Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni has hailed Lionel Messi’s leadership on the pitch. Messi led from the front as he took Argentina to glory in the FIFA World Cup 2022. The talisman striker scored a total of seven goals and provided three assists for the national team in the quadrennial event to complete his childhood dream.
Messi scored against Croatia in the semifinal and also provided an assist. Furthermore, La Pegula scored a brace in the final against France and also provided an assist.
Messi was able to get the best out of his players on the pitch and guided them on the right track in the World Cup.
“He is a football leader, you can see that, but when he speaks he says the right words,” Scaloni said in an interview with former Argentina footballer Jorge Valdano.
Scaloni added he doesn’t have enough words to explain Messi’s impact on his teammates at La Albiceleste.
“And I’ve never seen what he transmits to his teammates, not only as a footballer. In any person. It’s difficult, I can talk about it, but people would have to experience what he transmits when he speaks. How his teammates look at him, the way they look at him, with admiration… it’s very difficult to explain,” Scaloni added.
The Argentina gaffer added Messi knows how to manage himself at the top level to increase his career longevity.
“I think he learned a lot in the moments that he has to influence. He knows how to manage himself, because he’s getting older and he knows himself. But he sets himself up in places where he knows he’s going to hurt the opponents.
“There are times when I tell him Leo, stick to the line to attract an opponent, and he comes, but not in the exact area I tell him, but in an area to put two opponents in doubt. He learned that, it’s innate. It’s something unique and to experience it every day is impressive.”
Messi has scored 13 goals and provided 14 assists for PSG Saint-Germain in the ongoing season.
