“I almost said ‘I love you’” - Liverpool attacker recounts incredible tale of facing Argentina captain Lionel Messi
Liverpool attacker Luis Diaz recently revealed the experience of meeting Argentina superstar Lionel Messi for the first time.
Diaz said Messi is one of his idols along with Brazilian great Ronaldinho. Ronaldinho retired long ago and Diaz never got the chance to play against him. However, he was lucky enough to play against Messi.
Diaz was very emotional when he met the Argentine for the first time. In fact, he almost cried. Speaking to Spanish news outlet SoHo (via Anfield Watch), Diaz said:
“I almost died, I almost said 'I love you', haha! Truly, he has always been my reference. My great idol was Ronaldinho, but since he is retired I was never able to play against him.”
Luis Diaz on coming up against Lionel Messi with Colombia:
“I almost died, I almost said 'I love you', haha! Truly, he has always been my reference. My great idol was Ronaldinho, but since he is retired I was never able to play against him.” #lfc [soho via liverpool echo]
The first time Diaz played against Messi was in the 2019 Copa America when his national team took on Argentina in Salvador, Brazil. It was a great game for Colombia as they registered a 2-0 win.
However, Diaz and his country missed out on the chance to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Argentina and Messi are in the tournament. However, the Albicelste didn't get the start they would have liked. Lionel Scaloni's team suffered a shock 2-1 defeat to Saudi Arabia in their opening Group C fixture. They will take on Mexico next on November 27.
Argentina captain Lionel Messi reacted to his team's shock defeat against Saudi Arabia
Argentina captain Lionel Messi refused to make any excuses as his side suffered a 2-1 loss against Saudi Arabia in the opening game of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Speaking to the media after the game, Messi said (via Hindustan Times):
"There are no excuses. We have to be more united than ever. This group is strong and has shown it. It's a situation we haven't gone through in a long time. Now we have to show that this is a real group. It's a very hard blow for everyone. We didn't expect to start like this. Things happen for a reason. We have to prepare for what's coming. We have to win and it depends on us."
Saudi Arabia have declared tomorrow a national holiday after their 2-1 win against Argentina 🥳 https://t.co/sTShJZF0HV
Lionel Scaloni also reacted to the result as he said after the game (via beIN Sports):
"It's difficult to digest. In four, five minutes, they scored two goals, two out of two shots on goal. But we will have to bounce back from this defeat and prepare [for] the next two matches. We do not have to analyze more than that. It's a sad day, but as we always say: head held high. We have to bounce back."
How shocking the defeat was can be gauged by the fact that Argentina had 69 percent possession of the ball. In the second half, where Saudi Arabia scored two goals, the percentage was 75 to 25 in favour of the South American giants.
The Albiceleste had 15 shots compared to Saudi Arabia's three and nine corner kicks against the eventual winners' two. Despite this massive advantage, the pre-game favorites failed to get a single field goal in the entire game.
Argentina next play Mexico on 27 November in what will be a must-win game for the side.