Former Argentina idol, Diego Maradona, has praised his compatriot, Lionel Messi, on Wednesday and got excited at the prospect of Argentina winning the World Cup.
“To beat Brazil in the final, in their own country, would be an orgasm,” the controversial 1980s star told Buenos Aires sports daily, Ole.
When Maradona was told that Pele, his historic Brazilian arch rival, had said that Messi had a “Brazilian style”, the 1986 World Cup winner shouted: “Pele should go back in the museum!
“Messi is Argentinian!
“In fact, he’s even more Argentinian than I am!”
These words from Maradona will come as a timely support for Messi, who has been criticised in Argentina recently for playing better for Barcelona than for his national team – and even for not singing the national anthem before matches.
Maradona said: “The truth is that I have not spoken to Lio (Messi) for a while.
“I’d really like to now.
“I’d like to tell him to take things easy, not to listen to the idiots.
“There are a lot of them, unfortunately.
“I see Messi well.
“I think it was good for him to have a proper rest (from November to February, due to injury) because he had gone four years without hardly missing a match.
“We are looking good in attack but I am a bit worried about the defence, to be honest.”
Maradona then compared the current Argentina to the one he himself guided to the quarter-finals in 2010.
“They have more experience now and that is very important in the World Cup,” he said.
Maradona insisted that Messi was a better player than Brazil’s ace, Neymar, saying: “The distance between Messi is the same as the one between Maradona and Pele.”
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