While some social media users called it “iconic”, others hailed it as the “picture of the century”…reports Asian Lite News
Considered to be two of the greatest players of this generation Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi joined forces to produce one of the most iconic images in football history.
The image was shared by both the footballers on the eve of the start of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, through their Instagram accounts.
While some social media users called it “iconic”, others hailed it as the “picture of the century”.
With both of them sharing 12 Ballon d’Or’s between them, Ronaldo and Messi came together for a promotion campaign by Louis Vuitton ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have just come together to take the best picture of 2022. pic.twitter.com/w5RoCsFYhI
Many view the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to be the final one for both players with the Argentinian great already confirming it. However, the Portuguese star has said he wants to play for a few more years.
On Saturday, the fans of both players were in for a treat as Louis Vuitton released their new campaign featuring both of them. The two legendary footballers can be seen playing chess together in the picture with both deep in concentration on what their next move would be.
The Louis Vuitton briefcase on which Ronaldo and Messi are playing chess was part of the 2018 World Cup in which the FIFA World Cup trophy was presented ahead of the opening fixture and the final.
Ledezma has also travelled on two wheels to cheer Argentina at the 2018 Rio Olympics and the 2015 Copa America in Chile and have so far been to 57 countries before setting out on this trip…reports Asian Lite News
Three ardent soccer fans have cycled all the way from Cape Town, South Africa, to Doha, Qatar to cheer for Argentina at the World Cup in Qatar, which kicks off on November 20.
The Argentinian trio of Lucas Ledezma, Leandro Blanco Pighi, and Silvio Gatti crossed into Qatar through the Abu Samra land border crossing with Saudi Arabia on Sunday night (November 6) and will visit the World Cup Countdown clock on Monday.
The Argentine fans, who started the cycling trip on May 15 covered some 10,500 kms on the gruelling and endurance testing trip, were delighted to reach the World Cup host country a good 13 days before the football showpiece event.
“We arrived in Qatar on Sunday night and we reached Doha, the capital city on Monday morning. It was a testing and challenging journey and we are happy we reached our destination much ahead of the World Cup kick off date,” said Ledezma, a 34-year-old physical education teacher, who has been to two previous World Cups in Brazil (2014) and Russia (2018).
Ledezma has also travelled on two wheels to cheer Argentina at the 2018 Rio Olympics and the 2015 Copa America in Chile and have so far been to 57 countries before setting out on this trip.
“We are looking forward to a good time in Qatar during the World Cup and hope Argentina can win the World Cup and we are also eager to meet some of the Argentina fans who are based in Qatar and also those who have already arrived into Qatar,” said 31-year-old Pighi, a documentary maker, a writer and a travel agent, who already has two books against his name.
The next agenda on the trio, who come from diverse fields, but jell together because of their love for football is to meet the Argentinian team in Qatar.
“We want to get to Messi. We are Lucas, Silvio and Lea and we are giving it all for the Scaloneta. We travel by bike to Qatar, crossing Africa and the Middle East. We started in South Africa and we are now past 10 countries. Today we are in Saudi Arabia, to pedal the last 2,000 km to see Messi caress the football,” the trio wrote on their Instagram page TODO A PEDAL when they reached Saudi Arabia.
Further, they said they want to see Scaloneta win the third title in Qatar on December 18, the country for whom the two titles came in 1978 and 1986 and the three runner’s up places happened in 1930, 1990 and 2014.
“The Odyssey has three goals: Get to Qatar and to look for the World Cup trophy next to the Scaloneta, record a documentary about the trip, plant a tree for every kilometer traveled,” said Ledezma, Pighi, and Gatti, who cycled up to 80 miles each day and slept in tents or at homes of people they meet along the way.
Hailing from the province of Cordoba, located about 600 km northwest of the country’s capital, Buenos Aires, the group’s trip aims to help the environment leading to 10,500 new trees being planted in their homeland.
Besides watching the matches, each kilometre travelled will be marked by the planting of a tree in the mountains of Cordoba.
“The Cordoba native forest has been suffering for decades because of deforestation, and at present there is only 3 per cent of its total left. That’s why we want to raise awareness. Our one of the main goals during this bike journey through Africa and the Middle East, is to collaborate with our beautiful Province of Cordoba. We want to transform every mile with planting a tree,” they wrote on their Instagram page.
Argentina are scheduled to play their first match on November 22 against Saudi Arabia at the Lusail stadium.
The 35-year-old said that Argentina are always considered a candidate to win the trophy as they have a rich history…reports Asian Lite News
One of the most prolific footballers in the world, Lionel Messi has reportedly said that this year’s quadrangular tournament in Qatar will be the final World Cup of his career.
The 35-year-old announced the news on his future with the Argentina national team on Thursday. Messi is set to play in his fifth World Cup in Qatar – he has scored six goals in the previous four editions of the tournament.
“This will be my last World Cup – for sure. The decision has been made,” he told Argentine journalist Sebastian Vignolo.
Messi led Argentina to Copa America Trophy in 2021 after 28 years and the South American giants are one of the favourites to win the Qatar World Cup.
The 35-year-old said that Argentina are always considered a candidate to win the trophy as they have a rich history.
“I don’t know if we are the favourite candidates, but Argentina is always a candidate because of history, because of what it means,” he said.
Four of those came in 2014 when the PSG star led Argentina to the final where they were beaten 1-0 by Germany after extra-time.
He may have missed out on winning silverware with his country then, but he finally got his hands on an international trophy when he lifted the Copa America last year in Brazil.
