Diego Maradona claims his guidance on the training ground helped transform a luckless Lionel Messi into one of modern football s deadliest free-kick takers.
The legendary Maradona coached Barcelona superstar Messi during Argentina s eventful 2010 World Cup campaign.
Messi won his second Ballon d Or that year but failed to get on the scoresheet in South Africa as the Albiceleste crashed out in the quarter-finals, losing 4-0 to Germany.
Despite Argentina s talisman not scoring at that tournament, Maradona feels that period was when the forward was at the peak of his powers.
But the new Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata boss believes a dose of his own wisdom was needed to elevate the attacker s dead-ball skills to the world-class level they have reached.
Messi, in the World Cup I was in charge, all the goalkeepers [we played against] were the man of the match, Maradona said.
He hit all the posts. Now he can t miss. It s a simple story.
What. A. Goal!
THAT Messi free-kick again again |
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague)
I had the best Messi and nobody can tell me otherwise, because he was able to skip past up to five players. A phenomenon.
But he had an issue with free-kicks. When we finished every training session we kept Leo behind so he could practice, and he started to hit the post. I didn t teach him how to take a free-kick.
Then he asked me how I was able to score.
Maradona described his advice as being simply to hit it in the middle .
And he replied, But I hit it in the middle and the ball goes this way or that way , and I told him, Don t worry, you re going to make it , the former Napoli favourite added.
Now he just can t miss.
Messi, now 32, has forged a reputation as a feared free-kick taker, his most notable effort last season a sublime strike from beyond 25 yards against Liverpool in the Champions League semi-finals.
Maradona left his national team post after the World Cup nine years ago but has returned to his homeland to take charge of top-flight Gimnasia.
