István Beregi

🩵📲 Matias Manna (Argentina National Team analyst) on IG, with a beautiful post for Leo Messi: "Leo, I love hearing how you see and feel the game: “Now we make 10 passes and the goal will come, stay calm. Let’s play.” “'We found midfielders who had previously played as No. 10s, we started losing very few balls in midfield, having long spells of possession, and from there we gradually became stronger.' 'We became ourselves again.' "During this FIFA window, your farewell, one of the many parts of your legacy, I hope is that the Argentina National Team continues to represent that way of playing, that style. Thank you for being the standard-bearer who gave this era (2019–2026) that identity. "A set of ideas that allows a team to dominate through the ball, to overload the center of the pitch in order to play with numerical superiority (the goal vs. Algeria). Prioritizing short passes, having many players come close to the ball, and having plenty of midfielders who can bring the best out of the No. 10s. With its own identity, “La Nuestra,” from the Global South, Argentina has to say: this is how we play. In the best matches of the Scaloni era, Argentina played in this particular way. "I would love for the Argentina National Team, at the training complex that bears your name, with the trees in the background, to never stop training and searching for that style, to keep developing it through every training session, and for it to still be recognizable in every match 15 or 20 years from now. "In a game that is becoming increasingly physical, filled with runners, transitions and wing-backs (what would have happened if Argentina had played with a back five instead of Di María against France?), I believe you represent this kind of football, one that is becoming endangered. "It will be impossible to see someone like you again, but hopefully your way of seeing and feeling the game will live on.