Argentina: The 2011 ‘Copa América’, Lionel Messi and Argentines · Global Voices
Laura Schneider

In Argentina, July 1, 2011, marked the start of the 2011 Copa América [es], now in the defining stage for the competition's quarter finals. Twelve countries from Latin America  participate, and according to the results from Monday, July 11, Bolivia  has already been eliminated without possibilities to advance, while the continuity of Colombia and Argentina to the second stage has been  confirmed.
Blog Independiente Crece [es] comments on the results until July 10:
Con su  victoria de hoy, Colombia se quedó con el primer puesto del Grupo A y de esta manera avanzó a la próxima ronda de la competencia. Los otros equipos que aseguraron matemáticamente su pasaje son: Chile, Perú y Venezuela. Bolivia, en cambio, quedó fuera de carrera
Messi mess
Lionel Messi. Image by Flickr user Adidas Italy (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).
So how is host country, Argentina, doing? Or rather, Argentines ask themselves, what is going on with Lionel Messi? Reactions are very controversial, with waves in favor and against the 24-year-old player who has received the Golden Ball Award for two consecutive years among the over 50 awards he has earned to date.
During this cup, Argentines have taken on the role of technical  directors, psychologists and critics of the  young, successful player from Rosario, the city of his birth which he left for FC Barcelona at the age of 13.
Twitter has reflected opinions through the #Messi hashtag.
Patricio Baratta (@patobaratta) says:
Vamos #Messi hoy!!! te banco. Demostrá que sos el mejor del mundo para que algunos no hablen mas.
Let's go #Messi today!!! I'm with you. Show us that you are the best in the world so that some stop talking.
Nene Lezcano from Córdoba (@nenitolezcano) sends a similar message:
Vamos #Messi todos hablan de vos tapales la boca a todos Rompela pibe
Let's go #Messi everyone is talking about you; shut them up; Break it kid
A triunfar.net (@fotosynoticias), also from Córdoba, where one of the tournament venues is found, compares two stars of Argentine football:
#Maradona fue el mejor en #Boca, #Napoli, La Seleccion etc… #Messi solo es buen jugador en #Barcelona.
Nevertheless, opinions and analysis do not come only from Argentina; in Spain, blogger Javisroad [es], Atlético de Madrid fan, comments on Messi and the Argentine national team's situation:
La Copa America 2.011, a falta de buen futbol, nos está dejando un interesante debate: ¿qué le pasa a Messi, que no rinde en la selección argentina? El anfitrión de la competición está teniendo un rendimiento muy decepcionante, y lógicamente todas las miradas se dirigen al mejor jugador del mundo, Messi, que debería marcar la diferencia en su selección pero no esta rindiendo a su nivel.
Twitter reactions arrive from Barcelona as well, such as that of Gabriel Masfurrol (@masfurroll), who defends Messi and criticizes Argentines:
#messi:Si Argentina no és capaz de querer, apoyar y emocionar a Leo es que quizas no lo merecen. Me sabria mal por Leo que si ama a su pais
#messi:  If Argentina is not capable of wanting, supporting and encouraging Leo, then perhaps they do not deserve him. I would feel bad for Leo,  who truly does love his country
Leo Messi has his Facebook page, where praise and criticism flood in, along with words of inspiration and some not so positive, like those of Facundo Rozados [es], who says:
Andate amargo a españa y juga para ellos. Te falta muchisimo para jugar con la 10. Pastore te pasa por arriba a nivel futbolistico
Or the words of Graciela Alfonso [es], who reproaches the fact that the player does not sing the Argentine national anthem:
NO BESES LA CAMISETA COMO EN LA FOTO, NO HAGAS GOLES SI NO PODES, PERO AL MENOS CANTA EL HIMNO ARGENTINO Y SI NO LO SABES APRENDELO CARAJO, PERO CANTA EL HIMNO, CANTAAAAAAAA EL HIMNO ARGENTINO O EN QUE PAÍS NACISTE ??
DON'T KISS YOUR SHIRT LIKE IN THE PHOTO, DON'T SCORE GOALS  IF YOU CAN'T, BUT AT LEAST SING THE ARGENTINE ANTHEM AND IF YOU DON'T  KNOW IT, LEARN IT DAMN IT, BUT SING THE ANTHEM, SIIIIIING THE ARGENTINE  ANTHEM OR WHAT COUNTRY WERE YOU BORN IN??
On the other hand, the Technical Director of the Argentine national  team, Sergio Batista, sends words of encouragement to all from his  Twitter account (@batistachecho).
On July 8, he wrote [es]:
Estamos trabajando muy fuerte tanto en lo anímico como en lo futbolístico.
The day of the match between Argentina and Costa Rica, he said [es]:
Queremos recuperar el rendimiento futbolístico y demostrarle a la gente que podemos
Other hashtags where all of the reactions to Argentina's poor performance can be seen are: #CA2011, #argentina costa rica, #CopaAmerica2011 and #vamosMessi. The Trending Topic #arribapendejo appeared after the Argentina-Costa Rica game, referring to Messi; it is important to point out that in Argentina the word “pendejo” means “young” and is not offensive.
In his personal blog, singer Andres Calamaro [es] asks Messi for forgiveness with the following words:
Perdon Messi….”Siempre” es asi …  Ni te aplauden por seguir jugando “tocado” … Hablamos todos del EQUIPO y despues te crucifican ?
And Leo [es] responds through his Facebook [es] page:
Gracias Andrés por el apoyo que me brindas.
This song was posted on YouTube [es] in support of the player.
In blog El Magazin [es] from Colombian daily El Espectador [es],  an analytical article from Fernando Araujo Velez, El Magazín journalist, writer and editor, generates unrest in Juan Marco, who  criticizes Argentine fans:
Que importa lo que digan los seudo hinchas argentinos, Messi es el mejor del mundo y su espectaculo nos seguira alegrando a todos. La Argentina lo perdio cuando no lo apoyo siendo un nino enfermizo…
Now with Argentina's 3-0 victory over Cost Rica, with two goals from Sergio Agüero and one goal from Angel Di Maria, opinions change, in spite of Messi still not scoring goals for Argentina, such as that of Fernando Krakowyak (@krakowiak) on Twitter:
Hoy #Messi se cansó de meter pases gol. Dentro de poco va a convertir goles de carambola usando a los compañeros como bandas.
Or from @DaveRocknRoll:
Para mi #Argentina gano porque #messi demostro un muy buen nivel pero #Higuain le falta ritmo y #Gago profundidad que para eso lo metieron..
The player's Facebook page received over 10,000 comments in a few hours, such as that of Hernán Diaz [es] who writes:
GRANDE GENIO SEGUI ASI EL GOL YA TE VA A QUEDAR, IDOLO LA ROMPISTE HOY TE FELICITO.
Whether Argentines expect a goal from Messi or not, the most important thing is to win. A number of matches still remain and for Argentina,  perhaps the tournament starts now.