Diego Maradona, the Argentine legend, has not been receptive of the retirement u-turn by Lionel Messi. Maradona had urged the current superstar to not to retire, after the surprise announcement following the Copa America defeat this summer.
At the time, most fans were shocked and Maradona even told the LaNacion newspaper that the silky skilled Argentine needed to stay with the squad, as he believed that Messi’s best playing days are still ahead of him.
Edgardo Bauza, the new Argentina boss had talks with the Argentina forward and has said that the Argentina team should stop depending solely on the talents of Messi. The recent international defeats have been hard on this generation of Argentina players, having come up short in three consecutive finals.
Over the summer, the Barcelona forward was a part of the side which lost 4-2 to Chile for the second consecutive year. Messi was the first penalty taker and at the end of the game, Messi seemed overwhelmed with emotions, announcing his retirement from international football.
Messi has had a change of mind and will now mostly be donning the La Albiceleste colours against Uruguay and Venezuela in the upcoming international break.
Maradona has also backed the new coach, Bauza, and hoped that he would find the solution to accommodate the attacking riches in the form of Messi, Higuain, and Aguero. The emergence of Dybala along with Lanzini does ensure that Argentina have an exciting blend of talent and youth in the attacking part of the pitch.
Maradona slates Messi
Speaking to Radio La Red, Maradona slammed the u-turn taken by Messi, stating that the initial announcement about the retirement was a set-up to forget about the inadequacies that ailed the Argentina team, which resulted in three final losses in different competitions.
At the time of Messi’s retirement announcement, Maradona was quick to blame the country’s football association (AFA), for not taking the onus of the defeat on its shoulders.
He also slammed Messi for a “lack of personality”, saying that he should realise that it was not his fault alone and that all eleven members of the playing eleven should be held responsible as well.
As reported by Marca, Maradona reportedly stated that, “I don’t know if Messi’s retirement was a setup to help us forget about the fact that we lost three finals in a row. The player said that he was going to retire and then managed to chnage his mind in a matter of weeks”.
Maradona was also not pleased with Higuain’s current move to Juventus and took a dig at him as well, stating that even Higuain should retire along with Messi.
Mascherano backs Messi
Messi’s Barcelona teammate, Javier Mascherano has publicly backed him and understands the frustrations of a player who is not used to losing. Stating that losses are a part of life and sport, he was of the view that frustration was the main reason for Messi’s surprise announcement.
It now seems that Messi was “caught in the moment”, and the decision was more emotional than rational.
Bauza, though, has been instrumental in being able to reconnect with Messi and convince him about the contribution that Messi can still make to the Argentina national team.
Instead he will now hope that Argentina’s current generation can finally crack the code and bring home the World Cup having lost in the finals the last time round. Irrespective of the situation, most fans have been happy with Messi’s u-turn and will look forward to the Argentinean’s exploits.
