"If Messi Had Said No, Martino Wouldn't Be Argentina Coach"

Ricardo Caruso Lombardi, coach of Primera B side Tristán Suárez in Argentina, has once again taken a swipe at Lionel Messi. "I'd tell him to actually run at players for the national side. He's not in Spain where he dribbles past everyone as if they were cones in training", he grumbled on AM 770. The coach is no stranger to controversy and did not mince his words when quizzed over Gerardo Martino's arrival as national team coach. "Do you think Martino came in without Messi's approval? If he'd said no, Martino wouldn't be there. Messi determines so much". Caruso Lombardi later lambasted Messi further. "He should have shown up in the final. It isn't Pékerman, Batista, Maradona or Sabella's fault. Messi should have made us world champions… If he doesn't feel like performing in a World Cup final, he should go and play golf instead". The Tristán Suárez coach had further words on Argentina's defeat at the hands of Germany in the final: "I understand players perform well or badly, but I don't understand when they don't run. We'll never have an easier chance to win the World Cup. We'd have won it if the team had given even 50%". Read more: "If Leo had said no, Martino wouldn't be Argentina coach" - MARCA.com