Santiago, June 21 (IANS) The true hero of the Argentina versus Jamaica Copa America 2015 match in Chile was Lionel Messi as he celebrated his 100th cap with Argentina.
The player who still hasn’t turned 28 was the youngest player to ever reach such a figure in the history of the South American team in Saturday’s match, which the Argentines won 1-0 to reach the quarter-finals.
Fellow countryman Javier Zanetti reached 144 international matches in his career while Javier Mascherano holds 113 caps at the age of 30, Xinhua reported.
All this suggests that the Barcelona star will overtake both Zanetti and Mascherano’s caps.
The 100-mark was also beaten by Cholo Simeone (104) and Roberto Ayala (114).
Messi has won every title available at club level with Barcelona but he still hasn’t won a World Cup with the national team.
He is competing for the third time in the Copa America and has also played three times in the Word Cup.
“In these 100 matches I have had the opportunity to live some incredible, very beautiful experiences. Unforgettable. I have experienced situations that have allowed me to grow as a player but unfortunately no title,” said Messi, during an interview with a Spanish newspaper.
“I hope that these 100 matches will come with one (a title),” added the Barcelona forward.
