Messi & Argentina Blow It Again

Lionel Messi and Argentina looked poised to finally seal their first major tournament win in 23 years, particularly when goalkeeper Sergio Romero stopped Arturo Vidal’s first spot kick for Chile in the shootout. Messi walked up with a chance to quiet the critics and finally match his stellar club career by sealing a major victory for Argentina. Instead he missed terribly and, when Chile’s Bravo stopped Biglia’s kick in the fifth frame, it was all but over for Argentina, confirmed moments later.

This was the second year in a row that Chile has beaten Argentina in the Copa America final, after again going the full 120 minutes without either team breaking through. It was also the third major final for Argentina in which they could not find the back of the net in 120 minutes of action. Two of those ended in penalty kick heartbreak, with Germany’s Gotze breaking their heart with a late goal in the third. The game tonight was a cagey affair, with two questionable sending offs in the first half and plenty of chances for both sides in the second. As has been the case in three finals before, Higuain had a chance in the first half to crack the game open one-on-one with Bravo, but for the fourth time in total, he failed to deliver. The same happened against Germany in the last World Cup in Brazil and he failed to capitalize on an opportunity late in the last Copa final. Aguero finally came on in the closing minutes of regulation, but he too was denied by an excellent save from Bravo. Messi had some nice runs and half chances, but Chile played him effectively by pushing four, five and even six men at him whenever he closed on the 18-yard-box. His frustration began to show and his passing and dribbling became increasingly erratic as time wore on, though he almost set up the winner on two occasions in extra time.  

The question must now emerge again of whether a player can be the “greatest ever” if he cannot replicate his club form for his country, particularly when that country is replete with talent that rarely coalesce on a national side in any given era. Messi has failed to score in his last 360 minutes of Finals action and tonight missed his first penalty shootout in his entire career.

It is not that Messi does not score for his national side – he broke the record for most goals ever by an Argentine in the semifinal cruise over the U.S. a few nights before He scored regularly in the group stage of the last World Cup and in this year’s tournament leading up to the final. Why he can’t seem to reach that level in Finals is certainly something to consider and something that might mar his legacy if he doesn’t end that drought in the next World Cup (2018) or Copa America (2019).

Messi has incredible talent and scores goals in bunches that have never been seen before, clearly a better all-around player than his contemporary Ronaldo; also arguably an underperformer for his team in big tournaments. But the slight diminishing of luster in the past two seasons and the reality that he is surrounded by among the best talent in all the world with Barcelona does then pose a question about whether he still sits behind Pele and Maradona. To me, Maradona is the greatest player of all time until Messi wins that major title for his nation. And one must admit other names sneak into the conversation if we include the dual criteria.

I was rooting for Argentina tonight, and for Messi to get off the snide and solidify his place at the top of the pantheon, but that outrageous penalty kick makes it hard to believe that this is the best player the world has ever seen. Sure it was one moment in a record-smashing career, but we can add the other two finals to that list and a growing sense that his magical moments seem to come less often for country than club.  

Cheers, Europe … it was nice knowing you!

Auf wiedersehen, adios, arrivederci, au revoir, vaarwel. That is what the British people, by a small margin, have decided to say to the European Union this evening (NYT). Following in the footsteps of nativist movements across the world, England will now stand alone, leaving the rest of Europe to find a way to live in harmony under one currency and free trade zone. It was a stunning victory for the right-wing group that sponsored the vote, not only sending shock waves across Europe and the globe, but causing the Pound to tumble like Road Runner over the cliff after another failed plan to snatch his nemesis.  

Like the nomination of Donald Trump as the GOP presidential candidate, it appears to show a new fascist tide rising across parts of the Western world, where anger over economic disparity has been planted firmly at the footstep of growing transnational migration and the immigrants looking for a better life at the core of the neoliberal economic juggernaut. Nigel Farage, the leader of the Independent Party largely responsible for the victory, proclaimed, “Dare to dream that the dawn is breaking on an independent United Kingdom.”

As the first of the 28-member bloc to leave, it is still unclear what effect it will have on the EU, though it is worth noting that England never accepted the Euro as their currency, and were thus not as closely aligned with the economic policies of Germany and France as the rest of the member countries. On the other hand, as a key player in the financial and banking industries of Europe, one imagines it will cause even further consternation as the European Union attempts to confront its failures over the past decade and a half to live up to its early promise.

More troubling is the anti-immigrant “populism” that is spreading like a Ziska plague across Europe and America and what it means for our collective future. The real culprits at the heart of the declining economic prosperity of all but the richest Westerners have dodged the proverbial bullet of the 2007-08 Financial Crisis so far and seem to have effectively used their political surrogates to create an alternative narrative that resonates with the people. The first rule of colonialism was divide and conquer and that still seems to be among the most effective strategies to keep an increasingly squeezed middle and working class at bay as their quality of life continues to decline.

Whether it can last in the long term is an interesting question, particularly with the model of economic prosperity, equality and opportunity the countries of Finland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark continue to provide to the rest of the Western nations, who conveniently ignore the data in lieu of tired old tales of neoliberal hegemony and its many beneficiaries. The election of Francois Hollande and the run of Bernie Sanders certainly provide some hope of a progressive “spring” that can restore some semblance of reason to the debate about our collective future, but it appears the reactionary policies of ressentiment are winning out with substantially more frequency at the present. 

A Glimmer of Hope in a World Again Plagued by Hate

A Sacramento Baptist preacher spewed a message of hate in the wake of the Orlando attack, saying last week, among other things, that he was only upset that more LGBT Americans were not killed and “I wish the government would round them all up, put them up against a firing wall, put a firing squad in front of them and blow their brains out!” Yesterday, it was announced that the property management company of Pastor Roger Jimenez and his Verity Church will not be renewing his lease and that the radical group should look for a new home.


While a relatively small story in the bigger picture of American culture and politics today, it should provide hope to those of us unmoved by the hate-mongering that passes for political ideology right now. Things can only change if we decide to change them; not through the magical osmosis some seem to be awaiting …

iTrump No More; Facebook and Google Still On Board

Apple has decided to withdraw any support for the upcoming Republican Convention, citing Trump’s position on women, immigrants and minorities (Politico). While Apple is not a major political player in politics, they have provided some funding and technology to both Republican and Democratic conventions in the past. Their stance this cycle might also have something to do with Trump’s hardline condemnation of the company for their stance on encryption. Nonetheless, it is a bold move for the most valuable company in the world. Unfortunately, this ideological (or ethical) stance was not supported by Microsoft, Facebook or Google, who will all still provide equal support to both parties’ conventions.

The GOP convention will be held in Cleveland this summer, a city still celebrating their first championship since 1964 when the Cavaliers and LeBron James made history by ending one of the longest active droughts in the country. It was done in historic fashion, with James only the third player to register a triple double in an NBA championship Game 7, the Cavs becoming the first team ever to overcome a 3-1 deficit in the finals and James doing something even Michael Jordan never did (winning as an underdog in the final).

Cleveland is an interesting choice for the GOP, clearly intended to show that they are more sensitive to the interests and needs of minorities, with 53.3 percent of the population African American, another 10 percent Latino/a and only 37.3 percent white. With Trump at the virtual helm of the GOP ship, it is hard to see that strategy being terribly effective, with his harsh words likely to cause unrest and consternation among the denizens of this long-suffering American city. On the other hand, at least we can say that Trump more honestly represents the true spirit of the GOP regarding minorities and women.