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The Times of India
The Times of India
Sport
Dwaipayan Datta | TNN

Angel Di Maria: Lionel Messi's guardian angel

When Leo Messi sits down to write his autobiography, he may well have a chapter on his winter companion Angel Di Maria. The 34-year-old injury-prone Juventus winger scored the winner in the final against Nigeria when Messi won the Olympic gold in 2008.

In 2021, it was the wiry Argentine's brilliant lob over Alison Becker that handed Messi and Argentina their first Copa America title since 1993. And on Sunday, on Messi's greatest night, it was Di Maria's brilliance down the left that helped the Latin American giants go 2-0 up against France before half-time. Unfortunately, an injury grounded Di Maria when Argentina played the 2014 final against Germany.

In recent years, Di Maria has played most of his football down the right. He was also recovering from an injury that he sustained in the Saudi Arabia game and he wasn't a certainty for the final. But coach Lionel Scaloni, in a masterstroke, decided to employ the twinkle-toed winger down the left, a position in which he played when he becamethe Man of the Match in the Champions League final in 2014 for Real Madrid.

The move caught French right-back Jules Kounde completely off-guard and the wily Juventus player made a mockery of Ousmane Dembele to earn the first penalty that helped Messi make it 1-0. A little later, it was Di Maria who was the extra man meeting Alister Mac Allister's beautiful ball from the left to make the scoreline 2-0.

1/10:TOI's FIFA World Cup 2022 XI

<p>Here is TOI's FIFA World Cup 2022 XI which ended in Lionel Messi leading Argentina to glory, scoring twice against France in one of the all-time great finals.</p>Getty Images

2/10:FORWARD: Kylian Mbappe (France)

<p>Nicknamed Donatello, the Parisian already has a World Cup and a Golden Ball at 23. He will be around for a while to rewrite the record books.</p>Getty Images

3/10:​FORWARD: Richarlison (Brazil)

<p>The only Brazilian to make the cut ahead of Olivier Giroud or Julian Alvarez by virtue of his dazzling displays earlier in the tournament. The Tottenham player scored arguably the goal of the competition – a stunning overhead kick in his team's opening win over Serbia.</p>Getty Images

4/10:FORWARD: Lionel Messi (Argentina)

<p>Mr. Magnificent in his fifth World Cup at the age of 35. His drive and passion, skill and leadership helped Argentina win their third World Cup.</p>Getty Images

5/10:MIDFIELDER: Luka Modric (Croatia)

<p>One can't look beyond the 37-year-old engine with endless fuel supply. The Croatian captain pushed his team for 120 minutes against Brazil and kept his calm in the shootout.</p>Getty Images

6/10:MIDFIELDER: Jude Bellingham (England)

<p>An exceptional talent who dictated the England midfield with panache and confidence belying age.</p>Getty Images

7/10:MIDFIELDER: Enzo Fernandez (Argentina)

<p>Handled the pressure of playing alongside Lionel Messi and never looked out of depth. Justifiably won the young player of the tournament award.</p>Getty Images

8/10:DEFENDER: RB | Achraf Hakimi (Morocco)

<p>The PSG star delivered intensity on both ends of the pitch and impressed in all seven of his appearances in the tournament.</p>Getty Images

9/10:DEFENDER: CB | Josko Gvardiol (Croatia)

<p>The 20-year-old masked stopper emerged as one of the young stars of the tournament as he helped Croatia reach the semifinals.</p>Getty Images

10/10:​DEFENDER: CB | Raphael Varane (France)

<p>Pillar in the France team that won the trophy four years ago; his reassuring presence proved crucial again.<br /></p>Getty Images
TOI's FIFA World Cup 2022 XI

Di Maria, quite clearly, was running out of steam and had to be taken off midway through the second half, but he had done more than what was expected of him. Many felt it was the Di Maria move by Scaloni that actually tilted the balance in favour of Argentina.

As the match wore on, Di Maria, sitting on the sidelines, couldn't hold his tears — emotions were simply spilling over as fortunes kept fluctuating. And when it was all over, Messi's biggest hug was reserved for his old friend, with whom he has won and lost in national colours for 14 years. Now it's time to savour, sitting on a park bench, the beautiful journey they have shared.

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