Argentina coach Edgardo Bauza has expressed his confidence that a bid to woo Leo Messi back into the worldwide fold has been successful and the Barcelona star is expected to be named in the Albiceleste squad on Friday for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers.
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Lionel Messi of Argentina and Marc Wilmots, headcoach of Belgium during a Federation Internationale de Football Association 2014 World Cup Quarter-Final match between Argentina and Belgium at the Estadio Nacional stadium in Brasilia, Brazil.
‘I don’t want to cause any damage, I’ve always tried to do just the opposite, to help all that I can.
‘We need to fix many things in Argentinian football, but I prefer to do this from inside and not criticise from outside’.
“I want to thank all the fans who wanted me to keep playing for Argentina”.
The forward, who was been awarded the Ballon d’Or for the world’s best player five times, was also on the losing side against Brazil in the 2007 Copa America final.
This was Argentina’s second consecutive loss to Chile in La Copa America and their third consecutive final loss. He called the AFA a “disaster”, as the team had apparently experienced delayed flights and poor training.
It seems like so long ago, when we thought we’d said our final goodbye to Lionel Messi’s worldwide career.
Messi says he loves his country too much to give up on them at this point, and hopes to give the nation more to cheer about in coming tournaments.
Although the 29-year-old Messi has won virtually everything with Barcelona, he has failed to lead the national team to victory in a major competition.
I love my shirt and my country too much.
“There is no doubt in my mind that he wants to return to play for the national team”, Bauza told reporters in Argentina.
“I saw him with a great desire to return”, he added.
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Next up for Argentina is a pair of World Cup 2018 qualifiers against the likes of Uruguay and then Venezuela.
