By ballball staff
Lionel Messi will play his 100th match for Argentina on Saturday against Jamaica in the Copa America but it will be a century of games marked by a lack of international titles.
The 27-year-old has achieved everything in club football by winning the Ballon d'Or thrice and the treble two times with Barcelona.
But on the international stage, he has only won the Under-20 World Cup in 2005 and an Olympics football gold at the 2008 Beijing Games.
Now Messi, Sergio Aguero, Carlos Tevez, and the rest of the Argentina squad will be on a mission to end 22 years without a major title since the country last won the Copa America in 1993.
Messi made his debut against Hungary on 17 August 2005 in the most dramatic fashion: within a minute of coming on as a second-half substitute, he was shown a straight red card for elbowing opposing defender Vilmos Vanczak.
Teammates went into the dressing room at the end and found Messi crying in a corner, Argentinian media reported at the time.
Since then, Messi has grown up and his 99 games for Argentina have produced 46 goals. He seems certain to eventually go on and beat Inter Milan legend Javier Zanetti's record of 145 caps and Gabriel Batistuta's record of 56 goals.
Messi said that his 99 games for Argentina have been an amazing experience but "unfortunately without a title."
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