Lionel Messi admitted that his performances haven’t been at his usual standard, but said the poor pitched haven’t helped.
Speaking after his side’s 2-0 win against Venezuela in the quarter-finals on Friday.
“I am not having my best Copa America, in truth, the pitches are shameful. It is hard to control the ball and carry it. ”
“The ball looked like a rabbit, it goes all over the place with this pitch. All we can do is adapt.
“The pitches are awful. That doesn’t help keep possession, you need a second longer, it bounces poorly, you cannot lead.
“But we played a complete game and we were able to win.”
he told reporters at the final whistle, per Goal.
The Argentine is yet to score a goal from open play, having only scored a penalty in his sides 1-1 draw with Paraguay in round 2 of the Group Stage.
The whole team started poorly as they only collected a single point from their first two games.
But after that they have been in good form, winning their next two matches 2-0.
And the coach believes that as the tournament continues Lionel Messi will play a big part.
“I think, along with many other people, that he [Messi] is an essential addition on the pitch,”
“If you were here to see how much he contributes in the dressing room, how much he contributes on the pitch for his team-mates, maybe you would think differently.
“I can assure you he is a big part of the team, we have no doubts about that.”
the Argentina coach said.
Let’s hope for Argentina’s sake Messi starts performing as they face the hosts Brazil in the semi-finals of the Copa America next.
