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BUENOS AIRES. — Lionel Messi has surpassed Diego Maradona as the greatest player of all time, Argentina’s FIFA World Cup winning coach Lionel Scaloni has said.
“If I have to choose one I choose Leo, I have something special with him. He is the best of all time although Maradona was also great,” Scaloni told Spanish radio station Cope yesterday.
Argentina football fans have long preferred Maradona over Messi but attitudes appear to be shifting after the Paris St Germain forward led the team to lift the FIFA World Cup last month for the first time since Maradona inspired them to win it in 1986.
Scaloni also revealed that he prioritised speaking to Messi when he was named Argentina coach in 2018, while the forward was taking a break from international duty following the disastrous World Cup in Russia.
“The first thing we did was have a video call with Messi. He said he was honoured and the first thing we said to him was “Come back. We’ll wait for you.” That’s what we did and eight months later he came and found an incredible group,” Scaloni added.
“Coaching Messi is not difficult. You cannot correct him on a technical level but sometimes you can instruct him to press or to attack in a certain way. When he smells blood he is the number one.”
Scaloni also defended his goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez after he was criticised for his overzealous celebrations following Argentina’s triumph, such as making an obscene gesture when collecting the Golden Glove award and carrying a toy baby with Kylian Mbappe’s face on it during the open-top bus parade.
“There are attitudes which he will not be happy with, but he is a spectacular guy. He is like a child. He is an incredible guy, his personality has given so much to the group,” Scaloni added.
Meanwhile, a new chapter in the celebrated rivalry between Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi will unfurl tomorrow when they meet in an exhibition match as the Portugal forward gears up for his first game in Saudi Arabia since joining Al Nassr.
After a glittering career in Europe that saw him win four Champions League titles with Real Madrid and two Scudettos at Juventus, Ronaldo signed for Al Nassr, describing it as the “right moment” to share his experience in Asia.
The Saudi club is the latest stop in Ronaldo’s career that began in 2002 at Sporting CP before the forward spent two spells at Manchester United, the last of which ended on a bitter note as he exited following his acrimonious split with the club.
Ronaldo and Messi, who have dominated football’s debate about the greatest of all time (GOAT) for the best part of 10 years, will face off on the pitch tomorrow for the first time since December 2020 when Juventus beat Barcelona 3-0.
Ronaldo will lead Riyadh ST XI, a team made up of players from Al Hilal and Al Nassr, against Messi’s Paris St Germain in the exhibition contest where nothing is at stake, but fans are still excited by the prospect of watching the two stars clash.
The highly anticipated showdown, which will take place at the King Fahd Stadium in Riyadh, reportedly had more than two million online ticket requests. — AFP
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