Talk of conspiracies, then of secret societies and hidden magic, has spread widely on the sidelines of the current World Cup, after the Argentine national team reached the final match of the World Cup, led by the brilliant star and great football phenomenon, Leo Messi.

This flood erupted after the Argentine national team defeated the Egyptian national team, leading to Egypt's elimination from the tournament, despite having provided footballing enjoyment and national determination, and exiting with their heads held high.

These theories and types of conspiracies vary, with some claiming that the current World Cup in America, along with Mexico and Canada, is 'pre-cooked' to be served on Messi's table!

Why Messi?! And not, for example, Portuguese Ronaldo... if the goal is commercial due to the large fan bases of both stars around the world?!

Messi won the World Cup in the previous Qatar World Cup, but Portuguese Ronaldo did not, so it would have been more appropriate to 'arrange' matters in Ronaldo's favor!

And there are those who say that global Zionism supports Messi, or Freemasonry or mysterious organizations whose business is hatred of Arabs, even though Argentina eliminated the English, the homeland of mysterious conspiracies, as is promoted!

The matter is simpler than that: the Argentine team won, and Messi succeeded in leading and shining. There are also some 'strokes of luck' that serve a person — luck, not conspiracies. And this luck might turn against Messi and his teammates in the final match against Spain, and its young star Lamine Yamal, or in future tournaments.

The most famous image before this final is a photo of Messi playing with a child in a water tub, with the child and his mother. That child was none other than Amin Jamal, or Lamine Yamal himself.

During a meeting with fans in Manhattan, New York, Messi commented on the photo: 'To have a photo with Yamal when he was a baby, and for us to now be competing in the World Cup — that is crazy.'

The photographer from about twenty years ago, Joan Monfort, described that moment as a 'miracle' in his interview with the BBC.

Monfort said: 'The parents, Munir and Sheila, participated in a raffle organized by the newspaper Sport in collaboration with UNICEF, and they won it. Their baby was selected to be photographed with one of Barcelona's stars. When the family arrived at the Camp Nou, they were placed with Messi by coincidence.' He added: 'I did not know who the child I photographed with Messi was until his father Munir posted the photo on Instagram during Euro 2024, and then I remembered everything.'

It happened by coincidence and an ordinary lottery draw. It was very possible that coincidence would not have served the child, then Messi, and then fate would bring them together again in a World Cup final! Coincidence, then, is an essential driver of life.

When people experience an unacceptable reality, they resort to denial and concoct compelling mysterious reasons to explain failure. And this failure is an integral part of life, just like success — some days are for you, others against you.

And after all, I do not entirely deny the occurrence of some plots and 'maneuvers' in the world of football, but they are not the norm, rather the exception. The claimant must prove that with evidence.

*From Asharq Al-Awsat London

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