Precisely 20 years ago, on 16 October 2004, Lionel Messi made his Barcelona first-team debut against Espanyol after the senior players persuaded then-coach Frank Rijkaard to give him a chance. And the biggest story in football history started to unfold…Exactly two decades later, over 80,000 people left the Monumental Stadium after witnessing another Messi’s magical night. He scored a hat-trick and added two assists in a brutal 5-0 win over Bolivia in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.The Messi’s show is the only thing that will be talked about in the coming days in Argentina. Although Leo is not River Plate’s, Monumental is his. Argentina never lost with Messi in their biggest stadium. Tonight was her 21st win with Messi in 26 games. And Leo tried to make everyone remember it…And he made another flawless, efortless display, as the ball glued to his leg. Like, for example, for his first goal of the night in the 19th minute, when the ball bounced into his feet after a mistake by Suarez and a pass by Martinez. He had no choice but to send it into the back of the net.Later, he was more interested in setting up than scoring goals. He returned the favour to Lautaro with an assist from a free kick in the 43rd minute, and then to the other partner from the attacking trio, Julian Alvarez. He went out alone on the goalkeeper in the stoppage time and decided to allow his young teammate to score. That was Messi’s 57 assists for Argentina. He is now just one assist away from breaking Landon Donovan’s world record of assists in terms of international football. Lionel Andrés Messi vs Bolivia. Eliminatorias. pic.twitter.com/KlyqKYpuqR— 𝙅𝘿 (@JuannDis) October 16, 2024 However, the wizard saved the best for last. In the 84th minute, he ran into the heart of the rival’s defence and scored, and just two minutes later, he dribbled them all up again and sealed a hat-trick after a one-two with the young Nico Paz.The Monumental dedicated the game’s last minutes to chanting the nation’s idol. And after 20 years of football at the top level, Messi is still capable of throwing the audience into a trance. The legend lives on.
