Wednesday, June 16, 2010

MARADONA confirms VERON won't face S. Korea

Unfortunately, I missed the press conference MARADONA gave earlier today. It was too early for me here in Buenos Aires.

There is and there always will be a press conference from Diego the day before each match we play in this World Cup.

As for yesterday's press conference from TEVEZ and GARCE, I was also unable to take notes and didn't find the time to translate some of their quotes for you. I apologise if you really wanted to hear what they said.

I can't give you a full transcript as you always find here on Mundo, but here are some of Diego's quotes from today. Oh...wait...I found it! Full transcript here:

Diego MARADONA

On VERON:

"Yes. It was tough leaving Sebastian out of our team for tomorrow. Especially because he really wants to play. No player will ever want to miss out on a World Cup match. But I think the bigger problem is to risk him aggravating his injury and miss him for the rest of the competition. And I don't want that. I need him to be fit. I explained it to him and he understood this is the best thing for the team".

"He gave me another lesson of professionalism, of being a man and of being a leader. I'm very happy with how he reacted and how the other players reacted. We all know that if tomorrow we lose VERON for the rest of the tournament, this group of players won't be the same. Maxi RODRIGUEZ will do a great job for us."

On what kind of match he expects against Korea:

"We won't change our team that much. We know they are really quick and they are good at set-pieces. We need to be clinical in midfield and we need to keep the ball and prevent them from hitting us on the break"

"I think the main difference between Nigeria and South Korea is the physical strength. Every time we collided with a Nigerian player it was like hitting a wall. Whereas against Korea we won't suffer that much from that. We will be more equal with them in that regard".

On MESSI:

"I want to say one thing about Lio. I see him so calm. So mature. I feel great. He needed a match like the one he had v. Nigeria. Showing leadership, playing well with his team-mates. Especially when the match was close in the second half. That's when we saw the best version of MESSI. He was never shy. He kept on trying to play. Him, together with TEVEZ, took away Nigeria's confidence in the second half".

On MILITO:

"I'm not ruling out to play him together with HIGUAIN. As I'm not ruling out to play PALERMO or AGÜERO. I'm telling you that the team we saw yesterday in practice (Note: The substitutes) almost had no difference with what you see from the team that faced Nigeria. AGÜERO scored, MILITO scored, PASTORE scored. So don't rule no player out for me".

On PELE and PLATINI:

"I would tell PELE to go back to the museum. I'm not surprised by what PLATINI said (NOTE: Basically, Michel PLATINI said: "What do I think about MARADONA as a manager? I think he was a great player") . I always had a distant relationship with him. It's "Hello, goodbye" and that's it. We all know how the French are like and PLATINI is French and he thinks he is better than the rest of the world. I don't pay attention to what he says".

On Jonas and TEVEZ:

"I confirm him on the team because I thought he played a great game. If Carlitos played more on the right for some moments was because VERON was very much playing through the middle. Carlitos won't only play on the right. If we need him to play as a left-back, as a centre-back and he would also play as goalkeeper if it was up to him and if he considers he is helping the team. We are really proud to have Carlitos on our team".

On what he saw of the tournament so far and Argentina's chances:

"I always said we were going to put up a fight against anybody. Wins will give you confidence. I know because I played in previous World Cups. Players who think they have no chance, start playing as stars. Having seen these first round matches so far...France, Uruguay, Mexico, Italy, Paraguay, Ivory Coast, even Brazil yesterday, gives you more confidence. Because I know what I have here in our team will put up a fight against anybody".

On whether this World Cup is more boring than previous editions:

"To be honest, I'm having a great time here! I'm not worried because we are seeing fewer goals. They will come. Teams study each other a lot and that's why they are more levelled. I don't want to speak about the ball, but it's hard to play with it. I have asked PELE and PLATINI many many times to study the ball before the tournaments. To test it. I think that's a more important thing for them to do than to talk rubbish about me".

On whether he fears South Korea will commit many tactical fouls on MESSI:

"Tactical fouls are punished by the referees. Tactical fouls are a resource every team have, but according to what he sees, the referee has the authority to stop play, show cards. I think it's clear. Lio has to stay calm. Play his game and have no fear of fouls".

This is all I got from a clip I found online. I think there were more answers after the ones above, but I don't have them yet.

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33 comments:

Unknown said...

think he spoke very well- And in regards to Pele, I think he is jealous that Maradona once again is getting all the press. Seriously, Pele please keep your mouth shut no one cares what you have to say. And if the only way to get press is to talk about Maradona that is sad

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sebastian said...

I can say with no hesitation that when it comes to Diego MILITO, MARADONA 'likes' him, but he doesn't 'loves' him.

Everytime someone asks a question about MILITO, MARADONA replies by saying he also has PALERMO and Kun.

EVERYTIME.

I felt insecure in the build up to the World Cup because I wasn't sure MILITO was going to be included and I still think it was more a question of MARADONA having no other option but to call him up for the spectacular season the Inter striker had.

