[Sport] Lionel Messi and Neymar take refuge in their national teams to leave behind one of the worst 'sports storms' of their careers

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The two Paris Saint-Germain's players have not had a good campaign with their team and for that reason they have received a lot of criticism.

 

The Argentine Lionel Messi (i) and the Brazilian Neymar, Paris Saint-Germain's players, joined their respective teams for the last two games of the South American qualifying round for the Qatar 2022 World Cup

 

Targets of criticism at PSG, Lionel Messi and Neymar are back in Argentina and Brazil. Both teams, already qualified for Qatar-2022, appear as the refuge of the pair of friends in the face of one of the worst sporting storms of their careers.

For the last doubleheader of the South American tie this week and next, the Argentine and the Brazilian meet up with their own in moments of scrutiny after the failure in the Champions League, repeated absences and few goals in France.

 

"It seems to me that it will be a good spiritual recreation for both Ney and Messi to get away from Europe at this time," Juan José Buscalia, commentator for Fox Deportes and DirecTV Sports, told AFP.

“I have no doubt that it will be good for both of them to return to their national teams, be with their coaches, be with their teammates, get away from that hostile climate a bit,” he adds.

Unbeaten leader with 39 points, Brazil will close the qualifier by hosting Chile this Thursday and visiting Bolivia the following Tuesday. Argentina, second with 35, will host Venezuela on Friday and then travel to play Ecuador.

The classic that was to be played in Sao Paulo in September 2021 is still pending, suspended due to invasion of the playing field by Brazilian health authorities for alleged violations by the Argentine team of anticovid protocols.

 

Messi paradox
Messi, 34, needed to win a title with his country, the Copa América-2021, so that his compatriots would get drunk with the spell that made him a deity at FC Barcelona.

After the conquest in the Maracana, precisely against Canarinha, Messi reconciled himself with the passionate Argentine fans and established himself as captain of the reborn cast of Lionel Scaloni with a view to what may be his last World Cup.

But there is no complete peace.

Now that there is calm in his national team, which has not lost 29 games (20 wins, nine draws), the turbulence is in his club, where so far in 2022 he has barely scored a goal in ten games, although he will stand out in the creation.

 

 

“Every individuality needs a context, a collective performance. And that collective performance, not only Messi, but also Neymar, they are not finding it at PSG”, says Buscalia.

Although they dominate the French league, despite two defeats in the last three games, the elimination in the second round of the Champions League against Real Madrid overwhelmed the patience of the Parisian fans, who in the next league match, on March 13, whistled at the duo, especially Neymar.

"For me, he is not enjoying (...) Right now, Leo is out of place" at PSG, Dani Alves, a former teammate at Barça, told ESPN.

The culé coach, Xavi, left doubts on Saturday about a possible return to the Camp Nou of the seven-time Ballon d'Or, despite his contract with the French.

Close ranks for Ney

 

Messi and Neymar will debut in 2022 with their national teams, after being absent from the double date of January and February. La Pulga was afflicted by COVID-19, while the 30-year-old Brazilian was out for almost 80 days due to a left ankle injury.

“He has extraordinary quality. It comes from a normal recovery process, the search for better performance, and time will give it," Tite said on March 11.

Since he took office almost six years ago, the coach of the five-time champions has had a paternal role with his top star, so many times the protagonist of controversies that have tarnished his image on and off the field.

And the 10 usually responds by providing magic in a selection of registers, but questioned for its supposed defensive nature.

Although this season Ney has the worst numbers since he became a professional (five goals in fifteen league games), he is close to surpassing Pelé as the top scorer for the Brazilian team: 70 goals compared to 77 for O Rei.

On the way to Qatar-2022 he has been absent in five of the fifteen games. Even so, he is the second gunner (7), behind the Bolivian Marcelo Martins Moreno (10), and the biggest assister (8) in the pre-world championship.

 

"He is our great crac," says Monique Danello, a journalist for TNT Sports. "That's why that recognition in the national team, that support, that attempt to rescue the best Neymar, because he is the best that Brazil can have to play a World Cup-level competition."

 

Link: https://www.eluniverso.com/deportes/futbol/lionel-messi-y-neymar-se-refugian-en-sus-selecciones-para-dejar-atras-una-de-las-peores-tormentas-deportivas-de-sus-carreras-nota/