Messi recreates Maradona's famous moment
In his first game in the MLS on August 27, Messi faced five defenders of the New York Red Bulls. He handled it by swinging the ball to the right for Cremaschi, then received a cross, before fixing a 2-0 victory for Inter Miami.
Messi's situation and handling quickly caused a fever on social networks. On X - Twitter's new name, former US international Taylor Twellman took a picture of Messi facing five New York Red Bulls defenders, and then placed it next to a photo of another Argentine legend, Diego Maradona facing six Belgian defenders at World Cup 1982. Twellman captioned the two photos with five "alien" symbols.
In fact, the situation of Maradona facing six Belgian defenders makes only photographic sense. When the reporter took the photo, Maradona had just received a pass from the free kick and the Belgian players were making a fence. The moment the Belgian fence turned to face Maradona inadvertently created the feeling that they had to create a multi-layered defense to stop the Argentine star. Maradona's subsequent cross was not dangerous.
Maradona's famous moment took place in the opening match of the 1982 World Cup. Erwin Vandenbergh scored the only goal in the 62nd minute, helping Belgium win 1-0. After finishing second to Belgium in the first group stage, Argentina were eliminated at the bottom of the second group stage, behind Italy and Brazil.
Maradona had to wait until the 1986 World Cup to reach maturity. He scored five goals and led Argentina to the title, including two in the semi-final against Belgium 2-0.
Last December, Messi followed Maradona's footsteps when leading Argentina to win the 2022 World Cup. With seven goals and three assists, the 36-year-old striker contributed directly to the championship. He also won the World Cup Golden Ball.
Messi joined Inter Miami in the summer transfer window, after finishing his peak in Europe with Barca and PSG. In nine games for the new team, he scored 11 goals and assisted three times, helping Inter Miami win the Leagues Cup and reach the final of the US Open.
