Messi back at the Maracanà

Lionel Messi is on his way back to the Maracanà. On Friday, Argentina meet Venezuela at one of the temples of world football in their quest to win the Copa America for the first time since 1993.

It’s the third time that the Barça star will have appeared in the biggest stadium in Brazil, and what was once the biggest in the whole world.

So how did he get on when he visited the famous stadium previously?

There was one good memory and one that was not so good. Both games were during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. The first was Argentina’s first in the tournament and Messi scored the winner for the ‘albiceleste’ in a 2-1 victory over Bosnia & Herzegovina.

Argentina marched on to the final that year, where they came up against Germany, who had just embarrassed the hosts 7-1 in the semi-finals. Regulation time ended 0-0, but Germany ended up taking the crown in extra time.

So one win and a goal, and one painful defeat for Messi at the Maracana. On Friday he’ll be there again, and looking to seal his country’s passage into the semi-finals.