What a year it was for football. Both avid soccer fans and those who follow the game sporadically will remember 2022 as the year that Argentina’s Lionel Messi finally “completed football”.

With a number of club trophies and myriad individual records already under his belt, the diminutive magician had one last magic trick up his sleeve as the eyes of the world fell upon an unorthodox soccer World Cup in Qatar.

At the ripe old football age of 35, Messi’s World Cup efforts were effortless and effervescent. He showed his class in scoring seven goals (one less than tournament top scorer Kylian Mbappé), providing three assists and delivering a number of inspirational speeches as skipper.

Messi, as opposed to arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo, has come across as a calm and shy man. That was until a video of him delivering a speech before the 2020 Copa America final against Brazil surfaced.

“Before the start of every match he (Messi) spoke. But this speech was different, he lost his mind,” says long-time teammate Ángel Di María in the viral video clip.

Lionel Messi’s speech before the final of the Copa America vs Brazil.😍😍

Are there still people who question his leadership?

PS: To see more football videos with English subtitles, follow me.😌 pic.twitter.com/8wLCMpfFfF

— Juani Jimena (@JimenaJuani) November 2, 2022

“We had an objective and we’re one step away from achieving it. The best thing about it is that it’s in our hands,” he said to teammates in the dressing-room huddle.

“So, we’re going to go out there and lift the trophy, we’re going to take it home to Argentina and enjoy it with our family, friends and everyone else [who] has always supported Argentina.”

The Argentinians did just that in a 1-0 win. It was Messi’s first major international trophy and matched Ronaldo’s triumph at Euro 2016.    

The locker-room talk before Argentina’s clash with France in Qatar last week probably went along similar lines – as Messi knew, it was likely to be his last chance to add a World Cup to all the other accolades he has garnered in a storied career.

The World Cup win, Argentina’s third, saw Messi emerge from the shadow of his late countryman Diego Maradona and take his place as one of the greatest athletes.

Madrid mania

In Europe club competition, 2022 saw Spanish champions Real Madrid extend their Uefa Champions League record to 14 titles, with a triumph over a then formidable Liverpool side.  

Before their European success, Madrid cruised to a record-extending 35th domestic league title almost unchallenged. Los Blancos finished 13 points ahead of second-placed Barcelona, and a further point ahead of city rivals Atlético de Madrid in third.

They stamped themselves as one of the great teams in world soccer.

Meanwhile, Barcelona Femení underlined their position as a powerhouse of European women’s soccer.

Barcelona’s women’s team played 30 Premier Division league games and won all 30, to finish on 90 points out of a possible 90.

In the season, the reigning European champions scored 159 goals and let in just 11. The outstanding achievement for the players and manager Jonatan Giráldez came in spite of a coaching change from the 2020/2021 season.

Giráldez replaced Lluís Cortés, who also enjoyed success with the club.

The Spaniards won their first Champions League title in 2021, in only their second final. In 2022, they reached a third final, but lost to record Champions League winners Lyon of France.

It was a memorable year for the “Blaugrana” – who have maintained their perfect league record in the 2022/23 season – with 12 wins from 12 games played thus far.

Banyana Banyana celebrate after winning the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations final against Morocco in Rabat on 23 July. (Photo: Ryan Wilkisky / BackpagePix)

Banyana Ba Africa

The year saw the South African senior women’s football side, Banyana Banyana, clinch their first Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, on their sixth attempt.

South Africa became the second country after Nigeria to have men’s and women’s teams crowned continental champs. Bafana Bafana won in 1996.

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Banyana’s triumph was a watershed moment for head coach Desiree Ellis, one of the founding members of the national team and a former skipper.

By winning Wafcon, Banyana sealed a second appearance at the Fifa Women’s World Cup, having debuted in 2019.

Magnificent Morocco  

In years to come, football followers will recall the heroics of Morocco’s men’s side, who were the first Africans to get beyond the quarterfinals of a World Cup.

However, the north African country’s 2022 wins were multifaceted.

Read in Daily Maverick: “Morocco are striking back for rest of the world against Europe and South America”

The women’s senior side reached the Wafcon final, on home soil, where they lost to an experienced and hungry South African side that had failed to lift the crown after reaching the final five times previously.

Despite having to settle for silver in their maiden final appearance in the continental competition, they qualified for the 2023 Women’s World Cup for the first time.

Morocco celebrate after winning their World Cup 2022 quarterfinal against Portugal at Al Thumama Stadium in Doha on 10 December. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Ali Haider)

At club level, Morocco also outperformed, with Wydad Casablanca becoming the men’s Caf Champions League champions. In the women’s equivalent, the North African nation’s Asfar dethroned Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies of South Africa to become  queens of Africa.

To cap it all, men’s side RS Berkane are champions of the Caf Confederations Cup, after clinching that title in May 2022.

Lions roar in Cameroon

In the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon), played in Cameroon – for which Bafana Bafana failed to qualify for the fourth time in seven editions – it was Senegal’s Lions of Teranga who roared the loudest.

Inspired by Sadio Mané, the Senegalese defeated the Egyptians, led by erstwhile Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah, 4-2 on penalties and lifted their first Afcon title. DM168

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R25.