Fan footage of Messi tearing Croatia defender apart is ‘best video ever taken’
Few moments encapsulate the unadulterated magic of Lionel Messi better than this.
Diego Maradona was labelled 'the cosmic kite' after scoring his breathtaking wondergoal against England at the 1986 World Cup, and the way Messi jinked and twisted past Croatia's Josko Gvardiol in the build-up to Argentina's third goal last night was, aptly, about as cosmically kite-like as it gets.
Fan footage, taken right beside the pitch, captures the run in intimate detail, with Messi mesmerically dancing his way past a man widely tipped to become one of the best defenders on the planet not once, but twice, before executing an inch-perfect cut-back to team-mate Julian Alvarez, who swept the ball home from close-range.
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The fan behind the camera described the clip as "the best video I've ever taken," and thousands of awestruck Twitter users rushed to the comments section to sing Messi's praises.
"That little old man absolutely bamboozled one of the best defenders in the world and then threaded a perfect pass right in front of the goal. Spectacular stuff. The guy is an alien," one person tweeted in response.
"All control, body positioning, change of speed/direction, vision, pitch awareness, final ball all in 15 seconds. There will never be another player like this to grace the earth in our lifetime," wrote another.
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"I don't even like football but I can't stop watching this," a third commented.
Messi is now just one victory away from landing the only major honour missing from his bulging trophy cabinet following yet another World Cup masterclass last night.
His goal, a thunderous first half penalty, saw him become Argentina's highest-ever World Cup goalscorer, while the spellbinding run captured above saw him tie Pele's long-standing record of six assists in the knockout stages.
Messi has inescapably been compared to Maradona since he was a teenager, and as he relentlessly drags an Argentina side distinctly lacking in star power toward World Cup glory, just as the cosmic kite did in '86, it's almost impossible – unless you're Piers Morgan – not to root for him.
One more win and his legacy as the greatest of all time is arguably cemented, though in this writer's opinion, he doesn't need it. Messi has done things, and continues to do things that no one else is able to match, and 90 minutes of football isn't going to change that.
Enjoy him while you can, folks. We simply shall not see his like again.
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