Argentina and Lionel Messi made history in soccer by winning the FIFA World Cup in 2022. The path to glory was not easy, and fans would quite clearly say that the quarter-final match against the Netherlands was by far the toughest and most exciting from a spectator’s point of view.
The Dutch-Argentine rivalry is not something new on the World Cup stage. The most important match between the two came in the World Cup final of 1978, which saw Argentina win their first World Cup trophy.
The quarter-final was a highly intense match, with Spanish referee Antonio Mateu Lohez being heavily criticized for calling about 48 fouls and giving out 17 yellow cards, a world cup record. The game had everything from Messi scoring and celebrating in front of the Dutch bench to a late equalizer from Wout Weghorst deep into stoppage time to make it level and send the game into extra time.
Leonardo Paredes fouled Nathan Ake in the 88th minute and blasted the ball towards the bench, which led to many players storming onto the pitch and causing commotion. After the match ended, FIFA issued disciplinary actions against both teams.
🎙️ “Messi’s anger against Netherlands?”
🇦🇷🗣️ Lautaro Martínez: “For us it was very important, because when Leo gets angry, I mean…. there are no chances for anyone.” pic.twitter.com/aBDZSONfmF
— Barça Worldwide (@BarcaWorldwide) September 6, 2023
Recently, when Lautaro Martinez was asked about Messi getting angry against the Netherlands, he said that it was very important for the team as a whole because when Messi gets angry, there is no chance for anyone.
What did Louis Van Gaal do to anger Lionel Messi?
Back in 2014, Argentina faced the Netherlands in the World Cup semi-finals, and after the match, Van Gaal said that Messi didn’t even touch the ball. He also criticized Messi by saying that he was very passive whenever his side was out of possession. After Messi scored the second goal of the game in the quarterfinal, he went on to celebrate Juan Roman Riquelme’s infamous Topo Gigio celebration in front of Van Gaal and the Dutch bench.
The reason why Louis Van Gaal hates Lionel Messi and Argentina • With Commentary🎧pic.twitter.com/DAoqxXIM40
— 𝙈𝐼 𝟪 (@MagicalIniesta_) September 5, 2023
This was not the first time Van Gaal spoke about Messi in public, as back in 2019, during an interview with El Pais, he said that he likes Neymar and Messi as individual players but not as team players, further criticizing his ability to play in a team.
His former teammate and idol, Riquelme, also did not have the best of relationships with the Dutch manager, who also said it was not wise of Van Gaal to anger Messi before a crucial match.
Messi was dissatisfied with Van Gaal’s words and later went on to say, “You talk too much,” to the former Dutch coach. Even after the match ended with Argentina qualifying for the semis, Messi was seen saying “Qué mirás, bobo?” to Dutch goalscorer Weghorst, which translated to, “What are you looking at, fool? Go away,” expressing Messi’s anger.
Van Gaal broke the silence and said that he was not criticizing Messi at all; the Argentine media misinterpreted him as having the utmost respect for Messi as he is a very special player. Messi, after the World Cup, also said that he respects Van Gaal as a coach, but he shouldn’t speak badly about the opposition before the match.
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