The kind of match HIGUAIN was having on Saturday and MILITO being sent to the pitch with only 12 minutes to go I think it speaks volumes of what I'm saying.

No love. No real love.

And then I have to put up with people who keep saying MILITO doesn't cut it with the national team. Yeah, like you can judge him after only 12 minutes. What would they have to say about HIGUAIN, by the way?

I'm convinced. Absolutely convinced that the best way to go for Argentina would be to play MILITO 90 minutes in every match.

The way he linked up with MESSI in the only opportunity he had to do so and how he set him up one-on-one with the keeper is a clear example of what I say.

And let MILITO have a one-on-one with the keeper and see if he misses.

It pains me to see we are not taking advantage of having such a hot striker.

p2bn said...

Right on Seba! Not just in the case of Milito; but Diego's preference (favouritism i guess) in general is the only thing that scares me the most except our defence. When you do such things like selecting players because you like them rather how they perfom, you get punished sooner or later. And unless Leo does the magic, I really fear at some point in the tournament, we will get punished. Sadly. I hope I will be wrong. I really hope so.

Vamos Argentina

Anonymous said...

Dan said.

OK guys, lets just say Viva Messi! One point for EVERYBODY...Lets NEVER say again how XAVI makes Messi great. Spain just guaranteed elimination or 2nd place in the group which is as good as elimination. You know why? Second place in this group plays Brazil first in the round of 16. Adios Spain. Overrated, underachieving paper champions. Barcelona without Messi= Spain. Messi is the greatest.

Anonymous said...

Javier Pastore should be in the central midfield not Maxi Rodrieguez, it wont work for maxi out of play

Anonymous said...

yes, i also think spain is overrating, but that was only the first game. however if they really face brazil, spain will lose with 80% garantee, and brazil will leave substance.

however, i think all the dribbling and passing skills are overrated in terms of effectivity. it sounds brutal, but to defend with 9 men, hitting long balls to the only striker, waiting for mistakes and dead balls is a strategy that is not less effective at the wc!

i hope uruguay wins today and we manage to play them in the 1/8, like in 1986. that could be an "easy" win without leaving substance. i don't want a 120 minute thriller like 2006 against mexiko, which costs too much.

Vitalij

Anonymous said...

With no Esteban Matías Cambiasso and Juan Román Riquelme, I agree maradona is makimg big mistakes with maxi in central midfield while veron is injured

Anonymous said...

italy shit,brazil oh the luck as always the korean goaly was shit scraed poor guy and the first goal a joke so again shit very donkyish side brazil and spain just got shafted as i thought they would

argentina go get are cup and maxi will be fine tomorrow..

spain what a joke

Anonymous said...

pastore has maxi experiance and tackling ability think again

Renjith said...

I have read an article that Diego Milito is Maradona's secret weapon.Yes, he has choosen six strikers without any sense. He will use all one by one and he knows what to do with his players. Lets hope Milito would become the secret weapon of Maradona.

Renjith said...

Sorry, 'not without any sense'.

M13 said...

Spain the self appointed favourites have been beaten by a team that lost to Costa Rica. There has been so much hype surronding them based on the fact that they won the Euro's and have been kicking ass.I have been saying for a long time that the US provided a blue print on how to play them. The Swiss adopted the same tactics and it worked. This result will shatter their self confidence and destroy the mystique surronding them. They are beateable and you do not have to be an A list team to do it.They have some excellent players but a number of otheres like Busquets, Villa, Silva,Alonso and Pedro only look good when things are going their way. They missed Senna's muscular prescence and a fit in form Torres.

This result shows that South Korea deserve the utmost respect and should not be taken lightly. The coaching staff should prepare for Suth Korea as if it is preparing for Brasil as complacency may lead to another upset.The Asian teams have done extremely well so far. It is not enough to rely on Messi to perform magic all the time whilst others are being carried and do not step up. It is quite clear that Spain lost because they underestimated Switzerland and it was too late before they realised that they were in a tough game. Argentina should not fall into the same trap.

Anonymous said...

I read that the starting 11 is confirmed. The previous 10 plus Maxi. Good news! I'm against the idea of changing the team over and over again. Those players u guys criticized in the first game will show their real quality...

Principee

andaman said...

Nice pics of the Nigeria match, guys

http://www.argstorm.com/shownews.asp?newsid=11530


I like what Diego said about Messi.

Maxi Lopez said...

I really don't want to be rude so the only thing I will write is that Maxi Rodriguez can be a tremendous central midfielder. He's even better in the center than on the right wing! A great #8. Don't forget ARG VS IC 2006 or ARG VS SM 2006.

SEBA,
Try to stop thinking about your favorite players. I know it's hard (I mean many many of my favorites are not even in the squad!). That's just the way it is. Higuain will always play instead of Milito. Veron will always start, even if he's a grand father. That is just the way it is...

Anonymous said...

