Diego Maradona took a swipe at Lionel Messi the day after his World Cup heartache by insisting the heir to his throne didn’t deserve to win the Golden Ball award.
Messi was welcomed home by Argentina President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, who admitted she ‘didn’t see a single match’, after Germany’s 1-0 win at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday.
And the four-time Ballon d’Or winner, who looked almost apologetic to be named player of the tournament, only won the award because of a ‘marketing plan’, says Maradona.
‘I would give him any award, but when it’s not fair and when marketing people make him win something that he didn’t win, it’s unfair,’ said Maradona.
‘Because (Arjen) Robben played an exceptional tournament and because Thomas Muller made an incredible sacrifice against Argentina.
‘I feel sorry for my country. Mario Gotze’s goal really hurt. There’s a huge sadness in my heart that we lost the final.
‘All things put together, I think Argentina deserved at least penalties. That Germany won was the result of a misunderstanding in the Argentine defence.’
Maradona added on his television show, De Zurda: ‘I could see he didn’t want to go up and collect it.’
Messi won the Golden Ball ahead of a number of arguably more worthy candidates.
Colombia’s James Rodriguez, Germany’s Muller and Manuel Neuer, Argentina’s Javier Mascherano and Holland’s Robben all had cases to make.
It mattered little in the end, though, as Messi failed to inspire Argentina to a win that would have cemented his place in history.
And it only got worse when Argentina President
Kirchner admitted she missed every game.
‘As you know, I’m no soccer fan,’ she said, while standing next to Messi and Argentina manager Alejandro Sabella. ‘I didn’t see a single match, not even the one yesterday (on Sunday).’
Kirchner revealed she phoned Sabella after the match because it felt like the team had won, regardless of the result. ‘That’s how I felt and how 40 million Argentines felt too,’ she added.
Argentina didn’t look completely crestfallen as Sabella found time to have a joke, being handed a bottle of water by goalkeeper Sergio Romero to get his own back on Ezequiel Lavezzi.
Emotional supporters flooded the road leading from the airport to the Argentinian FA complex in Eleiza, hours after their 1-0 defeat.
Argentina last played in a World Cup final in 1990, when they lost to West Germany, and were looking to win the competition in their rival’s backyard.
Reportagem de: 14.07.2014
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