Less than couple of months ago, Angel Di Maria, in an interview, said opting to play for Paris Saint Germain was perhaps the best decision of his career. Despite spending five good seasons with Real Madrid, he flourished admirably ever since joining the PSG and rarely did find himself outside the playing eleven. The Argentine was expected to have a tough season this time, but despite the additions of Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and finally Lionel Messi, Di Maria still finds himself as a regular in the PSG starting line-up. No wonder, Maria made it clear that he would like to further extend his contract with PSG.

Di Maria’s good work at the club level has had its impact for the national team too. Recently he scored a spectacular goal to take Argentina to the brink of qualification for the 2022 World Cup. The 1-0 win over Uruguay was convincing even though Messi played for 15 minutes only. As Uruguayan left back Joaquin Piquerez lost possession on the edge of the penalty area, Di Maria curbed a sublime shot over helpless keeper Fernando Muslera.

In the last decade, Messi always hogged the limelight in Argentine jersey. No doubt he did it for all the right reasons. But at the same time, Di Maria has often proved he has the quality which no coach could ignore – he always delivered in big matches. Remember the 2008 Olympic final in Beijing? Under sweltering heat at the National Stadium, the Nigerian defence was left stranded when Messi’s lovely pass was finished with a brilliant chip by Di Maria. More than a decade later, the 33-year-old winger once again helped Messi and company in Copa America triumph – his goal in the final helped Messi to add the much-needed cup to his trophy cabinet. Di Maria is the man of the hour. When Argentina meet Brazil in their next match of the World Cup qualifier, the five-team world champions will have to work hard to keep Di Maria in check.