11 Most Shocking Reveals In Messi’s World Cup Documentary On Apple TV+

By Charles Papadopoulos Published 2 minutes ago

The new Lionel Messi docuseries on Apple TV+ explores the Argentinian national team’s journey to the World Cup championship. These are our takeaways.

Summary

• Argentina's national team's fierce dedication to winning the World Cup for Messi drove their performance.
• Messi's humility towards Maradona shines as he chooses to play in his unique style, not imitating his idol.
• Fans' superstitions and magic contributed to Argentina's World Cup win, as passion for Messi united the country.

SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT

The new Apple TV+ docuseries Messi's World Cup: The Rise of a Legend makes several reveals about Lionel Messi and the Argentina national team's quest for World Cup victory. Billions watched the event from around the world as Argentina secured victory over France, solidifying Messi as one of the greatest footballers ever to play. Their road to being FIFA World Cup champions was riddled with adversity and brilliant sports narratives, some dating back decades.

Sports narratives can be riveting and powerful, and following The Last Dance miniseries, other streaming services have honed in on great athletic talents, examining their stories. Netflix's David Beckham documentary had several shocking reveals, and now the Lionel Messi series explores the mentality of the Argentina football team in their journey. While it's not quite as interpersonal as other sports docuseries, Messi's World Cup explores the broader sentimentality of Argentina's victory and the country's fierce dedication to football and their captain, Messi.

10 The Argentina National Team Wanted To Win It All For Messi

The team expressed their endearing admiration for Messi, which motivated them to play their hardest.

One of the most awe-inspiring aspects of the Messi's World Cup documentary is the team's sheer dedication to its captain. Not only did the team care about winning, but each player was powerfully invested in securing the win for Messi, as they believed he deserved the win to enhance his career narrative. Each team member speaks of Messi with notable reverence, and the documentary explains that much of the team consisted of younger players who'd grown up idolizing the star.

9 An Argentinian Cycling Quartet Traveled For 177 Days To See The World Cup

The docuseries explores fans' dedication to arriving in Qatar to watch the World Cup live.

The Apple TV+ docuseries closely examines the relationship between Argentinian fans and their team. The first episode notes the enormous amount of fans who'd traveled to Qatar to watch their team play in person, some having saved up for the trip for years. A group of four friends biked all the way from South Africa to reach the event, taking 177 days to show up and watch their team live. Other fans also revealed their stories of the fulfillment of seeing the World Cup in person. Needless to say, the journey paid off.

8 Messi Idolized Diego Maradona (But Never Wanted To Mimic His Game)

Episode 2 examines Messi's relationship with Diego Maradona, another Argentinian football legend.

Close

Episode 2 of Messi's World Cup examines the relationship between past and present stars, with Lionel Messi's ties to Argentinian football legend Diego Maradona. Maradona led the country to a World Cup victory in 1986 and is regarded as one of the greatest players ever. This left enormous expectations for Messi to live up to, and he's extraordinarily humble in the docuseries when compared to the legend. Diego Maradona also coached the Argentina team in the 2010 World Cup, which ended in heartbreak for Messi.

In an archive footage interview with young Messi, he's asked whether he imitates part of Maradona's game. While 13-year-old Messi expresses his admiration for Maradona, he says "no" in response to imitating the older star. Lionel Messi shows inspiring humility, and even at a young age, he knew he would have to distinguish himself as his own player rather than imitating one of the greats. No matter the inevitable outside comparisons, individuality is the most essential thing Messi could've strived for, and he followed his path to live beyond Maradona's shadow.

7 Messi Was Crushed By The 2010 World Cup And 2016 Copa América Final

Messi's previous defeats weighed heavily on him in the 2022 World Cup.

Close

The docuseries explores Messi's past experiences with the Argentina national team, including the 2010 World Cup and the Copa América, where he suffered heartbreaking defeats. In episode 2, Ángel Di María explains that after the 2010 loss, Messi was "completely destroyed." Messi's devastation was evident from the emotion he displayed after these games, but narratives at the time were rather harsh on him, suggesting that he didn't care about representing his home country. Hearing his perspective from him and his teammates ensures how much passion Messi has had for the Argentina team.

