Two long droughts ended on Saturday at the Copa America final: Argentina won its first major title since 1993 after a 1-0 win against Brazil and Lionel Messi finally lifted his first major trophy for the national team, filling in one of the biggest gaps in his decorated career.
Ending a long wait, Messi kissed the Copa America trophy and lifted it at age 34. His first public words after the title showed how thrilled and relieved he felt.
"What a beautiful madness," Messi said in an Instagram post. "This is unbelievable! Thank you, God!"
Argentina edged a brutal and fractious affair thanks to Angel Di Maria's goal on 22 minutes.
"We fell short so many times, we dreamt so much about this, fought so hard," said Di Maria, who was named man of the match.
Argentina had last tasted success at a major tournament in 1993 when the great Gabriel Batistuta's brace gave them a 2-1 win over Mexico in the Copa final in Ecuador.
"It's a great title, especially for our people. The fans support the team unconditionally," said Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni.
It was the first time in six editions playing at home that Brazil had failed to lift the trophy.
And while 34-year-old Messi's odyssey has come to an end, Brazil's Neymar, five years his junior, is still without a major title at international level having missed the Selecao's win on home soil two years ago through injury.
Later, at a news conference, Messi said his happiness was "unexplainable."
"I was sad before, but I knew that at some point it was going to happen," he said. "I feel that God was saving this moment for me, against Brazil in a final and in their country."
Having won Olympic gold with Argentina's under-23 side in Beijing in 2008, and been world under-20 champion with his country three years before that, Messi finally has the senior title he's always craved.
And in such form, few would bet against Messi leading Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar next year.
