Apple TV's latest documentary Messi's World Cup: The Rise of a Legend tells more than Argentina's journey to glory in Qatar, it shows just how heavy the title of GOAT can weigh
- Lionel Messi led Argentina to its third World Cup victory in Qatar back in 2022
- Apple TV+'s Messi's World Cup: The Rise of a Legend is released on February 21
- DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news
Apple TV+'s Messi's World Cup: The Rise of a Legend details the soccer fairytale that was Lionel Messi and Argentina's 2022 win. But it's also a stark reminder that the relationship between the player and the nation has not always been plain-sailing.
In December 2022, Messi led Argentina back to the summit of global soccer, toppling the only remaining possible criticism of his decorated career.
It filled the only empty space left in his trophy cabinet. It was the brightest jewel in the crown that proclaimed Messi the greatest of all time.
But Apple TV+'s latest documentary, Messi's World Cup: The Rise of a Legend - a four-part series, which is released on February 21 - shows just how tough being the greatest actually is.
Yes, the documentary tells the tale of how Messi finally won the World Cup. But, through rare footage, interviews with a host of fans, journalists and analysts, including Gary Lineker , the series also captures the complicated relationship between Argentina and one of its greatest players.
![In December 2022, Lionel Messi led Argentina to its third World Cup win in Qatar](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/20/21/81505617-0-image-a-1_1708464301354.jpg)
In December 2022, Lionel Messi led Argentina to its third World Cup win in Qatar
![Apple TV's latest documentary details the soccer fairytale that was Messi finally winning](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/20/21/81505695-13106213-Apple_TV_s_latest_documentary_details_the_soccer_fairytale_that_-a-14_1708464686394.jpg)
Apple TV's latest documentary details the soccer fairytale that was Messi finally winning
His teammates set out with the goal of winning the World Cup for Messi. That much is made clear by Angel Di Maria, Emi Martinez and Rodrigo de Paul's worship of their talisman. But Messi was only ever doing it for one thing. Not his career. Not himself. Just Argentina.
Messi's love and dedication to his country is made clear throughout the series, even when it didn't love him back.
The meat of the first episode is dedicated to Messi's childhood when he left Argentina for Barcelona at age 13, arguably when the country first turned its back on him.
A familiar storyline to many soccer fans, but it sets the scene for significance of the tournament in Qatar - his last shot at the World Cup off the back of a glittering career. A shot that was almost over before it could really begin.
As many soccer fans will forever remember, Argentina suffered a massive upset a the hands of Saudi Arabia in their opening game. But cool and composed Messi merely describes it as a 'blow' - not the catastrophe it could have been.
And this is where viewers get the first glimpse of what the forward means to his teammates. Di Maria and Enzo Fernandez credit Messi's calmness in the wake of the shock as the reason they were able to to carry on with the latter insisting, 'Leo inspired us to stand by him as best we can.'
Messi delivers a lot but Argentina demands a lot too. After all, this is country that lives and breathes soccer. That is made evident in the fans' superstitions throughout the final episode. From witchcraft to bibles behind TV screens to freezing the opposition's names in water, the Argentinians will try anything to help their team. As one supporter says, 'you can't sit around and do nothing.'
But while they claim to be playing their part, the bulk of the responsibility is laid at Messi's door. It always has been.
![The series features insight from fans, journalists, and analysts, including Gary Lineker](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/20/21/81505719-13106213-The_series_features_insight_from_fans_journalists_and_analysts_i-a-16_1708464730738.jpg)
The series features insight from fans, journalists, and analysts, including Gary Lineker
![Angel Di Maria, Emi Martinez and Rodrigo de Paul (pictured) worship of their talisman](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/20/21/81505699-13106213-image-a-15_1708464694974.jpg)
Angel Di Maria, Emi Martinez and Rodrigo de Paul (pictured) worship of their talisman
![Messi's World Cup: The Rise of a Legend is a four-part series, which is released on February 21](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/20/21/81505705-0-image-a-4_1708464341123.jpg)
Messi's World Cup: The Rise of a Legend is a four-part series, which is released on February 21
For the majority of his career, Messi has shouldered the hopes and dreams of 40 million people all by himself.
'In Argentina, soccer is lived very intensely,' he says. 'My whole life was like that. My whole career was that way. And that is very difficult. I am very driven to win for my country.'
