Leaving their past behind, Diego Maradona backs Lionel Messi in FIFA World Cup 2018

When Argentina and football are discussed together, there are only two names that are closely associated - Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi. The ‘God of Handball’ took his country to World Cup glory in 1986, when Messi was not even born; thirty two years have passed since then, Argentina are yet to relive that moment.

As a 16-year-old, Messi was given a dual citizenship of Spain and Argentina following his move to Spain to join La Liga’s FC Barcelona.

In fact, Spain's Under-17 squad’s selectors had begun to pursue Messi to join the national side but the little boy aspired to stick to dreams, regardless of his residence. Ever since he had picked up a football for the first time, Messi wanted to represent La Albiceleste in international football.

Already being considered one of the greatest to have graced the sport, Messi has 643 career goals in 816 matches and has been instrumental in his club’s several wins in Europe. The senior Argentine legend, Marodona, wrote a column in Times of India, saying although Messi does not need a trophy to prove his greatness, he still is eager to clinch one.

“No marks for guessing what makes me believe Argentina can do it. Leo does not need this trophy to prove his greatness, but he is eager to win it. That itself is a huge plus for his team. His body language has been positive and we all know he can turn games in seconds.

It's difficult to describe the feeling of winning the World Cup and I want Leo to experience it. High on motivation, he is capable of producing things beyond the imagination of the opposition," Maradona wrote.

Messi, almost single-handedly, took Argentina into World Cup final four years back but eventually ended up in the losing side, mainly because of the lack of support from his team members.

“With support, which he did not get in 2014 or in the qualifiers where the strikers hardly scored, Leo will be deadly. As long as he is there, Argentina can do anything. But as I said, that support will be crucial,” the 57-year-old added.

Messi and Argentina are all set to kick-off their FIFA World Cup 2018 campaign on Saturday. Their tournament opening match is against Euro 2016 surprise package side Iceland and according to Maradona, Argentina must not take the opponents lightly.

“Taking Iceland lightly because this is their first World Cup would be foolish. Quarterfinalists in their maiden Euro two years ago, they have the tactical acumen to compete at this level. Short on skill that catches the eye, they specialize in practical football with emphasis on crowding their own half against stronger teams.

This is an effective strategy and makes them difficult to score against. It’s important to strike early because like all underdogs, Iceland will grow in confidence if they keep the opposition at bay," Maradona wrote.

“I wasn’t happy with the way Argentina played in the qualifiers and the fact they made the cut solely due to the brilliance of Leo. They were disorganised in defence as well as midfield, in contrast to 2014.

In 2014, Argentina were compact in these areas and conceded just one goal against four European teams in the knockout rounds. Jorge Sampaoli and his team have not got many friendlies either, which means the manager has to quickly get things in order,” Maradona pointed out.

Two years back, Maradona accidently had revealed that he thought Messi’s poor leadership skills divided Argentina fans back at home. “He doesn't have the personality to be a leader," Maradona had said of Messi when asked by Brazilian soccer legend Pele, without knowing that a microphone was working during a pre-Euro 2016 five-on-five friendship match held in Paris two years back.