The event ended with Messi announcing he’d quit the national team after his team lost on penalties in the final to Chile for the second straight time. He will go to Russian Federation in form to be world champion, ‘ Maradona told Argentine daily La Nacion.
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Argentines begged Lionel Messi -who tearfully chose to quit the worldwide team after missing a spot-kick in the shootout- not to leave the national team despite its traumatic final.
“He has to rely more on boys who can help take the team forward and less on those who say they have to go”.
He accused it of not supporting Messi and letting him take the blame for Sunday’s defeat to cover up its shortcomings in managing the sport.
But a spokesman for Argentina’s president told AFP: “He [Macri] called him and told him how proud he feels of the national team’s performance and asked him not to listen to the criticism”.
Messi has had sustained success for Barcelona FC at the club level.
But his only major global honour is Olympic gold at the 2008 Games.
The defeat extended Argentina’s wait for a major tournament title to 23 years but former Nou Camp favourite Stoichkov, who scored 38 goals in 84 appearances for Bulgaria, sent Messi a personal message imploring him to keep faith with worldwide football. Messi, who is a serial title collector with Barcelona, has lost all four of the finals he’s played in for the senior Argentina team, including the 2014 World Cup. They are third in the table, two points behind leaders Uruguay.
There was a strong show of support for Messi when the team returned to Buenos Aires, with fans displaying banners at the airport saying: “Without you we’re nothing, don’t go Messi” and “Stay Messi, you’re the best”.
The news has prompted a campaign across social media, urging the football star not to quit.
Macri telephoned Messi on Monday.
His major challenge is to get the best out of a talented Pakistan that includes Mohammad Amir with the left arm paceman set to return at Lord s next month for his first Test since the 2010 spot fixing scandal on the ground which led to five year bans and jail terms for him new ball colleague Mohammad Asif and then captain Salman Butt. Messi broke the record for the most goals scored for the Argentine national team during the Copa America and Adidas celebrated the achievement by posting a picture on Twitter of a fan wearing the team’s jersey bowing at Messi’s feet, with the strap line “Hail King Lio”. Now I will not try more and there will be no going back’. With Lionel Messi stepping up, I thought, this is it.
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Clarin newspaper is also running several features on the story. But I think, after the furor is over, we’re going to see Messi again, donning Argentina’s colors.
