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Argentinian team needs Lionel Messi, Messi needs his team-mates, says manager Lionel Scaloni

Sport360 staff

07:40 30/05/2019

Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni has urged the players to create a productive environment around star man Lionel Messi.

The forward will be returning to the Argentina camp ahead of the Copa America after a disappointing end to a great campaign with Barcelona.

The Catalans failed to preserve a 3-0 lead against Liverpool in the semi-final of the Champions League and then lost the Copa del Rey final against Valencia two weeks later.

Scaloni believes that the players in the Argentina squad need to look at Messi as a normal human and create a positive atmosphere for him to run his magic. He also mentioned that Messi knows he needs his team-mates to support him.

“That Messi is magnificent, great, you know, there are no more adjectives for him. That is evident,” Scaloni told Mundo Deportivo.

“Leo needs a team and the team needs him. That must be normal. Here he needs his companions. And we all need a team, commitment, the desire to win, to do something, always talking and thinking in plural. And Messi is the first to know, [that] he needs his team-mates.

“Here I have heard everything. That when he arrived well having won in his club, then he did badly in the national team. That if he does badly in Barcelona it is better because he arrives with a desire for revenge.

“There is no sense in either of them. They are speculations. I think that Leo feels comfortable in the national team and takes all the pressure off. Here there is no pressure of anything. You should only focus on having a good Copa America.

“The goal is for Leo to feel that his team-mates will help him win and that he will help them win, too.”

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