Мессиг зогсоосон “Эсрэг-Месси” буюу Карлос Санчесын түүх

Lionel Messi continues to be a nightmare for defenders. At 39, he is producing show-stopping moments at this 2026 World Cup and doing so in ways that make his brilliance as timeless as a neatly stitched blazer. Twenty years after his World Cup debut, the question remains: Can Messi be stopped? Or better yet, has he ever been stopped? One man succeeded at a time when the Argentine great was playing his very-best brand of football.

It came in 2011 in Santa Fe, Argentina, on a typically chilly July evening at the Brigadier General Estanislao López Stadium. The home of first division side Club Atlético Colón was the setting for a Copa América group stage match between Argentina and Colombia.

The ground is known locally as El cementerio de los elefantes (the elephants’ cemetery). It’s due in part to Colón’s historical penchant for earning home wins against Argentina’s biggest clubs. On this day, the stadium would welcome Argentina and Lionel Messi in what was billed as a must-win game for the tournament hosts.

Argentina had been whistled and jeered after a disappointing 1-1 result versus minnows Bolivia in La Plata. The pressure on the home side was ramping up heading into the match against Colombia, which had defeated Concacaf invitees Costa Rica 1-0 in its first game. The knives were being sharpened for Messi. At the time, Messi was a two-time Ballon d’Or winner and was on his way to winning his third in consecutive fashion. His play with Barcelona didn’t always match his output with the national team, a major point of contention in Argentina.

Prior to the 2011 Copa America, Messi, then 24, had helped lead Pep Guardiola’s wonderful Barcelona team to a UEFA Champions League title over Manchester United at Wembley Stadium. An unplayable Messi whizzed by his United markers on his way to a man-of-the-natch performance.

Meanwhile, Colombian midfielder Carlos Sanchez was a bit of an unknown, even in his home country. He had left Colombia as a 19-year-old before making his professional debut for Uruguayan side River Plate de Montevideo as a central midfield prospect. The Quibdó-born Sanchez played nearly fifty times in Uruguay’s rugged first division before being transferred to Ligue 1’s Valenciennes.

At the international level, Sanchez dealt with heartbreak, having been left off Colombia’s 2007 Copa America team. He then emerged as a reliable midfielder during Colombia’s doomed 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign. He was consistent and hard-working but there hadn’t been many standout highlights for Sanchez until that night in Santa Fe, when he was given an elephant-sized assignment.

Sanchez didn’t play in the previous game against Costa Rica, but with Argentina and Messi next, Colombia’s staff were searching for more defensive-minded alternatives in midfield.

“(The staff) had this way of dropping hints, making jokes, asking ‘How do you feel?’ to see how you’d respond,” Sanchez told The Athletic from Bogotá. “I always answered with ‘I want to play, I want to play’.” Famed midfielder Leonel Alvarez, whose fierce tackling and polished technique defined Colombia in the 1990s, was on the team’s staff during that Copa America. A few days before facing Argentina, while the players were having lunch, Alvarez approached Sanchez with a pointed question.

“(Alvarez) pulled me aside and asked, ‘How do you see yourself against Messi?’” Sanchez recalled. “I said that off the pitch I respect him. On the pitch, I’ll play my way and he’ll play his way. Leonel asked about man-marking Messi and I told him I’d do whatever he asked me to do. I was prepared for that assignment.”

To man-mark Messi has historically been a futile attempt to accomplish the impossible. To simply contain Messi and limit the damage he can do is often a monumental task. To nullify him completely, especially at the peak of his powers, felt like setting up a player for failure. Sanchez, though, was anxiously waiting for a prime-time opportunity with his national team. There was a plan in place that made sense on paper.

“The staff and I built the game plan together,” Sanchez explained. “It was a diamond midfield shape where I had to track Messi, with the other four midfielders ahead of me shifting as the ball moved. If the ball went left and Messi stayed right, I stayed right. My objective was to make Messi play backwards. If he’s playing backwards, we’re winning.”

In training leading up to the match, a Colombia player mimicked Messi’s movements. Sanchez felt comfortable in the newly devised tactical setup, but nothing in training can prepare you for facing Messi in real life. Still, a draw against hosts Argentina would be a welcome result. Colombia prepared to absorb pressure and counterattack from a 4-5-1 formation.

Sanchez wasn’t in Messi’s back pocket, as they say. At least not at all times. He scanned the midfield half-space to locate Messi but followed the ball when Argentina swung it from left to right. When Argentina circulated possession to left center back Gabriel Milito, Sanchez would retreat and locate Messi, as the Argentine sought to occupy space on the right flank.

Early in the first half, Colombia’s match plan was working well. When Messi sought to take the ball off a teammate to recycle the ball, Sanchez was there to deny Messi and force someone else from Argentina to make a decision. And if Messi slipped by Sanchez, Colombia center back Luis Amaranto Perea provided cover.

Sanchez carries the ball away from a frustrated Messi (OMAR TORRES/AFP via Getty Images)

At times, Messi was surrounded by Sanchez and midfielders Abel Aguilar and Fredy Guarin with Perea ready to pounce. It was a team effort, but it was clear that Sanchez’s main responsibility was to limit Messi’s opportunities on the ball. Argentina, however, continued to look for Messi, despite the tough marking. When completed his first successful tackle on the Argentine great, he could hardly believe it.

