Argentina football legend Diego Maradona has been a constant presence during the World Cup matches of the freshly eliminated two-time world champions in Russia. After La Albiceleste won the first-round match against Nigeria to ensure their passage to the round of 16, a red-faced Maradona was shouting abuse at the Nigerian fans.
On Saturday night after Argentina's 4-3 defeat to France, however, the 57-year-old chose to focus on French teenage sensation Kylian Mbappe, saying that the Paris Saint-Germain forward reminded him of a former teammate.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. "Argentina went out to attack France and made the mistake of leaving a lot of room for Mbappe, who is like [Claudio] Caniggia in his early days," he told teleSUR.
"[Marcos Rojo] let him enter the area and then knocked him down. That's not what a national team player should do.
"He had to go straight to the body and knock him down before Mbappe moved the ball forward."
PATORUZU, NOT MESSI
Maradona did not mince words when assessing his country's performance in the World Cup.
"We do not know how to attack, we do not know what to do when we have the ball. France are different: they have a counter-attack, variation, they have options on the right and the left," he said.
He invoked an Argentine comic character that possesses superhuman physical strength when talking about how asking Messi to perform a false nine role and score goals was asking too much of the Barcelona superstar.
"I saw Messi very isolated, away from the box. I said if he played as a nine he had to go looking for the ball, link the play, set goals up and score them.
"Then we are talking more about Patoruzu than Messi."
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