Diego's conference: "We were ruthless today"

"Congratulations to my players because of the work they have done. What we talked about before the game, they did it to perfection. I've got 23 wild-cats that are ready to play whenever I ask them to do it".

"We deserved a game like this. We have insinuated we could do it against Nigeria but today we did it. Except for that problem Martín DEMICHELIS had, it was all Argentina today".

"I don't know how much I improved as a manager. I was always there for my players to use me as they needed me. During all this time, I commanded myself to our national team and I've learned a lot from watching many things. To have 2 wins in 2 matches makes me and my coaching staff really happy. If I have improved as a manager or not, I think the players should tell you that. You could have the best players but if they kick backwards, you'll be the worst manager".

"Argentina played a great game and we were ruthless today".

"I think we have evaluated who could be our rivals in the knockout stages. But we don't want to put our minds into that right now. We have to concentrate on our own internal fight for places within our team. You see MILITO came on the other day. Kun came on today. BOLATTI too. I talked to SAMUEL, he told me it hurts, but he also told me he wants to play! We are all very happy and my 23 players are ready to do whatever it takes to see our team win".

"I think South Korea could never find their feet in this game. Except for a moment in which they sent a counter-attack, they never compromised our win. DEMICHELIS can have a problem, like any player. But what happened to him made us stronger because we needed to support our team-mate. I think we were great after that. I think we managed the ball possession at will".

(The journalists said: "I'm broadcasting live for TyC Sports")

"You're always live! Ever since I first met you, you're always broadcasting live!"

"We knew that the only way Korea could have complicated our chances would be if we were not careful in midfield with possession, or to give them the ball, or to allow them to hit us with their set-pieces. We've seen videos of Korea scoring a lot of goals after flicking a corner-kick in the first post, but we never allowed them to do it. Also, our players gave us information on some of their players. Carlitos knows PARK Ji Sung".

On why is he so affectionate to his players with hugs and kisses. And the question was: "Can love help you win the World Cup?). I don't know about how accurate the translation was, but Diego opened his eyes really big and said:

"No! I like women! I'm dating Verónica. She is 31. She is blonde. She is very pretty! Don't start some nasty rumours (laughs). I may have my weaknesses towards some of my players but that's normal. I guess that just shows how good we are as a group of human beings. We think consensus is way better than tough discipline or punishment whenever somebody does something wrong".

He was asked a question in Italian by a Swedish journalist who said she was there 20 years ago in Italia 90 and Diego replied in Italian:

"Non mi hai portato tanta fortuna allora!" (You didn't bring me good luck, then!)

Bonus track: Diego opened an envelope and produced a letter. He then said:

"I have to do this. I spoke about Michel PLATINI and he sent me this letter in which he clarifies that he didn't say what you guys (the press) told me he had said about me. That's why I want to apologize if I offended Michel PLATINI. But I don't want to apologize to PELE".