Lionel Messi’s First Speech as Captain: Juan Sebastián Verón Reveals Details from the 2010 World Cup

Juan Sebastián Verón revealed what Messi’s first speech was like at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa

Juan Sebastián Verón recalled what Lionel Messi’s first speech was like as captain of the Argentine team in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. La Brujita recounted unknown details of the talk that the Rosario star gave to his teammates two days after his 23rd birthday. . The coach of that team was Diego Armando Maradona, who first gave Leo the jacket with the number 10 and then the captain’s ribbon. It was for the third match of Group C, against Greece, whose victory was sealed by Martín Palermo’s goal.

Javier Mascherano had been the captain in the first two games that were also victories, 1-0 against Nigeria, and 4-1 against South Korea. With classification and first place secured, for the match against the Hellenes Maradona made several changes and gave the Little Boss a rest. Thus, Messi was appointed captain and in the preview he had the obligation to speak to his teammates in the locker room, in the traditional harangue.

One of those who played that game was Verón, who remembered that moment. “It got stuck at some point,” the Little Witch confessed in an interview with Juan Pablo Varsky in Clank!. “It is normal. It is not easy to speak in front of a group, especially in that situation. We don’t help him. He turned out well,” added the current president of Estudiantes de La Plata. In addition, she told about his relationship with the captain of Inter Miami. “I haven’t spoken in a long time,” she admitted.

In that duel that Argentina won 2-0 against Greece, the current coach of River Plate, Martín Demichelis, opened the scoring in the 77th minute. In the end, Palermo decorated the result after capturing a rebound from the goalkeeper after a shot from Messi.

Lionel Messi and Juan Sebastian Verón in the match against Mexico, for the round of 16 of the 2010 South Africa World Cup (AFP PHOTO / FRANCK FIFE)

Verón had played in the 1998 France and 2002 Korea-Japan World Cups, but was absent in Germany 2006, when he was having a great moment at Inter Milan. At that time he was 31 years old and shortly after he returned to Estudiantes de La Plata, and under the technical direction of Diego Simeone he was champion of the Apertura Tournament that year after winning the tiebreaker against Boca Juniors, 2-1 in Vélez .

After the great level shown at Pincha, with which he also won the Copa Libertadores in 2009, he earned a place in the calls that Maradona made with local players to play friendlies prior to the World Cup. This is how he finally managed to get on the final list and at the age of 35 he played his last World Cup.

That Argentine team later beat Mexico 3-1 in the round of 16, but was eliminated in the next round after a tough 4-0 defeat against Germany. Verón continued playing for Estudiantes and in fact won another title in the 2010 Apertura Tournament, although he never returned to the National Team again. With the national cast he did not achieve any title, but he left his mark, especially in the processes led by Daniel Passarella and Marcelo Bielsa.

In 2012 he retired and made two sporadic returns: the first in 2014 and the second in 2017, when at the age of 42 he participated in five matches in the group stage of the Copa Libertadores and became the oldest footballer to play in the main tournament. South American.

2024-04-23 04:05:00
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