It takes a brave man to criticise Messi. It takes an even braver one to want a hugely erratic defender be given the chance to lead the nation instead.
Lionel Messi may be the highest goalscorer in the history of the Argentine national team, but 1978 World Cup winning captain Daniel Passarella insists he should be replaced as captain by Everton defender Ramiro Funes Mori, Marca reports.
The five-time Ballon D’Or winner announced his intention to quit international football this summer after Argentina lost on penalties to Chile in the final of the Copa America Centenario, the third time in three years that the South American giants had suffered heart-break in a major final.
And, although he later reversed that decision after talks with new Albiceleste coach Edgardo Bauza, Passarella believes this proves that the man vaunted by many as the greatest player in the history of the game should hand his armband over to Everton’s third choice centre-back.
“Not giving the captaincy of Argentina to Messi would take a weight off of him,” Passarella told Chilean newspaper El Mercurio, as reported by Marca.
“I think Argentina already have a great leader, which is Ramiro Funes Mori. He should be the captain.
“The leader of the group is something different to the way you play and the talent of each player.
“I admire Messi, but I think his personality, his way of being, is withdrawn and timid.”
Messi has frequently been accused of underperforming for his country despite netting 56 times in 114 caps and winning the Golden Ball award for the best player at the 2014 World Cup.
The 29-year-old has also endured a strained relationship with some of the more vocal factions of the Argentine support, who claim he lacks national pride and an emotional attachment to the country after receiving his footballing education in Spain with Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy.
Consequently, Messi’s frustrations boiled over this summer after he missed from the spot in the penalty shoot-out against Chile, lending further credit to the claims that he lacks the steely personality of Passarella or, indeed, Diego Maradona.
In fact, Maradona himself, whose unrivalled achievements on the international stage are frequently used as a yardstick with which to measure Messi, claimed earlier this year that his Rosario-born heir lacks the ‘character’ to be a leader, as reported by FourFourTwo.
However, there is little to suggest that Funes Mori possesses either the temperament or the quality to assume the captaincy for a country he has only represented on 16 occasions.
The volatile defender was shown a straight red for a vicious stamp on Liverpool’s Divock Origi in April, selling his team down the river and setting them on their way to a 4-0 defeat in the Merseyside derby.
Such juvenile errors or judgement do not translate well onto the world stage, especially when you have an armband around your bicep.
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