He can’t Mess it up
> Messi deserves World Cup win, says Argentina legend Crespo
BEFORE Lionel Messi became a household name, there was a striker called Hernan Crespo, who in the year 2000, was the most expensive footballer in the world.
When Lazio paid a then world-record £35 million for him it wasn’t just an act of overspending, but a fee worthy of a talismanic player, a legend of Serie A and an icon of the game.
Crespo, 42, together with former Manchester United striker Louis Saha, 39, was in Kuala Lumpur recently to launch Astro’s World Cup Channel Pass, which offers all 64 matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup live in HD on all screens from June 14 to July 15.
Needless to say, both were great strikers during their prime, and I had the chance to score an interview with them during their visit here.
Crespo’s best stint in the World Cup for Argentina was during the 2006 finals, where they bowed out to hosts Germany in the quarterfinals. And although they are again one of the favourites, Crespo believes it could still be tough for Argentina this time around.
“Maybe Argentina are better than they were four years ago, but it will be difficult,” said Crespo, citing that the World Cup has always brought the best out of the so-called lesser teams.
“It is a pity for the Netherlands and USA to miss out, he added, “but, we have other strong teams in the tournament and I think it will be great to see how they fare. I am especially curious to see what Belgium are capable of doing, and whether the team has learnt from their last campaign.”
In 1986, Diego Maradona inspired Argentina to win the World Cup, and when asked whether he sees Messi doing that for his country this time, Crespo had an interesting view.
“It is a different situation. It is impossible to compare the time Maradona won the tournament, because that time it was more of a social impact in Argentina. Because the (Falklands) war with England which impacted the nation badly.
“However, bringing home the 1986 World Cup trophy brought joy to the people of Argentina, which was a great feeling. So, that victory had more of a social impact then whereas now it is just purely about football.
“I am just very proud to be part of this era where I was given the opportunity to watch Maradona and Messi play,” he added.
“I have played together with both and it is not important who is the best, what is important is I am very proud because they are both Argentinians. I think Leo (Messi) deserves to win the World Cup.”
The only thing that bothers Crespo is the chance that Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli might exclude Paolo Dybala and Mauro Icardi for the tournament.
“It is difficult to leave out either: Icardi scores when you need him to score and Dybala plays in the same position as Messi.
“Leaving out Dybala and Icardi would be something incredible, but I don’t want to think about it. It is hard to understand the mentality of Sampaoli, but I hope they go to the World Cup,” Crespo concluded.
Saha, too, believes that Argentina are real contenders this time.
“With Messi, Gonzalo Higuan & Co in a team for Argentina, they have to win it this time. But it will be great to see them being beaten by France if they ever meet,” he laughed.
“France has shown signs of growing, but they still lack consistency. We need consistency to win the World Cup. The problem with this team is there is no leader now compared to the previous teams.
“(For instance) Paul Pogba still hasn’t shown his strength. And he needs to show that to be a great leader and
player.” Like many Manchester United fans, Saha is confused why Pogba isn’t performing for United as well as he does when he wears the French national jersey. “It is strange. I believe It is just a matter of him adapting as fast as possible because, to be honest, he is a very smart lad. “He needs to understand that different games have different tempos. Pogba needs to be proactive to help his teammates to understand him. “As a striker I always try to understand how am I going to dominate my opposition’s defence. Since Pogba plays in midfield, he needs to be the best by dominating his area. He needs to win the ball and go in for all the challenges that he is given. “Pogba basically needs to keep track of which games people remember him in and where he played well and produce that form week in and week out if he wants to be the best,” Saha added. However, Saha also believes the game is different compared to his playing days, and that is why the expectations of the fans need to change. “I am sure a player like (Ruud van) Nistelrooy would struggle with this football because now even the wingers want to score and be the stars of the game. You have to play a certain way for a player like Van Nistelrooy to score 40 goals a season. But at the same time, everyone has a different approach to the game and they need to find out what they are good at.” When asked what he thinks about Jose Mourinho’s tenure thus far at United, Saha replied: “I think Mourinho has done a good job to rebuild (Manchester) United. “Yes, of course, there is a step to go and dominate games week in and week out with the confidence like Liverpool, full on attacking minded, but we will get there.” Of the 64 matches, 22 select matches will be shown for free for everyone in Malaysia on the Astro Arena channel, accessible via Astro, Astro GO and NJOI. Besides that, Sports Pack subscribers stand a chance to win trips to Russia to catch either one quarterfinal match or the final in person. For more info about the World Cup Channel Pass, visit www.astro.com.my/wc2018.