Messi's rousing dressing room team team talk inspiring new Premier League star
Nicolas Dominguez will never forget the day Lionel Messi talked the talk - and then walked the walk.
Nottingham Forest ’s new Argentine midfielder has recalled how Messi’s stirring pre-match message in the Maracana dressing room inspired a historic 2021 Copa America final victory over hosts Brazil and provided the springboard for Lionel Scaloni’s side to become the best team in the world the following year.
Dominguez, who has been signed by Forest to add a touch of South American class to Steve Cooper’s midfield, feels blessed to have played alongside a player who is arguably the greatest the game has ever seen. But for all his mind-blowing brilliance, the 25-year-old reckons it was that call to arms in Rio that really captured Messi’s true essence.
Dominguez said: “It is obviously a really unique experience having to train and play alongside Messi. The big thing about him is there isn't a day that goes by when he doesn't surprise you by doing something so good that it really takes you all by surprise.
“But the story I’ll keep with me forever was his team talk before the Copa America final, when we beat Brazil. It was filmed for a documentary by Amazon, but the basic message was that we had come through so much during Covid and that we now had the chance to support the Argentine people who had been through so much.
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Nicolas Dominguez made his Forest debut in the defeat at Manchester City (Getty Images)“There was so much at stake because we had gone so long without winning and Messi captured that for us. The Spanish say ‘you have a rucksack on your back’ when you are playing under big pressure - but that weight was lifted off us when we won the Copa America. It was a weight that the players in that squad did not really deserve to be carrying, given what they had achieved in other ways in their careers.”
Dominguez missed out on Argentina's squad for Qatar after failing to recover fully from an injury sustained playing for Serie A club Bologna.
Messi led Argentina to World Cup glory last year (Getty Images)“There is no negativity about the World Cup because it just came too soon and being self-critical and honest with myself, I probably wasn’t ready to take on something so challenging,” he admitted. “I was still really pleased we won. I was pleased for all my team-mates and for the entire nation. But I am keen to play for Argentina again and coming to Forest and playing in the Premier League will hopefully help me to get the call again.”
Dominguez has harboured an ambition to play in England since he was a kid coming through the ranks at Vélez Sarsfield - and it was watching Cristiano Ronaldo and Ryan Giggs playing for Manchester United on TV that captured his imagination. Former United defender Gabriel Heinze gave him his Velez debut at 18 and then urged him to join Forest when the East Midlands club approached Bologna for a deal earlier this summer.
Dominguez made his debut in the 2-0 defeat at Manchester City last week and will anchor the Forest midfield against Brentford at the City Ground. Dominguez said: “I have always watched a lot of different Premier League teams, but at a younger age, it was Manchester United that I would watch the most - especially in the era of Ronaldo and Giggs.
“So it was always a dream of mine to come to England. For me, for many years, it has been by far the best league in the world. Last year I managed to spend some time in London as a tourist. London is very different to Nottingham, but I thought back then that I loved the country and the city. I just like the feel of the place here. I like the country, I like England.”
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