Messi’s record for Argentina stands at 90 goals in 164 games, making him the third-highest goalscorer ever in men’s international football behind Cristiano Ronaldo (117) and Iran’s Ali Daei (109).
Messi announced his retirement from international football in 2016 after losing in the Copa America final against Chile, but he quickly reversed his decision and has remained the captain of the team ever since.
The PSG forward has been in great form this year with both club and country. Argentina are currently enjoying a 35-game unbeaten streak which started way back in 2019.
Lewandowski rated the ‘Best award’ above the Ballon d’Or. Awards get important when coaches and players do “the main voting”, the Bayern striker added…reports Asian Lite News
Robert Lewandowski has no regrets not having received a vote from Lionel Messi for the FIFA’s Best male player awards of 2021. While Portuguese superstar Ronaldo placed the Bayern Munich striker on first position in his voting, the Argentine striker left him out in his choice for the first three.
After Messi outpaced the 33-year-old Pole in last years’ Ballon d’Or, Lewandowski managed to turn things around and won the FIFA award by four votes ahead of Messi and Liverpool’s Mohammed Salah (9 votes behind).
“You have to ask him about his voting,” the Bayern striker said in an interview to Xinhua. “I think I didn’t do anything wrong and gave him reason to be upset aside from maybe sporting reasons. It was his decision not to vote for me and I respect that,” said Lewandowski.
Lewandowski said he is not upset and can’t say anything negative about his award rival.
“At the Ballon d’Or, he voted me as the second. Now it’s a different competition. Maybe it’s why I voted him second at the Ballon d’Or,” the 2020 treble winner said.
While the Ballon d’Or is a competition with only journalists voting, the ‘Best award’ is run by half of the voters recruited out of national coaches and international players.
Lewandowski rated the ‘Best award’ above the Ballon d’Or. Awards get important when coaches and players do “the main voting”, the Bayern striker added.
“They know what it means to be and stay at a top level,” the attacker said. Awards one wins with his team’s support are the most important ones, the Polish team captain added. A vote like this goes beyond statistics, he said.
The Bayern player voted for Chelsea’s midfielder Jorginho as first followed by Messi and Ronaldo. “Jorginho scored important goals as a midfield six; that means something.”
Lewandowski praised Ronaldo for delivering the highest level “no matter for what club he is playing.”
After having scored his 300th goal in the national league, the Bayern forward said he is thinking about new records.
By scoring 41 goals last season, the Pole broke the nearly 50-year-old national league season record of German icon Gerd Muller (40 season goals 1971/72). Muller’s 365 career goals in the national league seem within reach.
“It’s nothing for this season. And everything else is a thing of the next years,” Lewandowski said.
The Pole said there is no need to talk about a contract extension as his current one expires in 2023.
He also indicated he won’t be retiring before the age of 35.
“I do a lot of things to keep at the top, but I still discover new things around my body. I gained a lot of experience that makes me currently stay in the best shape,” he said.
He is looking forward to another fruitful season with Bayern. “If you manage to deliver a satisfying performance on the pitch it doesn’t play a role for what club you play,” he said.
Argentina clinched the Copa America final for the first time since 1993, registering a 1-0 win over Brazil at the Maracana on Saturday…reports Asian Lite News
Angel Di Maria might have scored a goal in the Copa America final but all eyes were on Lionel Messi as the legend ended the drought of the first major international title with Argentina.
He might not have scored in the finals of Copa America but Messi was in red hot form in the ongoing tournament having scored the joint highest four goals in Copa America 2021.
Argentina clinched the Copa America final for the first time since 1993, registering a 1-0 win over Brazil at the Maracana on Saturday (local time). Messi was seven years old when Argentina last lifted the coveted Copa America trophy. Maria’s strike in the tournament’s final gave Messi or his fans the much-needed relief.
Whenever the debate erupted between Messi or any other big player, football pundits always highlighted how the Argentina captain wasn’t able to reap rewards at the big stage.
Argentina Beat Brazil 1-0(ANI)
Messi had won everything at the club level, both in personal and team capacity, but missed a major title with Argentina apart from a 2008 gold medal in the Olympics. For now and at least sometime the there won’t be people questioning Messi’s legacy as he has finally won his first trophy with the senior national team. The ‘icon’ Messi would only want Argentina to take the carry forward the momentum to the FIFA World Cup in 2022.
Messi and Neymar were also named as the two best players of the tournament just before their teams locked horns in the final. If not for the goal, the Barcelona star had five assists in six games to his name before the summit clash kicked off.
The Copa America final started off with both sides pressing hard for the goal in the early stages of the match. However, neither Brazil nor Argentina was able to get their foot on the ball.
In the 22nd minute, Angel Di Maria latched on to a ball over the top and capitalised on an error from Renan Lodi before lobbing Ederson Santana de Moraes to find the back of the net.
Maria netted the goal to put Argentina ahead. He became the first Argentina player to score in a Copa America final since Cesar Delgado in 2004. In the 32nd minute, Lionel Messi ran past the Brazil defence only to find out the edge of the box. Meanwhile, Neymar tried to chip the football but wasn’t able to find the desired result.
Maria’s goal separated Brazil and Argentina at half-time in the Copa America final. In the second half, Richarlison have Brazil some relief as he fired the ball into the net but the goal was turned down due to offside. Brazil kept pressing hard to find a goal and even forced Argentina to turn on a defensive mode but still wasn’t able to find the net.
In the dying minutes of play, Brazil earned a corner with Neymar swinging a cross into the box, however, Thiago Silva glanced the header over the goal post. In the end, Argentina defeated Brazil 1-0 to lift the coveted trophy. (ANI)