The second episode is dedicated to the comparisons between Messi and Diego Maradona, which haven been drawn ever since the former burst on to the scene.
Messi brands the likeness 'special' but the reality is, Maradona has cast a shadow over him throughout his career and with every failure to win with the national team, it became harder to burst out of that shadow.
Telemundo's Andres Cantor explains that Messi had won everything with Barcelona but nothing with Argentina until the Copa America in 2021 and that built resentment within the nation towards their talisman.
The series flashes back to the 2015 and 2016 editions of the tournament when Argentina lost to Chile in the final and the mob was unleashed - not at the seleccion, just at Messi.
'He would go to his room and lock himself up,' former teammate Sergio Aguero recalls. 'While the rest of us were having dinner, he would keep suffering for Argentina.'
It forced Messi to the brink of retirement. Yet, 'the mob' kept demanding more, and he kept delivering more.
![The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner has continuously been compared to Diego Maradona](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/20/21/81505967-0-image-a-11_1708464459205.jpg)
The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner has continuously been compared to Diego Maradona
![Maradona managed the Argentina national team at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/20/21/81505989-0-image-a-12_1708464462523.jpg)
Maradona managed the Argentina national team at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa
![Maradona is also a legend of the game, winning the World Cup with Argentina in 1986](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/20/21/81505969-0-image-a-13_1708464466561.jpg)
Maradona is also a legend of the game, winning the World Cup with Argentina in 1986
![Retired soccer player Sergio Aguero details his former teammate's sstruggles with the nation](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/20/21/81505715-13106213-image-a-17_1708464887039.jpg)
Retired soccer player Sergio Aguero details his former teammate's sstruggles with the nation
![The 36-year-old admits to having felt 'guilty' after failing to win for Argentina in the past](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/20/21/81505713-13106213-image-a-18_1708464931243.jpg)
The 36-year-old admits to having felt 'guilty' after failing to win for Argentina in the past
'Argentina is Leo's weakness, he loves Argentina like nobody else,' Aguero adds, while clips of Messi shielding himself from the media filter across the screen. Meanwhile, Messi himself admits to feeling guilty.
The flashbacks to 2015 and 2016 allows the series to demonstrate the stark contrast between previous tournaments and the one playing out in Qatar.
The viewer is left with the feeling that this World Cup is very much different to the past. This time, he has a team around him.
The documentary pulls on heartwarming scenes of Messi playing poker with his teammates and their testaments to the star, including Martinez's bold claim that he would 'die in goal' for him.
It juxtaposes these scenes of camaraderie by reminiscing back to Maradona's Seleccion of 2010, when one Argentine legend placed the weight of winning the World Cup entirely on another. The documentary delivers a clear message: Messi can't win it all by himself.
However, while the series does well to capture the significance of the victory by flipping throughout the span of Messi's career, the World Cup itself feels brushed over.
The blow of the opening to Saudi Arabia and the feistiness of the quarterfinal against Holland - including that clash with Wout Weghorst in the tunnel and Messi's now-infamous 'que miras, bobo?' line - are well covered but the rest of the knockout stages feel breezed over. A mere background to the Messi show.
![The documentary pulls on heartwarming scenes of Messi playing games with his teammates](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/20/21/81505723-13106213-The_documentary_pulls_on_heartwarming_scenes_of_Messi_playing_ga-a-19_1708465076867.jpg)
The documentary pulls on heartwarming scenes of Messi playing games with his teammates
![Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez makes the bold claim that he would 'die in goal' for Messi](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/20/21/81505709-13106213-Goalkeeper_Emiliano_Martinez_makes_the_bold_claim_that_he_would_-a-20_1708465080220.jpg)
Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez makes the bold claim that he would 'die in goal' for Messi
Yet, the insight from fans, journalists, teammates and the man himself more than make up for it, painting the picture beyond the World Cup.
Viewers already know the outcome of the game being played out on soccer's greatest stage, now they get the emotions behind it.
And as The Who's 'Baba O'Riley' plays over images of Messi finally lifting the World Cup, the viewer is left feeling that they haven't just witnessed Messi's journey to glory in Qatar but rather the 20-year making of a legend.
All in all, Messi's World Cup: The Rise of a Legend is a powerful story about how a kid from Rosario went from being an undervalued talent to becoming a hero to a villain, and back to a hero again for his national team.