Lionel Messi: What went Wrong in World Cup 2010?

Lionel Messi is still perhaps the best footballer in the world. He did not get any goal in World Cup 2010 but his performance was impressive. So, what went wrong for him in this tournament as Argentina suffered a humiliating defeat at the hand Germany by 4-0?

Although, Messi could not score any goal in the tournament, he helped others to score. Before the start of the tournament, there was a lot of criticism against Lionel Messi that he gives his best efforts for the Spanish club Barcelona but not for the national team.

Surely, Messi has been successful in silencing his critics but still his team could not go beyond quarterfinal stage. Well, it seems that the only thing that went wrong for Messi is that except him and Tevez, the other players were not in good form. So, the team got too much dependent on these two players.

In today’s match, the German defenders were successful in keeping under tight mark to Messi. Whenever he got the ball, 2-3 defenders were there to stop his advance. Also, he was not physically fit. Thus, he could not give his 100%.

The weak part of this Argentine team was that it had lackluster midfield and weak defense. A striker always needs strong support from the midfield. It was the biggest problem for Messi. Until the quarterfinal, this weakness was not exposed in Argentine squad because the opponent teams were much weaker than Germany.

Most probably, coach Diego Maradona will resign soon and a new coach might be appointed. The new coach should from now think of Copa America 2011 and World Cup 2014. He should focus on building a good midfield.