“Personal mark for Messi? He would be absurd, seen as something disloyal to the show” | INTERVIEW

The enchantment lasted until adulthood, when the Argentine journalist already had a career in newspapers and magazines in his country. But what happened to very few happened to him: he was writing a book that drowned That, like in small flower pots, it overflowed. And that, in the reporting process, she was transported by testimonies from up to 250 people. That book, finally, was called The Match (Tusquets, 2013) and, after the edition of the chronicler Leila Guerreiro, it summarizes the joys, the mysteries and the anger of a World Cup – that of 86 – that established Maradona as the most great of all time. Amazon says it best: “This is a book about the most legendary soccer match in history: the one on June 22, 1986, in the World Cup in Mexico, when the Argentine team faced England and beat them with two goals from Maradona. , one converted by hand, the other inscribed in the firmament of works of art.

Burgó today has to witness another myth, equally conclusive: Lionel Messi. The star comes to Lima this Monday, sleeps in an exclusive hotel in the capital and plays the next day against Juan Reynoso’s team. It will be the first time we see him anointed as world champion.

-How would you explain this Messi, in Miami, almost 40, absolutely familiar, who has just revolutionized the largest country in the world?

That, just as you say it: he is a Messi who prioritized his family life, combining it with a minor sporting challenge but a challenge nonetheless, which is to take Inter Miami to the highest possible levels, very different from where they were. And that’s where he is. Obviously business is added, too, and sport. It was not the highest sporting expectation at this point in his career but it is a decision. He would say that today he is a Messi divided into thirds, very happy.

-What did this team do well or do better to be number 1 in the FIFA ranking, but above all to be world champion so long later?

In addition to being a team, it is a group. There is a very interesting decision by Scaloni, his coaching staff and his players, about trusting. When this started it aroused very little interest, but little by little he won over the squad, made a necessary renovation, and Messi felt more protected by the new players. And starting with the two Lionels, the results began to appear. Because we depend on these, without a doubt. One centimeter more, one less, makes a difference. He lost only one match – against Saudi Arabia – in the last two years. He became a great team. This is a phrase from Bianchi that applies perfectly to the moment: “One triumph leads to another triumph and another and so on.” Argentina today is a team that is accustomed to winning.

-Making a personal mark for Messi – like that of Reyna against Diego in 85 – would be nonsense today.

It is not impossible. Less like that time. Gentile had also done it in the ’82 World Cup. Today it is no longer used, and it is clear that it doesn’t make much sense either. It would be seen, today, as something disloyal to the show. But above all, trying to do it with Messi would be useless today.

-Who comes after Messi?

It’s a great question because it still has no answer. Mbappé is a phenomenon, everyone follows him, but the French League is far from being the best in the world. He would have to make a quality sporting leap, so that Neymar doesn’t happen to him. If that happens, we’ll see.

-How do you look at the Peruvian team post Gareca and now with Reynoso?

I think from a distance, I’ll be honest. Peru has the challenge of becoming Peru again without this dependence on Gareca and its good work in recent times. It was a serious project, accompanied by results. Now, with Reynoso, Peru is going to have to show that what they did was not only for Ricardo, but for the players, and that that order was above all.

-Why are there more Chileans than Peruvians in Argentine soccer?

For a borderline issue, I would tell you. There are also more Paraguayans, Uruguayans or Colombians. It’s just for that. And at the same time I would tell you that, except for Advíncula, the last Peruvians who played in Argentine soccer did not leave a great memory. Ballón in River was associated with relegation, he is a great player, but he had that time.

-The 2022 world final or the Libertadores final in Madrid, which your River won? (Heh)

ltwo, I would tell you, but if you force me to choose one, I’ll choose the final in Madrid. For a matter of weight, of rival. They are incomparable. The truth is that I have nothing in particular against France, heh. I didn’t care if it was with Spain or Germany. In Madrid, on the other hand, beating that rival had a different flavor.

-What are you writing/reporting now?

Well… I’m writing a biography. I never did it before. I’m on it. It is a challenge, given the overlap of work to which all journalists are subjected today. But you know that writing a book is what I like the most.

-How are you processing the good news that has happened to you? “The Party”, the incredible book about the Argentina-England of 86?

I am very happy with what happened to the other (N.de.R. the book “The Party, Argentina-England 1986”, was declared tomorrow of “Cultural Interest” by the Legislature of Buenos Aires. The praise makes me a little uncomfortable, the criticism, I don’t know, due to a question of shyness. But I really liked what happened the other day, because I felt it was an honest recognition, outside of what social networks are, where we show our things and, in some way, we sell ourselves. It arose from the idea of ​​a legislator, who I admire because he was a former footballer (Claudio Morresi) and when they told me about it… I put aside my shyness and well. It was a spectacular day. And it was thanks to a dream match, like that one in 1986 with Diego Armando Maradona.