6 The Argentina National Team Was Composed To Help Messi Perform

The 2022 World Cup team was built to bring the best out of Messi.

Episode 2 examines the differences between the 2010 Argentina World Cup team and the 2022 squad. The 2010 team put an enormous amount of pressure on Messi to perform, and the documentary specifically cites Diego Maradona in adding to that pressure. The 2022 team seemed to have meshed far better, and it was formed explicitly with players whom Manager Lionel Scaloni believed would complement Messi, including some who were relatively lesser-known athletes.

5 Messi Was Angered By The Narrative Before The Netherlands Game

Messi and the Argentina team engaged in extracurricular trash-talk with the Dutch squad.

Close

Viewers who watched the 2022 World Cup will likely remember the match between Argentina and the Netherlands, which got increasingly chippy between players. Leading up to the game, the Dutch manager, Louis van Gaal, participated in some trash-talk, along with his team's players, that angered Messi. The trash-talk lit a fire under Messi, who played an extraordinary game and prevented the upset against the talented Netherlands squad.

The Argentinian squad was undoubtedly excited to see their typically mild-mannered captain fired up.

After the game, Messi engaged in some trash talk with Dutch player Wout Weghorst during his press conference, saying, "What are you looking at, you fool? Go away." The press conference sparked memes and international excitement during the 2022 World Cup, and seeing Messi and his team's reactions to the game in the documentary is hilarious. The Argentinian squad was undoubtedly excited to see their typically mild-mannered captain fired up.

4 Kun Agüero Comforted Messi After The Copa América 2016 Loss To Chile

Kun Agüero explains what he said to Messi after a crushing defeat.

Retired Argentinian footballer Kun Agüero, who played alongside Messi in the 2016 Copa América defeat, described his experience comforting his teammate after the tragic loss. Seeing the camaraderie between athletes is incredibly touching, as Kun explains staying with the clearly emotional Messi, trying to comfort him, saying, "It's okay. Let's go. We'll see what happens in the future. Don't worry." While Agüero wasn't there on the 2022 team, his words in the docuseries still resonate.

3 Argentina United To Get Messi Back On The Team After His Retirement

After Messi retired from the national team in 2016, the country united in hopes of persuading him to return.

Particularly after the 2016 Copa América defeat, Argentinian fans were disgruntled with Messi's inability to perform for the national team. While Messi had accomplished incredible feats with Barcelona, he'd never been able to perform for Argentina. Crushed by his failure in 2016, Messi announced his retirement from the national squad. Of course, once Messi announced his retirement, the country was in uproar in their love for the star, begging him to return and give it another go.

2 Argentinian Fans Practiced Witchcraft To Aid Their Team

Messi's World Cup shows how superstitious fans aided the team's victory.

Sports fans and athletes tend to be superstitious, and episode 4 of Messi's World Cup examined the various ways fans in Argentina contributed to the team's victory. Leading up to the final match against France, the docuseries plays interviews with fans who practiced magic and witchcraft rituals to aid Messi and the national team. "You can't sit around and do nothing because it's an immense feeling that compels you to do something," one woman describes, explaining how she felt she could contribute to the team from her home. Another fan describes wearing his hair down for a month in superstition.

1 Messi Wants To Keep Playing As Long As He Can

Messi speaks on his retirement from football.

In Messi's World Cup episode 4, the star approaches the topic of retirement, saying, "I'm going to try and keep playing. And then, the day that I no longer enjoy it, when I no longer enjoy the day-to-day of playing and training, I think that will be the moment when I'll realize I don't have to keep going." Above all else, Messi's World Cup demonstrates Lionel Messi's profound passion for the game and endearing appreciation for playing it. He's spoken on retirement frequently in recent years, and the docuseries doesn't offer any concrete update for his plans.