Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena has explained the attributes that make Argentina captain Lionel Messi great.
Mokwena said this on SuperSport TV in his half-time analysis of the Qatar World Cup round-of-16 match between Argentina and Australia on Saturday evening.
The Paris Saint Germain forward had just scored Argentina’s opener before Alvarez added the second goal in the second half to seal the victory.
RULANI MOKWENA’S ANALYSIS OF LIONEL MESSI
Mokwena said Messi is great because of his ability to make complicated things seem simple.
“The greatest players do make difficult things look simple. It is all about the simplicity,” he said.
The Sundowns mentor said with great players around, a team does not need to have a big chunk of ball possession.
Messi swept the ball home after an exchange of passes to give Argentine the much-needed win before Alvarez cushioned the lead.
The Sundowns coach is part of the SuperSport panel of pundits that includes Bongani Khumalo and others.
MIXED REACTIONS TO MESSI’S GREATNESS
Commenting on Messi’s goal, England football great Gary Lineker said: “Messi scores his 789th goal in his 1000th match and his first ever in a knockout game at a World Cup.
“His 9th World Cup goal takes him ahead of Maradona and one behind Batistuta. A moment of Messi magic amid a messy match.”
However, not all found the craze about the former Barcelona superstar interesting.
United Kingdom talk show host Piers Morgan tweeted that there was no need to exaggerate Messi’s performance.
“The relentless Messi fan-girling by the whole BBC punditry team is getting excruciatingly obsequious,” he tweeted.
“Getting worried one of them might have an ‘accident’ in the studio. Calm yourselves, lads. He had a good game against an average side. See how he does against a good team.”
Morgan is a big fan of Messi’s rival Cristiano Ronaldo whose team Portugal also qualified for the round of 16 of the World Cup.
Messi has now scored three goals in four games, and his impressive performance has attracted comparisons with Ronaldo. Ronaldo has scored one goal in three games for Portugal at the World Cup.
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