Super Mario: Messi owes Argentina

Posted Friday, July 01, 2011 by thesun.co.uk

"We began with Lionel Messi, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Angel Di Maria up front and in the second half we brought on Carlos Tevez and Sergio Aguero.

"Four of those players scored and we did exceptionally well from an attacking point of view.

Kempes stressed that although he wants Messi to prove his stand out quality on the national stage, Argentina will only win their first trophy since 1993's Copa America if they gel as a unit.

He said: "Argentina has very good players but we need to find players who can play with confidence and perform as a team.

"When we won the World Cup in 1978 we were a strong team, all strong players. It was a good balance and you need to be a team to achieve success.

"Around me I had Luque, Ardiles, Bertoni, great players but also great team players.

"It's important to use this tournament to help find the balanced team that can take us through World Cup qualifying and on to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil."

One player who will be missing from the Copa America is Mexico's Javier Hernandez.

The Manchester United striker played a big part in helping his country beat the United States 4-2 in last week's Gold Cup final.

But he has been given a month's holiday at the request of his Old Trafford bosses.

Kempes added: "He is a player I admire and will be a big loss from the Copa America.

"I saw him at the World Cup in 2010 for the first time. I'd heard a lot of good things about him but he still surprised me in South Africa.

"When he moved to England as a young player he demonstrated not only his ability to score wonderful goals, he has also won the hearts and earned the respect of the people of Manchester and England.

"That is an amazing thing for somebody so young."

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