Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho defends Lionel Messi
Chelsea manager has praised Lionel Messi for his performance in the World Cup and he defended him by saying that Messi does not need to win the World Cup to be termed a legend.
"It's easy to respect him when he has won but when he has lost, it's not so easy,"
"He is still a historical player. He does not need to be world champion to be a historical player, especially in this last decade.
"For me Pele is Pele and Maradona is Maradona. It's not for me to compare players from different generations. Maybe because he is from the same generation as when I was born -- for me Maradona is Maradona."
Lionel Messi lead Argentina to a first World Cup final in 24 years but lost narrowly lost 1-0 in extra-time to Germany in a closely contested match. Messi on his part scored 4 goals in 7 matches in the tournament but none of them came in the knockout rounds.
Doubts were raised after the match whether the 27-year-old is on par with legends like Brazillian Pele and his own countryman Diego Maradona who took their team to a World Cup final more than once and won them.
But Mourinho brushed aside any such suggestion that Messi is a lesser player than the above mentioned stalwarts. Mourinho who had a tumultuous relationship with Barcelona while he was the manager of Real Madrid in between 2010 and 2013 came to Messi’s rescue.
The Chelsea manager who is on his second term at Stamford Bridge instead pointed his finger at the tactics laid by Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella.
"I would like to know why Lavezzi stayed in the dressing room at half-time, Argentina had been playing with two lines of four, with Enzo Perez closing Philipp Lahm and Lavezzi doing the same on the other side. Because they were so compact Messi could walk while defending and then when he got the ball he had the energy to make the difference.
"When Sabella brought Aguero on for Lavezzi, Argentina changed from a 4-4-2 to a 4-3-3 and they lost a lot of balance. Messi had to run much more after Lavezzi went off.
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