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Lionel Messi To Make Argentina Return After Brief Retirement by Realslimshady(m): 9:44pm On Aug 12, 2016 |
Lionel Messi has announced his return to
Argentina's national team, ending his short-lived
retirement from international football.
Messi, 29, called it quits after missing a penalty in
the shootout defeat to Chile in this summer's Copa
America Centenario final -- the third consecutive
loss for Argentina in a major final.
"I see that there are a lot of problems in Argentina
football and I don't want to create more," Messi
said in a statement on Friday. "I don't want to
cause harm, on the contrary, my goal was to help
in any way I could."
Messi, who is Argentina's all-time leading scorer
with 55 goals in 113 appearances, made reference
to federation problems a few days before the Copa
final, saying the AFA, Argentine football's governing
body, was "a disaster" after the team suffered
delayed flights and experienced problems finding
opponents for training games.
OFICIAL!
Messi vuelve a la @Argentina
aqui el comunicado pic.twitter.com/Vj64QE7v9u
- Jorge Ramos & Banda (@ESPN_JorgeRamos)
August 12, 2016
"There are many things that need to be fixed in
Argentine football. But I prefer to help from inside
rather than stand on the outside and criticise," the
statement continued.
"A lot of things ran through my head on the day of
the [Copa America] final. And I seriously
considered leaving the team. But I love my shirt
and my country too much.
"I want to thank all the fans who wanted me to
keep playing for Argentina. I hope we can give
them joy very soon."
With the CONMEBOL deadline to name the squads
for September's World Cup qualifiers looming on
Friday, newly-appointed Argentina manager
Edgardo Bauza had expressed confidence Messi
would change his mind and opt to return to the
Albiceleste side, and that belief was rewarded with
Messi's confirmation later in the day.
Bauza, who took over as national team coach after
the resignation of Gerardo Martino last month, had
flown to Spain to meet Argentina players in
Barcelona on Thursday and reassure them there
would be order in the national team despite
ongoing chaos in the football federation.
He said he did not pressure Messi to reconsider
his decision to retire from international duty and
had "only talked football" with the striker, but
claimed he wanted to return.
"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."
Argentina are preparing for September qualifiers
against Uruguay and Venezuela after crashing out
in the group stage of the Olympics for the first time
since 1964.
The federation, which had been led by Julio
Grondona since the 1970s, has been in turmoil
since his death in 2014.
In June, FIFA stepped in and named a committee to
run its daily affairs with a stipulation that elections
must be held by July 2017.
Argentina legend Diego Maradona claimed the
chaos within the federation was institutional and
that Messi had been right to comment on it.
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Re: Lionel Messi To Make Argentina Return After Brief Retirement by Realslimshady(m): 9:46pm On Aug 12, 2016 |
cc :lalasticlala seun |
Re: Lionel Messi To Make Argentina Return After Brief Retirement by themonk(m): 9:50pm On Aug 12, 2016 |
.. |
Re: Lionel Messi To Make Argentina Return After Brief Retirement by Kingblingz(m): 10:20pm On Aug 12, 2016 |
Kvng Leo Baba! The King is back.. |
(1) (Reply)
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