It would be a sin to rest world’s best player Messi, says Maradona

ARGENTINA coach Diego Maradona has dismissed suggestions he might rest Lionel Messi for today’s final Group B clash against Greece, insisting it would be a “sin” to deprive the public of seeing the best player on the planet.

Prior to the start of the World Cup there had been concerns about Messi’s state of health following a gruelling season with Barcelona, and the 22-year-old played the full 90 minutes in Argentina’s opening two matches against Nigeria and South Korea.

With Argentina having won both those games to establish a three-point lead at the top of Group B heading into the final round of fixtures, it might have crossed Maradona’s mind to give Messi a break.

And that seemed even more likely as Maradona tested a radically different team in training, with Messi one of those not involved.

However, Maradona insisted yesterday the reigning FIFA World Player of the Year will feature in Polokwane.

“Lionel Messi always wants to play and I thought I should give him a break (in training), but if you have a player as good as Leo, who is the best player in the world, I think it would be a sin not to give Messi to the people, to the team, and leave out the player who can certainly make the difference in a match,” said Maradona, whose side are not yet guaranteed a place in the last 16, as three teams can still finish on six points in Group B.

“We of course wanted to give Lionel Messi a break (in training). He will play.”

Greece coach Otto Rehhagel has a plan to contain Messi but admits Argentina have plenty of other threats which need taking care of.

“I am aware we are playing against Messi, the best player in the world,” said Rehhagel. “I am not going to tell you how we are going to stop Messi because we don’t give secrets away. But wherever he turns up we will try to attack him – but no team has been able to stop him yet.”

“We’re not favourites and we’re not the least-fancied team, we’re here to play a World Cup. I don’t want to be a favourite, not before coming to South Africa and not now.

“I don’t like to talk about favourite teams, because the favourites can also stumble occasionally. We’re here to keep our fans happy, to play the way we want to play, and I think things so far are going well.”

Maradona also believes that, despite the troubles suffered by the likes of Italy, Germany, France, Spain and England, he expects most of the big guns to make it through the group stages.

“So far there’s been no outstanding team, we’re just starting the World Cup, we’re just revving up the engines, as it were,” he said.

“It can always happen that the smaller teams can grow against the bigger teams and these things can happen.

“France, Spain, although I don’t think Spain will have problems, Italy... my God it must be a huge scandal in Italy when they see that.

“(But) remember Italy in 1982, they drew against Peru and Cameroon, everyone wanted to kill them, and then suddenly they were champions of the world, beating West Germany in the final.

“I think we’re all going to make it.”