News - Volleyball elite to begin race for Men s Club World Championship glory fivb.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from fivb.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Some people are making a fuss about the fact that Lionel Messi has 76 goals for Argentina, just one fewer than Pele’s total for Brazil, which is the record for South American male players. Others are making a fuss about the prospect of Copa America glory propelling Messi to another world player of the year award. The man himself, however, is unlikely to be concerned with either topic.
Messi has only ever seen individual awards as the consequence of successful work in a collective context. It is all about the team and now, more than at any other time in his career, the team is Argentina (and not just because, strictly speaking, he does not have a club after his Barcelona contract expired).