Argentina boss Jorge Sampaoli says Lionel Messi is a victim of unfair criticism lauding the forward as the best player in the world.
The Argentine has been heavily criticized after penalty miss against Iceland in their World Cup opener against Iceland a game the two sides settled for a 1-1 draw. Sergio Aguero put Sampoili’s men ahead before they Thor Halldorsson claimed a point for Iceland with Messi failing to score the winning goal in the second-half through a penalty.
“We were quite upset about not having won. I think we’ve recovered, though,” Sampaoli said in a news conference in Nizhny Novgorod, the venue for the match against Croatia.
“Leo shouldn’t shoulder all the responsibility. We’re talking about a World Cup that involves millions of people. We can all miss a penalty. We have an entire squad here and we need to bind ourselves together through good and bad. Sometimes, football gives you these unpleasant surprises.”
“He is the best player in the world and clearly it is impossible that a single player changes the situation of a match completely. He can’t be held responsible for a defeat.”
“With Argentina, Leo has only lost five or six matches of the 75 or so he has played so Leo is a pillar of the team, just as Diego was in his day.
“Every Argentinian is free to have the opinion they want.”