Former Argentina international Lucas Biglia believes Barcelona star Lionel Messi can propel the nation to the 2022 World Cup title and replicate Michael Jordan’s success in The Last Dance.
Deep-lying midfielder Biglia retired from international duty following his nation’s Round of 16 defeat to France in the 2018 World Cup.
Messi has already featured in four World Cups for Argentina but aside from his instrumental role in propelling his side to the final of the 2014 version, he has struggled to replicate his immense form at club level on the biggest international stage.
Biglia has now drawn upon the hugely successful The Last Dance series, drawing upon the success of the Chicago Bulls basketball side in the 1990s, propelled by the legendary Jordan.
“I finished The Last Dance the other day, it was excellent,” Biglia told Spanish radio broadcasters FM 94.7, as cited by ESPN FC. “It got me thinking, that in a few years, hopefully we will be able to watch something similar with our own phenomenon [Messi].
“[We could] learn a mountain of things about his day-to-day. Because you see him train, you see him play but so many things happen on a day-to-day basis that you don’t know about, as we see [with Jordan] in the series.
“The scene that I would like to see in the future is the one when Jordan is hugging the [NBA] trophy and crying. I would like to see that with Messi and the World Cup. That I would like to see. I know what it would mean for him and for the Argentine people.”
Biglia reiterated that Messi is to football what Jordan was to basketball in terms of their dominance in their respective fields, but pointed out that their personalities were not the same.
“He [Messi] always puts himself at your level,” Biglia continued. “Not just because of his humility, but to make you feel comfortable. He looks to build a relationship with his teammates by relating to them. That’s what makes him great. There are no words to describe him as a player. As a person, he is 10, 100 times better.”
