A stirring speech made by Lionel Messi before Argentina‘s Copa America win against Brazil has been revealed in a new documentary about the tournament.
Messi captained Argentina to the trophy last year — his first senior honour for his country after a host of near-misses — with a 1-0 victory against Brazil in the final at the Maracana.
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Netflix are set to release a documentary about Argentina’s winning campaign called Sean eternos: Campeones de America (“Be eternal: Champions of South America”) and a trailer for the series sheds light on how Messi inspired his teammates ahead of the final.
“Forty-five days without seeing our families, boys,” Messi said in the dressing room before the game. “We had an objective and we’re one small step away from achieving it.
“There’s no such thing as coincidence, boys. Do you know what? This trophy was meant to be played in Argentina and God brought it here — God brought it here so that we could lift it in the Maracana, boys, so that it could be more beautiful for everyone.
“So let’s go out with confidence and calm because we’re bringing this one home.”
Messi’s team talk before the Copa America final has been released 🥶 pic.twitter.com/03Kmluw955
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) November 2, 2022
Last year’s Copa America was originally scheduled to take place in Argentina and Colombia in 2020, but it was postponed and moved to Brazil following the COVID-19 pandemic and social unrest in Colombia.
Messi had experienced heartache with Argentina on a number of occasions, losing three consecutive finals of major tournaments from 2014-2016.
Angel Di Maria‘s winning goal against Brazil put an end to that losing streak and ensured Argentina won their first piece of silverware in 28 years.
“I have peace of mind of having achieved the dream that has been denied to me so many times,” Messi told ESPN last year.
“It was like a dream, a spectacular moment. I couldn’t believe it had happened. I enjoy watching the images now more than at the time as I was in a daze. I didn’t quite understand what was happening.”
Messi will hope to lead Argentina to their first taste of World Cup glory since 1986 at this month’s tournament in Qatar.