Argentines take to streets, demand Messi return to national team

People gather at the Republic Square to request soccer player Lionel Messi not to quit the national football team, in Buenos Aires, capital of Argentina, July 2, 2016.[Photo/Xinhua]

BUENOS AIRES - Hundreds of Argentines protested in the pouring rain on Saturday, demanding that soccer star Lionel Messi return to Argentina's national team after he unexpectedly quit following a loss in the regional Copa America final.

Messi, a five-time World Player of the Year, has played in three Copa America finals, in 2007, 2015, and 2016, as well as in the 2014 World Cup final, losing every time. During the finals match with rival Chile last week, he missed Argentina's opening penalty in the shootout after the game ended 0-0 and was in tears sitting near the team dugout.

"I think this is it. It's over for me on the team," he told reporters shortly after the match.

Nevertheless, Argentines, at the urging of public figures such as President Mauricio Macri and Argentine soccer great Diego Maradona, gathered Saturday evening around the Obelisco, a monument on one of Buenos Aires' central avenues where fans traditionally celebrate sporting victories.

Waving banners that lauded Messi in superlative terms, they begged the star to don the national squad's iconic blue and white stripes once again.