Messi, this scourge that is plaguing football

As football evolves, creative profiles are, unfortunately, becoming increasingly rare. In an interview given to Marca, Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni spoke about the current state of football which he considers worrying. He gave the reasons that he believes hinder the emergence of new talents comparable to Lionel Messi.

“We are losing the essence of football,” Scaloni said. Not only professionally but also with children. My children are playing in Spain and are overwhelmed with information. They receive the ball and are already told what to do. »

The 45-year-old technician believes that this tendency to want to do too much with young players is harmful. “There are fewer dribblers because if they barely have the ball, they hear: ‘Pass it!’ »…Imagine if Messi, when he was eight years old, constantly heard “Pass your ball” from his coaches…I wouldn’t have it today. »

“Let him play”

The winner of the 2022 World Cup with the Albiceleste calls for letting children play freely, without too much pressure. “Football has become such a huge thing, everyone reads, studies and thinks that with this, we can already get by,” he explained. If you tell a 7 or 8 year old kid to run diagonally, to cover defensively… He’s 7! Let him play with the ball, make mistakes, and when he’s 14 or 15, then we can start to correct all that. »

The native of Pujato concluded his message with a call for the preservation of the beauty of football. “It’s a message for the future,” he continued. It is a sport and the beauty of football should not be lost. »