Former Inter Milan striker Diego Milito recently provided an emphatic response when asked to choose between Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona. Milito said that it's hard to pick between two of the greatest players in the history of Argentine football.
Messi and Maradona have both led Argentina to FIFA World Cup glories. They are not just two of the greatest players in the history of Argentine football, but also in the history of football. Speaking about the duo, Milito said (via Albiceleste Talk):
“This is like saying who do you love more, your mother or your father? It's difficult. We have to enjoy both of them because they are the greatest players in the history and both were born in Argentina. This makes us proud.”
Lionel Messi has so far made 175 appearances for the national team, scoring 103 goals. Diego Maradona, on the other hand, made 90 appearances for La Albiceleste, scoring 34 goals for the national team.
Lionel Messi recently spoke about the disastrous start to Argentina's 2022 FIFA World Cup campaign
Lionel Messi completed football when he led Argentina to FIFA World Cup glory in Qatar. However, La Albiceleste got off to a disastrous start to their campaign in Qatar.
Lionel Scaloni's side suffered a 2-1 defeat to Saudi Arabia in the opening game of the tournament. Despite Messi giving the team the lead from the penalty spot, Saudi Arabia managed to register a come-from-behind win. Speaking about the win, Messi recently told beIN Sport:
"I think that the first match was one of the key moments for us, apart from the fact that it was a big blow for us. I think from then on we started to think and play differently because we knew we couldn't make any more mistakes, any mistakes would put us out of the competition."
He added:
"We didn't expect to start that way, losing the first match against Saudi Arabia whch we thought or thetre was the perception that it was going to be the easiest match of the group, in fact it was quite the opposite. It was one of the most difficult moments for us and then obviously beating Mexico put it back into our hands again and we were able to play calmly."
Messi concluded:
"Looking at it with everything that's happened, although it was a tough blow for us, it came at the right time and it was good for us."
Despite the difficult start, Lionel Messi and Co managed to register a solid comeback. The Argentina captain played a starring role as he was named the winner of the Golden Ball.