The former Argentinian and Colombian coach, Jose Pékerman, an interview was granted for TNT Sports in which he talks about the situation of Messi Bee Barcelona and how the attacker refused to play for the Spanish team.
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The coach was part of the lower categories of the Albiceleste and was the one who debuted it at the 2006 World Cup. According to his story, the Rosario could have been part of the ‘Red Fury’, but he decided to decline the offer. .
Messi’s current situation
It’s not happy to see Messi at this point with what happened to him. He had made a decision that seemed final and without going back. I was convinced. And because of what happened next, Messi was right in his decision. Internal problems are hard to tell without being present and every club has its own situations that the people who are there know. ”
Descent
Messi has been an emblem, as Guardiola used to say, ‘the icing on the cake’, of a Barcelona generation that delighted us for a decade. As with any cycle, there is always a general setback that sometimes those who don’t “It should be a moment for Leonel and his family. He shows himself well in the individual part and he has a lot to give and in the national team he is a key player.”
Advice for the future
It is difficult to advise because there is nothing better than yourself and your environment to make these decisions. As we analyze their careers and their choices to become what they are, I think the best advice is to unleash what they’ve always wanted. ”
How did you recruit Messi for Argentina?
“We practically stole it from Spain. What we had seen from some of the videos, both Claudio Vivas speaking to Toncalli, and we already had some reports from a little boy from Rosario. At that point, in 2002, I had left the national team and went to Spain to work at Leganés. There we saw him play in the youth of Barça. There was a regulation in FIFA that has already changed, stating that a player who played in the youth teams could not play in the absolute of another country. We made the strategy for the South American to play, because the European team also came and in Spain it didn’t go unnoticed and he went to play with the Spanish team. ”
Messi’s words
His parents let him decide. And his words were: ‘I am Argentinian and I want to play in Argentina’. It was his decision, of feeling, of the heart. Because they also made the decision to go to Spain so small, a challenge. All decisions were of that type and now he has to do that, do his best to be happy. ”
Rijkaard hallucinated with Messi
In my first steps at Barça to comply with FIFA rules, I had to have a friendly match with a roster signed by the players to make it clear to FIFA that he had already played with us. I was with Laporta, I introduced myself and told him about the permission for Messi to play in that match. That famous match with Paraguay took place on the field of Argentinos Juniors. Messi shines as he enters the second half 1-0 and they eventually win 8-0. Hugo Tocalli is going crazy. ”
He plays the South American and returns to Spain and Barcelona had started the preseason. Rijkaard He’s taking it to that preseason and the club calls me. I was scared because I thought they would accuse me of something. They told me, ‘What have you done to him? That boy is another. We had him as a project, a long-term player, but he saw it Rickard and you can’t believe it, it drives us crazy that we hadn’t started the community passport process yet. From there he joined the first team (from Barcelona). ”
What has changed in Messi?
“At Barça they saw him more aggressive and I thought so. I attributed it to the fact that he played with guys who were already in the First Division in Argentina: Agüero, Di María, Lavezzi … And in Spain he was far from the First … He was a great team. I think he got infected there and made a big change. I came to that conclusion. ”
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“ That was an extraordinary thing for me. At the 2006 World Cup he was 19. I had a great team. I noticed a boy listening and he was at a strange time. He hadn’t done any lower categories in Argentina, nor had he lived in Argentinian dressing rooms, he grew up in a very different environment and had to integrate it into an environment like ours, so different, how it is played and how we experience the qualifiers. . I spoke to him clearly: ‘You will be the best player in the world, I can see that, I catch a glimpse because I have had and have great players. But this World Cup is not yours. You’re gonna play and I’m gonna give you all the minutes I can. But it should help you to listen, to talk to the big boys, to Heinze, Román, Gabi Milito, Crespo, Cambiasso … Come closer, let go, because your World Cup is South Africa, I have no doubt and you will play in the squad for many years’. Now he is going for his fifth World Cup. ”