Platini: Messi still needs to shine at World Cup
Reuters - Monday 09 January 2012, 20:53
Lionel Messi still needs to
produce his best at the World Cup to be remembered as one of the
truly great players, former France captain Michel Platini said
on Monday.
Messi won the World Player of the Year award for the third
time in a row on Monday, based on his exploits last year with
Barcelona, but Platini said the Argentine still needed to
perform at the highest level for his country.
"Look at Diego Maradona, everyone remembers what he did in
1986, nobody remembers so much what he did with Napoli, with
Barcelona," Platini, president of UEFA, told reporters after the
ceremony.
"It's still the World Cup which sticks in people's minds.
"Messi will always be great with or without the World Cup,
Johan Cruyff will always be great with or without the World Cup,
but the World Cup does something special," he added.
The only criticism levelled against Messi is that he has yet
to produce his best playing for his country, who were knocked
out of the Copa America in the quarter-finals last year when
they hosted the tournament.
Messi, who has played in two World Cups only for Argentina
to lose in the quarter-finals to Germany on both occasions,
admitted the national team were not at their best
"The reality is that we are very far from being the best
national team in the world," he said in a news conference before
the ceremony.
"There are many in front of us but we have the ambition and
the desire. There is still a lot of time to go before 2014 and
we have to improve a lot but we will get there."