer history. It all looked highly unlikely two weeks ago, when an opening game defeat to Colombia put both early elimination and Klinsmann’s firing within the realms of possibility.
The response has been superb, and built upon tenacity.
“We are a team with so much character to grind it out,” Klinsmann added. “They are more convinced of their ability now and have more confidence.”
Belief is a must, of course, when it comes to taming Messi, and often even that isn’t enough. Argentina is more than a one-man team, but when its talisman fires, so does the whole unit.
No one could stop Messi during the last World Cup until Germany found a way to do so in the final, using its multi-talented, multi-faceted lineup to keep him in check.
Whether Klinsmann’s group has the will and firepower to similarly crowd his shoulder, block his running lanes and deny him space remains to be seen.
Messi said little after the Venezuela game, except to note that scoring his 54th international goal to tie Gabriel Batistuta for the all-time Argentinean lead was not worth celebrating yet. “I tied it,” Messi said. “I still haven’t broken it.”
He sounded like a man with unfinished business, in more ways than one.
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