History repeats itself. It's a common saying and you it is a perfect phrase that describes this generation of the Argentina National Team. On Sunday we saw one of the most talented teams in the world, with world class players in their primes, come so close to glory but fall short in the end. Once again it was at the hands of Chile, who just made the plays and broke the hearts of Argentina once again. Losing in back to back finals is heartbreaking for an Argentina team that was supposed to achieve glory for their country. The title drought for the national team continues and Argentina is left to rue their misses as they whiff on another major trophy chance.
Argentina's offense falls flat
In the last three finals, Argentina has been in, they have scored a whopping zero goals in those three combined. In 2014 we saw them waste prime chances against a German side who rarely gives up goals. Rodrigo Palacio had a chance to give Argentina an advantage in extra time but his header was short and fell right into Manuel Neuer's hands. Gonzalo Higuain actually put the ball into the back of the net but he was ruled offside, maybe incorrectly, but that argument is for another day. But that wasn't his only chance as the Napoli striker looked lost with his touches on that day and on Sunday.
Even the great Lionel Messi has been stifled to some degree when it comes to making an impact in the finals. The one thing Argentina have in their favor is their potent attack that looked unstoppable so many times during the tournament. They include players like Sergio Agüero, who led Manchester City in goals this season, Angel Di Maria, Messi, and Higuain, who led Serie A with 35 goals scored this season. Other than Agüero, who had a golden chance when his shot was barely tipped over the bar by Claudio Bravo, the world class players of Argentina looked out of ideas to generate offense. For a team that has all of those world class players, scoring zero goals in the last three finals they have played is a very sad stat.
Penalties are a dangerous game because it throws all logic out of the window. Anything can happen in a penalty shootout. Even something as unfathomable as Lionel Messi missing a penalty becomes a strong reality when it comes to making a kick from the penalty spot. Anything can happen and that's the scary part but it's also the part that makes it exciting.
So what's next?
It's safe to say that the Argentina National Team is in disarray. Reportedly Javier Mascherano, who is the team's rock in the midfield, has announced his retirement from international football along with Agüero. We all know what Messi said right after the final and it could be in the heat of the moment but for the AFA, the fact that those words were actually spoken by Messi is trouble enough. The AFA needs to reshape itself and maybe Messi's supposed retirement is enough to create changes.
But one thing is clear in all of this. This loss will haunt Argentina for some time to come. Maybe until the next tournament in Russia in 2018 but the sight of Messi, a man who rarely shows any emotion, crying on the pitch shows you that even four consecutive losses in finals can affect the best of us.
Argentina's national team is right now surrounded by a cloud of doubt and it will take some drastic measures for things to change. Maybe Messi retiring is the best for him but right now Argentina needs a leader and him coming back could help reinvent the AFA. But nobody knows at the moment.