“And in that moment I said to myself, ‘Wow, I won the ball from Messi,’” Sanchez said. “This is incredible. But I kept my focus because at any moment, in half a second, he’ll make something happen and everything I’ve done would mean nothing.”

Part of the enduring mysticism of Sanchez’s performance that night is the fact that he didn’t commit any fouls on Messi. Colombia manager Hernan Dario Gomez had sternly instructed Sanchez to play clean and to avoid a potential red card. If Colombia were reduced to 10 men, the entire plan against Argentina would fall apart.

“I was told to be aggressive but intelligent,” said Sanchez. “I’ve always been very aggressive to the ball but not ill-intentioned. (Gomez) told me to be physical with Messi but nothing that would get me sent off. It was more like: ‘I’m here. And I’m still here’.”

Argentina dominated possession but struggled to break down Colombia’s compact and disciplined low block. The anxiety and frustration throughout the stadium increased as the first half came to an end. Sanchez remembers Messi staying calm amid the growing discontent.

“Messi never complained. He didn’t say anything to me,” said Sanchez. “He’d take the hit, get up, and call for the ball again. That honestly only increased my admiration for him. I wasn’t saying anything to him. I’d go in, make contact, then play the fool and move away. He just kept asking for the ball.”

But Messi had skinned Sanchez on a few occasions. At halftime, Gomez told Sanchez to tighten his marking and get closer to Messi. The Argentine had created some goalscoring chances from midfield which unsettled Gomez. “That cannot happen again,” he told Sanchez inside the dressing room. In other words, it was time to officially man-mark Messi.

In the second half, Sanchez stuck to Messi throughout the pitch. He won his battles. Sanchez’s work rate, coupled with Colombia’s compact defending, frustrated Messi, and the partisan crowd began to grumble. Argentina manager Sergio Batista brought on Sergio Aguero and Gonzalo Higuain to join Messi and Carlos Tevez up front. Sanchez’s priority, however, didn’t change.

“With Messi, there’s always a different tension,” he said. “Beyond making his teammates play, he’s a killer, a winner. He passes the ball and immediately sprints toward goal. The natural instinct for a defender is to follow the ball — the moment you look away, he’s gone. His quality lets him finish with one touch, he draws defenders and opens up space for others. It required constant, relentless attention.”

As the 0-0 match neared stoppage time, Sanchez sent Messi tumbling to the ground with a well-timed tackle. The home crowd groaned in unison. A sarcastic applause echoed across the ground, acknowledging Sanchez’s dominance, as he pushed the ball forward.

The final whistle blew, followed by a barrage of whistles from the Argentine fans. Colombia had secured a 0-0 result. Several of Sanchez’s teammates wanted to swap jerseys with Messi but Sanchez wasn’t going to be beaten here either.

“I followed Messi all the way to the tunnel to ask for his shirt,” Sanchez said. “I thought he’d never give it to me, but the man gave it to me. Completely gracious. I stayed right on him until I got it. Today it’s one of the most important shirts I own.”

Afterwards, Sanchez became known as the “Anti-Messi”. It’s a moniker that in South America made him among the more respected defensive midfielders on the continent.

“That match served me enormously,” he said. “It was a before and after in my career. The man was the Ballon d’Or winner, seemingly unstoppable, and after that match the label stuck. It helped me get on the radar of everyone.” Spells with Aston Villa, Fiorentina, West Ham and Watford followed before he ended his playing days in Colombia and Argentina.

Carlos Sanchez art Aston Villa tackles Crystal Palace’s Jason Puncheon (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Today, Sanchez is busy launching the next phase of his life. Now retired, the 40-year-old is focused on improving youth football in Colombia with an ambitious new project. In April, Sanchez announced the creation of Liga El Dorado, a first-of-its-kind, lower-division football league. The plan will focus on providing a professional pathway for some of the country’s most underserved communities, including La Guajira, which produced Colombia superstar Luis Diaz.

“We’re a country of 50 million people, but becoming a professional footballer in Colombia is very difficult because the options are extremely scarce,” Sanchez said. “Only 980 players work as professional footballers in Colombia, because we only have two professional divisions — the first and the second. So we took on the task of researching and reaching different regions with this project, which has been very well received because it’s a genuine need.”

Corporate sponsors have backed Liga El Dorado, according to Sanchez, but the league must first receive approval from the Colombian Football Federation in order to operate. Sanchez and his partners hope to establish a tiered league system similar to the setup in the U.S., where MLS, the top division, co-exists with USL (United Soccer League) and its three divisions. The long-term goal is to grow the league to 18 teams.

“The same can be done in Colombia,” Sanchez said. After studying sports management and football business, Sanchez accepted the position as sporting director at Argentine club San Lorenzo. He left the role in February after one year. He now has another calling.

“I found a space where a footballer, having spent so many years in a dressing room, can make a real contribution to football leadership,” he said. “I feel more excited and passionate than ever. I’m not inventing anything. I’m taking what’s been learned elsewhere and bringing it to Colombia.”