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The 25-year-old’s international career has been a failure to date and his latest retirement will only see him slide further down the pecking order.
Five years and a month have passed since Paulo Dybala took his first steps with the Argentina team, coming off the bench during a World Cup tie against Paraguay.
At just 21 years old and fresh off a lucrative transfer to Juventus, the forward seemed to have the world of football at his feet, drawing inevitable comparisons to Lionel Messi for his exquisite technique and deadly left boot.
However, the following years have been nothing short of a disaster for Dybala internationally.
Since his debut, the former jewel of the Institute and Palermo has managed just 29 games, with only 15 as a starter.
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Even more worrying, he has only scored two goals for the Albiceleste, against a largely second-row Mexican team in 2018, and in last year’s Copa América third-place play-off with Chile.
To put that in context, Inter’s Lautaro Martínez, who made his international debut two years ago, has already racked up 10 goals in 19 international matches.
Perhaps most damning of all is the fact that only twice in his entire Argentine career has Dybala played all 90 minutes of a match, and not once in a competitive match.
And it’s safe to say that two consecutive sick retirements will do nothing to advance the playmaker’s cause as a legitimate long-term option for coach Lionel Scaloni.
Dybala was initially expected to be available for the October meeting with Bolivia, after missing his team’s turgid 1-0 loss to Ecuador, but the same stomach complaint that had ruled him out for the opening match of the campaign for qualifying for the World Cup in Argentina, in Buenos Aires finally prevented him from making the trip to La Paz five days later.
No one but Dybala and the Albiceleste medical staff can say if they could have faced Bolivia, of course.
Yet for a nation that prides itself on the commitment that players display with their colors and their willingness to play despite the pain typified by Diego Maradona’s heroic presence at the 1990 World Cup as he healed from an injury in the ankle that caused the joint to swell. – It was not a decision that made him love his followers.
Argentina’s subsequent victory also did not favor its future international prospects. Dybala may have just scored the 50th goal in his excellent form with Juventus last season, but many of his compatriots are losing patience with him.
“We are waiting for Dybala to appear and start playing for the national team. How old is he, 25? The legend of the Albiceleste Claudio Caniggia asked about Fox Sports in April.
“He’s a great player and I’m sure he’s a great kid. Play with the 10 on your back at Juventus. You need to step forward. Let three or four step forward and the rest will follow. I mean it in the kindest way possible. “
The good news for Argentina is that others have started to step up.
Messi may not have found the net against Bolivia, but the Barcelona captain put aside his struggle with the club to turn into the kind of energetic performance and action that isn’t always expected of him, particularly at 3,600 meters above. the sea level.
Martínez, meanwhile, continued his brilliant international form by scoring one goal and leaving another to lead the comeback in La Paz, while Sevilla winger Lucas Ocampos was a constant threat in both qualifying matches.
Both men, skillfully assisted by midfielder duo Leandro Paredes and Rodrigo De Paul further back, have shown that they can shine for their country.
Most importantly, they have also shown that they not only adapt to Messi, but also have the ability to take the pressure off the captain’s shoulders and take responsibility for creating and finishing chances: Martinez’s goal against Bolivia, incredibly, he was the first to score. in a qualifier of an Argentine player other than Messi for almost four years.
Dybala has clearly fought in both areas, and in 2017 he memorably asserted that “it’s a bit difficult to play with Messi,” words that have been used, out of context, by his detractors as a stick with which to hit the striker. .
#Major Selection The forward of the @juventusfc , @PauDybala_JR , is disaffected from the call for presenting general genitourinary symptoms being necessary sports rest and evaluations. pic.twitter.com/jMrRhsmfjK
– Argentina National Team 🇦🇷 (@Argentina) November 8, 2020
Nor will he have the opportunity to redeem himself in this month’s qualifiers against Paraguay and Peru, having again withdrawn from the call, this time with mysterious “general genitourinary symptoms that require rest and more analysis”, as the Twitter account of Argentina. put it on sunday night.
It’s an affliction that, oddly enough, didn’t stop him from playing the final 20 minutes of Juventus’ draw with Lazio that same day, and he didn’t get any comment from manager Andrea Pirlo afterward.
However, the stark truth is that Dybala will hardly be missed as Argentina seeks to maintain its 100 percent start, particularly in light of Angel Di María’s return to the fold.
Messi, Martínez and Ocampos are the trio that appear ready to lead Scaloni’s men into Qatar 2022, leaving the Juve star as the outsider, unable to play alongside Leo and, based on evidence so far, equally incapable. to take his place as a player that Argentina turns to for inspiration.
Struggling to stay in shape and now barely receiving minutes in Turin, the next few months will be critical for the attacker, whose disappointing performances and recent absences threaten to push him lower and lower in the Albiceleste pecking order.
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