Lionel Messi’s Absence Delivers Gut Punch for Argentina—in More Ways Than One

Argentina lost 2–1 to Uruguay in the nation’s first match since Lionel Messi’s emotional retirement but, as manager Lionel Scaloni pointed out, “there are different ways to lose.”

The dominant display his side delivered despite defeat didn’t worry the World Cup winning manager. The same, however, cannot be said for the sight of the sparse stands which greeted Scaloni and his players on Friday.

When Argentina bid adieu to the nation’s greatest ever player last month with a farewell friendly against Benin, there was scarcely room for a breath of wind in the 85,000-capacity Monumental. Yet, one month later, the incentive of a marquee fixture against the nation’s fierce rivals Uruguay could only inspire 24,000 into the 58,000-capacity La Bombonera, according to local outlet Clarín.

It’s estimated that Argentina’s national team hasn’t been subjected to so many swathes of empty seats in its own capital city since November 2011, when Messi was still considered the devil rather than his current status of deity.

If Scaloni thought his biggest problem would be replicating the record-breaking figures Messi delivered on the pitch, Friday’s loss showed the glaring problem which also awaits in the stands.

“It was a good match, regardless of the final result; we performed well in the second half,” Scaloni argued, with some justification. After a goalless opening 45 minutes, Uruguay took an unexpected lead thanks to a calamitous own goal. Lisandro Martínez’s attempt to head a set piece away saw the ball cannon off the back of the head of an unsuspecting Leonardo Balerdi.

From yet another dead ball, Maxi Araújo somehow looped Giorgian De Arrascaeta’s corner kick over Gerónimo Rulli. Argentina’s second-choice goalkeeper could perhaps have done better but was deceived by a bizarre trajectory of an effort which came off the back of Araújo’s neck rather than his head.

Stats via FotMob.

“We controlled the game from start to finish, beyond the goals they scored by chance,” Manchester City’s Enzo Fernández fairly argued. Argentina certainly dominated all the attacking metrics, taking advantage of the space afforded when Uruguay came onto them.

“We had a clear chance in the first half and several more in the second,” Scaloni fretted. “We didn’t get any reward for it.”

Some errant finishing can happen in this fickle sport—especially when the deadliest finisher of his generation is missing. But this week served as a reminder of how fair-weather fans can also be.

“I haven’t sold a single jersey, even though I’m offering them for 15,000 pesos [$9.70],” one street vendor lamented to Clarín ahead of Friday’s fixture against Uruguay. “Luckily, I live just a few blocks away, so I didn’t have to travel from far off like some of the others.”

More than half of Boca Juniors’ fabled home ground was still empty by the time Argentina kicked off. Reports claim that as many as an extra 10,000 filtered in when the turnstiles were opened for those without tickets just to get some warm bodies into the ground. It was still an embarrassing sight.

The Messi factor cannot be overlooked but it wasn’t the only element in play this week.

Those that did pay for tickets had to cough up a minimum of 95,000 pesos ($61) while some reserved seats were as much as 140,000 pesos ($91). The carrot of watching the greatest player of all time proved to be enough of an incentive to justify the high prices put forward by a hotly controversial Argentinian soccer federation which is now feeling the pain of the people’s stick.

Without their sporting god, fans could also have been distracted by the visit of Pope Leo XIV in Argentina this week.

Scaloni acknowledged the exodus of support without slipping into defeatism. “As for the fans, they’ll come back to cheer us on, even though he [Messi] is no longer there,” the manager predicted. “It’s up to us to energize the supporters.”