Messi leaves behind Argentina blues and smiles again

On Saturday Lionel Messi started to smile again - and that is good news for football fans around the world.

The little Argentine, 23, recovered his smile and joie de vivre in Barcelona's 4-0 Spanish Supercup thrashing of Sevilla, in which he put away his sixth hat-trick for the Catalan giants.

He looked a completely different player from the one that struggled and suffered during the World Cup for Argentina, in which he failed to score a single goal - and in which his team was thrashed 4-0 by Germany in the quarter-finals.

"Messi Smiles Again" is one of the headlines on Sunday in Catalan daily Sport. Television channel TV-3, meanwhile, commented that "that Messi is smiling and laughing again is wonderful for Barca."

Messi picked up where he left off for Barca last season, in which he scored 34 goals whilst guiding Pep Guardiola's team to another league title.

He has now scored 130 goals in 215 partidos games for Barca, in the process helping the Catalans to win 14 major titles in five glorious years.

One of the comments made on Saturday on Television Espanola was "tonight we have seen the real Messi, not the one that plays for Argentina."

Thus continues the mystery of the "two Messis."

For Argentina, he looks inhibited and insecure, unsure of his role in the team, as if uncomfortable with the responsibility of being the leader.

Last week veteran striker Martin Palermo - also part of the Argentine World Cup squad, said that "Messi is not ready to be the leader of the team (Argentina)...He is used to the system of Barcelona."

Palermo calibrated his words by adding that "he is the best player in the world," but his comments reflect the widespread frustration in Argentina at the fact that Messi has never been able to reproduce his Barca form for the "Albiceleste."

Part of the problem is that the entire Barca system is constructed around Messi, with playmakers Xavi and Andres Iniesta constantly looking to set him up with precise through-balls, and with Messi having complete liberty to wander across the entire forward line.

For Argentina, in contrast, he does not receive similar passes from midfield, and is often - as against Germany - forced to drop back into midfield himself in order to receive the ball, in an area where he can do little damage.

He will soon have another chance to redeem himself with the Argentine public, in the September 7 friendly against Spain in Buenos Aires.

Some sections of the Spanish media have actually speculated that Messi now regrets having decided to play for Argentina instead of Spain.

He was born in the Argentine city of Rosario but left for Spain at the age of 13 with his family and was soon granted Spanish nationality. He has shown admirable loyalty to Argentina, but up to now this loyalty has led to more frustration than satisfaction