Why did we call the best footballer in history ‘cold chested’?

The most feared nickname in football is being called cold chest. Even in defeat one can exude heroism or generate admiration. The cold chest, on the other hand, is indifference in shorts, immunity to the devotion of the fan, the flat electrocardiogram of a zombie who goes out onto the field with no interest in glory, concentrating on the mere process of earning his wages.

Varsky once said that certain players had a chest freezer. He was not referring to his lack of blood to face a commitment, but to his ability to sleep the ball and decide without haste in the instant before scoring a goal. Like Perico cushioning the ball in 69 against the Argentines. Or Grondona numbing her with the instep in a classic before beating Marco Flores. Being cold chested is something else. It is looking to one side when the blood heats up, the eyes light up, the throat reddens. It’s having ice pumping the heart.

Cold chest they told Lionel Messi. That’s what they called him in his land, when every time he came from Barcelona to put on the light blue and white, they accused him of sleepwalking. The writer Hernan Casciari in a moving story that drew tears from Antonella Roccuzzo, compiled some of those grievances: “Cold chest. You only care about money. Stay there. You don’t feel the shirt. You are Galician, not Argentine. If you ever quit, think again. Mercenary”.

In the absurd race to compare Lío with Maradona, injustice emerges in every inch. Outside of sports, Diego is excused for all his outrages, his insults, even his alleged crimes. In many cases he disguises them under the garb of his alleged rebellion. The Rosario is criticized for being quiet, for ringing, ruminating his discontent and making decisions with his eyes. Martino and Sampaoli know how far his power reaches. Simón Kuper in “The complexity of Barza” explains excessively how fundamental it was in the takeoff and the collapse of the Barça club. He even criticizes him for having been champion at 35, when Maradona was months before reaching 26.

Messi has made and will make mistakes. He is a human being in case anyone has forgotten.

As a journalist, the list of demands that we usually make of boys who are less than 18 years old and who go from eating badly to earning $5,000 a month is ridiculous. Or to people who have everything like the Rosario and we demand the qualities of a saint. How many of us would react with that presumed maturity if life changed us abruptly?

To Messi, he said last week, you have to enjoy it. Also thank you. In the history of football, these last 20 years have been wonderful. And he, although many still regret it, has been the protagonist.

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