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Argentine winger Angel Di Maria has described his teammate and skipper Lionel Messi's inspiring speech before Argentina's final against Brazil in the Copa America last year.
Angel Di Maria scored the only goal for the Albicelestes as they defeated their eternal rivals Brazil 1-0 in the final at the Estádio do Maracana in Rio de Janeiro.
Lionel Messi lifted his first ever international trophy with Argentina as they won the Copa America after a long wait of 28 years.
In a documentary released by Netflix, Angel Di Maria opened up about Messi's inspirational speech ahead of the final. Di Maria said in the Netflix documentary "Sean Eternos: Campeones de America," as quoted by India Today:
"Before the start of each game, he [Messi] spoke. But his last speech was different, he lost his mind. We already know what Argentina and Brazil mean."
Messi said:
"I don't want to say anything today, just thank you guys. Thank you very much for these 45 days."
The Argentine legend continued:
"I told you on my birthday (16 days before the final), we have made a beautiful group, and I enjoyed it very much. Forty-five days where we traveled, ate, were locked up in hotels, 45 days without seeing our families, guys.
"Dibu (Emi Martinez) had a daughter and even he couldn't see her, he couldn't hold her in his arms. All for what? For this moment. Because we had a goal and are very close to achieving it. And you know what the best of all is? That this depends on us."
Lionel Messi won the Golden Ball as he led Argentina to their 15th Copa America title.
He finished the tournament as the joint top scorer along with Luis Diaz, having scored four goals and provided five assists.
Argentina fans will be relieved to see Lionel Messi rediscovering his best from ahead of the World Cup
Lionel Messi had a pretty underwhelming debut season at Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) last year.
However, the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner has managed to find his best form ahead of the FIFA World Cup.
The Argentine superstar has 12 goals and 14 assists in 18 games across all competitions for PSG this season.
This will be the last time Lionel Messi appears for La Albiceleste in the World Cup.
He will certainly be keen to give everything he has to ensure that Argentina conquer the world for the third time in their history.
