Lionel Messi won his first international trophy by guiding Argentina to Copa America triumph after 28 years…
Argentina ended their 28-year trophy drought with a memorable win over rivals Brazil in the final of Copa America 2021 and bringing home the trophy for a joint-record 15th time in history.
This year’s Copa America will be remembered for Argentina skipper Lionel Messi finally winning a major international trophy, a dream he has cherished throughout his career.
The 34-year-old star was at his very best throughout the tournament and almost single-handedly delivered the trophy to his nation. To add more perspective to Messi’ performance, the Barcelona legend contributed to nine out of the 12 goals his team scored in the tournament.
This was the sixth edition of Copa America where Messi took part in, a record as no other La Albiceleste player has ever played in six different Copa Americas.
With four goals and five assists to his name, Messi took his goals’ and assists’ tally in Copa America to 13 and 17 respectively in record 34 appearances.
Compared to Messi’s achievements, his legendary predecessor Diego Maradona’s statistics are not that impressive when it comes to performance in Copa America. Maradona has appeared in three editions of Copa America and has never won the trophy. In 12 matches he played in the tournament, Maradona managed to score only four goals and did not provide any assist.
With a title and several records to show, Messi, is clearly ahead of Maradona when it comes to Copa America. Here, we take a look at how the two Argentina legends have fared in this South American cup competition.
How has Lionel Messi performed in Copa America?
Editions | Matches | Goals | Assists |
---|---|---|---|
2007 | 6 | 2 | 1 |
2011 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
2015 | 6 | 1 | 3 |
2016 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
2019 | 6 | 1 | 1 |
2021 | 7 | 4 | 5 |
6 editions | 34 | 13 | 17 |
How has Maradona performed in Copa America?
Editions | Matches | Goals | Assists |
---|---|---|---|
1979 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
1987 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
1989 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
3 editions | 12 | 4 | 0 |
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