The day Lionel Messi talked the talk and then walked the walk is a day Nicolas Dominguez will never forget.
The new Argentine midfielder for Nottingham Forest has recalled how Messi’s stirring pre-game speech in the Maracana locker room inspired a historic Copa America final victory over hosts Brazil in 2021 and served as a launching pad for Lionel Scaloni’s team to become the best team in the world the following year.
Dominguez feels fortunate to have played beside a player who is perhaps the best the game has ever seen. He was signed by Forest to bring a touch of South American class to Steve Cooper’s midfield. Despite his astounding talent, the 25-year-old believes that Messi’s true spirit was best expressed during the call to arms in Rio.
“Training and playing with Messi is obviously a really unique experience,” remarked Dominguez. The amazing thing about him is that he never fails to amaze you by doing something so admirable that it truly catches you all off guard.”However, the tale he told his players before our victory against Brazil in the Copa America final will be with me forever. The main message was that we had been through so much during COVID-19 and that we now had the opportunity to support the Argentine people who had been through so much. It was filmed for a documentary by Amazon.
“Since we had gone so long without winning, there was a lot on the line, and Messi embodied it for us. after you are under a lot of pressure, the Spanish say “You have a rucksack on your back,” but after we won the Copa America, that burden was gone. Given what they had accomplished in other areas of their careers, the members of the squad really did not deserve to be bearing that weight.Dominguez didn’t make Argentina’s team for Qatar because he wasn’t able to fully recuperate from an injury he sustained while playing for Serie A club Bologna.
“There is no negativity about the World Cup because it just came too soon and being self-critical and honest with myself, I probably wasn’t ready to take on something so challenging,” he said. “I was nevertheless really happy that we prevailed. I was happy for everyone on my squad and for the entire country. However, I am eager to play for Argentina once more, and I’m hoping that joining Forest and competing in the Premier League will help me get the call.
Since he was a young player rising through the ranks at Vélez Sarsfield, Dominguez has had aspirations to play in England. Dominguez’s fascination with England began when he watched Cristiano Ronaldo and Ryan Giggs play for Manchester United on television. Gabriel Heinze, a former defender for United gave him his Velez debut at 18 and then urged him to join Forest when the East Midlands club approached Bologna for a deal earlier this summer.