Buenos Aires [Argentina], July 7 : Former Argentina manager Jose Pekerman, who was in charge of the men's national side during legendary Lionel Messi's FIFA World Cup debut back in 2006, hailed the national side's FIFA World Cup-winning icon for his record-breaking ways and how he has achieved so much without " losing his essence as a person".
Argentina's FIFA World Cup journey will continue in the round of 16 against Egypt in their next match scheduled for July 7, 9:30 PM IST.
The tournament has seen Messi break records on records, such as becoming the all-time leading FIFA WC scorer with 20 goals, becoming the first-ever player to score in eight successive FIFA WC matches and being involved in most assists in FIFA WC history. The tournament started for him with his first-ever World Cup hat-trick against Algeria.
It was Pekerman who had given a then 18-year-old Messi his tournament debut against Serbia and Montenegro with his side up 4-0 in the 75th minute, and minutes later, Messi justified the faith shown in him by scoring a goal, becoming the youngest Argentina player to score a WC goal. Since then, a lot has transpired, and Messi has achieved everything that was there to be won, making it one of the most heartwarming, inspirational journey of longevity and consistency in sport.
Looking back at that Messi debut, Pekerman said to Reuters that as he sent Messi out for his WC debut, he had no doubts that one day he would be amongst the best.
"For me, every minute was important, because I had no doubt that over the next 10 years he would be fighting to be one of the best players in the world," he said.
"It was important for him to get used to a more professional, more demanding level of soccer, to let his talent grow along with his experience," he added.
On Messi's journey, now 39 and also the oldest Argentina goal-scorer, Pekerman, now 76, says, "It is a beautiful story, and I enjoy it very much. He was obviously going to be a tremendous talent. We can't talk about discovering something, because it was so evident."
He also compared his intelligence of the game with that of the late Diego Maradona, saying that they both possessed great game intelligence despite being so young early in their careers.
"It was the same as had happened with Maradona. Something that went beyond his age. The intelligence he had to understand soccer and master different situations, despite being so young," he said.
Alongside all his records and trophies, Messi has made his name as one of football's most humble and humane figures, and Pekerman hailed him as a "true role model".
"The records he is setting will be very difficult to break. It is not easy to stay at that level for so long, always finding new goals to achieve. And he has done it without losing his essence as a person. I think the decisions he has made throughout his career have always been the right ones," Pekerman signed off.