Messi'd Up

After a championship game, the victors are usually the ones in the spotlight. That was not the case following Sunday's Copa América final in East Rutherford, N.J., where Chile beat Argentina 4--2 in penalty kicks after 120 scoreless minutes. The result was overshadowed by a postgame announcement from the world's greatest player, 29-year-old Argentine striker Lionel Messi, that he was finished with international soccer. After a heartbreaking shootout in which he missed a penalty kick and a chance at winning his country's first major tournament since 1993, Messi told reporters, "For me, the national team is over. I've done all I can." The usually reticent Messi was in tears after his third loss in an international final in as many years. But he knows that until he ends his nation's drought, the second part of his statement isn't true, so don't be surprised if the first part isn't either.