A big jsjs to Espana!

Anonymous said...

villa inesta in fact half the team looked raggedy out of shape out of form like they all need a holiday

lock down in camp rest masage train repete MARADONA knows how to win a tourament the legendery argentina consentration returns like a disaplined army thats how you win this thing

Anonymous said...

pastore helping mascharano ackor a midfield please can the fool leave the conversation please maxi great choice his suited to inside right play

johnny said...

Uruguay up 1-0 at 30 minutes. Still early, but to this point no South American team has tasted defeat.

GK said...

It is good to see that Diego has struck back at Pele and Platini for their stupid comments.

I am glad that Veron won't be playing against Korea because they are just too damn fast for his old legs and he clearly gave the ball away far too many times against Nigeria. Hopefully we will have a chance to see Pastore come on as a sub at some point.


Seba, during the Tevez press conference was anything mentioned about a possible move from City to Inter? Goal.com reports that Rafa Benitez said he would pay 40 million for Tevez. I am a huge Tevez fan and would love to see him at the San Siro!

Anonymous said...

diego forlan is the younger brother of claudio caniggia! well, i really want uruguay be our opposition in the 1/8, easier than mexiko and france.

Vitalij

Anonymous said...

Seba,
after readng your comment, I had to atch the last 12 minutes again, just to see if I missed sth. I did not like how Higuain missed his chances, but I definitely see Diego's point in using him, the work he has done to win the ball and pass it upfront was great. I compared his work to Milito's who kept losing the ball or sending wrong passes except for that one ball to Messi, and I think I decided I don't see you point, excet for the fact that MAYBE he would have scored the chances Higuain had in the game... MAYBE but there's no way to tell except by trying him, hipefully during the third game.

@thinkingzombie said...

I am worried about Jonas Guiterezz, He is awfully out of position as RB and that provides goal scoring chances for the opposition.
Why doesnt Diego play Burdisso the normal RB, anyways I didnt find Jonas giving something great in attack as well in the last match.
It is very very important in WC matches to have a solid defence especialy when we have a good offensive force.
Comeon Diego, please please please ... enough of Jonas as RB, WC is not the time to experiment with crucial positions.

Sebastian said...

To answer to Maxi Lopez and the Anonymous who watched those 12 minutes from Diego MILITO again.

I'm not saying the things I say about Diego MILITO because I'm in love with him or because he is my favourite player. He is not. Lionel MESSI is.

I'm saying what I say because I have seen him play enough and I have seen Lionel MESSI play enough to think that the two can complement each other like no other two players in attack of those we have in South Africa right now.

I'm not judging MILITO and I don't think anybody should judge him after having played only 12 minutes. Why do you think sports newspapers or websites or journalists in general don't give a grade to players playing less than 30 minutes? It's for a reason. How can you say he didn't do anything when he only played 12 minutes?

Following that same criteria, then HIGUAIN missed one golden chance after only one or two minutes and that should be enough for me to say he was rubbish? Not at all! How could I say that?

What if I judge HIGUAIN on what he did during his first 12 minutes in a World Cup debut? Again. That would be VERY unfair and out of order.

As I said many times, I just hope I have the chance to be proven wrong after seeing a complete 90 minutes of MILITO playing together with MESSI for Argentina. Until then, I'll keep thinking the same way I do now.

And please, I feel I have to clarify this everytime I speak about it, but I do rate HIGUAIN very highly. Just not as highly as I rate MILITO. I don't think that's a crime. It's just my personal opinion.

Simply put. In my eyes, MILITO is the present. HIGUAIN is the future of our number 9 shirt. And what a brilliant future that should be!

Minacapelli said...

Me again :). Hope the best for argentina. Im glad veron is out heh, maxi should prove his worth now.

Again, i will bring you guys the stream.

http://www.justin.tv/pepotero99
If it gets banned, Go to http://www.justin.tv/pepotero98 (i will open that one soon)

Have fun!

Anonymous said...

Thnx Minacapelli!

Anonymous said...

Guys!! Maxi Rodriguez is not starting tomorrow! is that right?
I just saw we are playing 4-3-1-2:

Romero
Burdisso-Demichelis-Samuel-Heinze
Jonas-Mascherano-DiMaria-
Messi
Tevez-Higuain

WOW, I don't know if this is the final selection, but it seems Diego pulled a surprise by keeping Maxi out and changing the formation!!

lz said...

Is that right? --or is it April Fool's Day again?

Allan Ng said...

If this line-up was real I think I could live with it.

Sebastian said...

I don't know where are you (Anonymous) getting your information from. I haven't heard anything from anyone and I'm just reporting what I heard from MARADONA.

I guess we can only confirm our lineup an hour before kickoff when they are displayed on FIFA's official website.

Anonymous said...

Hey Seba, it was a betting agency, and I assumed they had the official list or sth, but now it is back to Rodriguez in the team, so I guess Maxi is playing!
My bad sorry guys.

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