Why can’t Lionel Messi perform for Argentina?
Ever since Lionel Messi made his debut for Barcelona, the footballing world has been in awe of him and we are yet to find a player who will replace this little Argentine once he hangs up his boots.
Lionel Messi has thrived for Barcelona and many thought he was going to weave the same kind of magic when he puts on his national team jersey.
But unfortunately, that has not quite been the case.
Lionel Messi has looked a ghost of his Barcelona self when playing for Argentina and with each major footballing tournament all the playmaker has gathered is bag loads of disappointment.
So why can’t Lionel Messi perform for Argentina?
Well for starters many feel the Argentine’s success has been heavily dependent on his teammates at Barcelona and he just cannot get the same quality of players around him during the national team duties.
But now discussing the same topic, former Argentina manager Sampaoli has said that almost everyone is to blame on why can’t Lionel Messi perform for Argentina.
“The best player in the world was devoted”, Sampaoli told Marca.
“At his club (Barcelona) he has great stability. But when he comes to the national team a collective hysteria takes over and it’s like we’re expected to win.
This is not possible. If we don’t win, it’s he who cops all the criticism. So you can’t play, and you can’t enjoy it.”
“The weight of expectation on this team was too heavy. We all felt pushed by the obligation to win, which meant it was difficult for us to express our talents.
“It was difficult to work in those conditions because there was only one available option: to be world champions.
“Putting that kind of obligation ahead of the match itself made everything much more complicated.
“We need to find a balance so that this obligation to win doesn’t generate even more anxiety.
“Every match (at the World Cup) was a sufferance.”
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