Man with the golden boot

It is perhaps in the fitness of things that Leo ended up with FC Barcelona — the club that not only kept the Second Republic alive against the Nationalists but also the Catalonian centrifugal spirit against the pulls of Castile and Madrid long after the civil war. For Messi paints a sad and lonely picture. Argentina is a bigger footballing power than Spain still, but its greatest player hasn't taken it to glory. That player drives Barca, with all the help Iniesta can offer. But his dual citizenship is of no use in Spain's all-round triumph. Incidentally, Zambia claims that most goals in a calendar year were scored by late Godfrey Chitalu (107 or 116 in 1972). But Fifa protests the lack of records. So the net is all Messi's.

sudeep.paul@expressindia.com

ALSO READ

Everyone loves food security

'We don't appreciate each other... When people ask me to quit, do you think it doesn't affect me? And how often do you want me to resign?'

National Interest: BJP's troubled House

No yuan for growth