Argentina boss, Diego Maradona, discussed four of his jewels: Carlos Tevez, Lionel Messi, Javier Mascherano and Juan Sebastian Veron from the training ground in Pretoria ahead of their first group round match with Nigeria on Saturday in Johannesburg. Maradona also provided a brief analysis of his Argentine side at the dawn of this competition.
On Carlos Tevez
“Carlitos no puede estar afuera de este equipo por lo que me mostró a mí y por lo que demostró en Inglaterra. Verlo jugar me pone la piel de gallina”.
“Carlos can’t be outside of the starting XI for this team for what he has shown to me and for what he demonstrated in England. To see him play gives me goosebumps.”
On Javier Mascherano and Juan Veron
“Mascherano y Verón les sacan una luz de ventaja táctica, física y mental al resto, son dos a respetar muchísimo, aunque el ídolo del pueblo es Carlitos”.
“Mascherano and Veron provide a light of tactical, physical and mental advantage to the rest of the group. They are two you have to respect a great deal even if the idol of the nation is Tevez.”
On Leo Messi
“Nunca había tenido la fortuna de tenerlo tanto tiempo para conocerlo, si ahora hasta me carga. El otro día me tocó ir al fusilamiento y me pegó un pelotazo, después le quería pegar”.
“Never having had the fortune to have spent so much time to become acquainted with him, now I’m loading up. The other day, he let off a strike and it knocked me down. After that, I wanted to hit him.” (Laughing)
On His Argentine Side
“Tenemos un seleccionado que va a dejar el alma en la cancha… Sabemos jugar al fútbol y vamos a respetar la historia de esta camiseta. Conocemos muy bien a los rivales, y por sobre todas las cosas nos conocemos entre nosotros. Vamos a salir a ganar, porque tenemos la misma fortaleza y las mismas ganas que teníamos en el ’86”.
“We have a team that is going to leave its soul on the pitch. We know how to play football and we are going to respect the history of this shirt. We are well-acquainted with our rivals and above all things, we know ourselves. We take the pitch to win because we have the same strength and desire that we had in 1986.”
Spanish source: Clarin de Buenos Aires, June 10, 2010.
Steve Amoia is a freelance writer, editor and translator from Washington, D.C. He writes the World Football Commentaries blog. He has written for AC Cugini Scuola Calcio (Italian soccer school), Football Media, Keeper Skool and Soccerlens.
Also see: Argentina 2010 World Cup Squad.
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