Football
AAP 7y

Jorge Sampaoli vows to build Argentina around Lionel Messi

Debuting Argentina manager Jorge Sampaoli has signalled his intent to mould the under-achieving national team around Lionel Messi, hoping to extract as much from the megastar as Barcelona.

Sampaoli will oversee Messi for the first time in Friday night's blockbuster with resurgent arch-enemies Brazil, with a sold-out MCG set to witness the 108th chapter of the long-standing South American rivalry.

The accomplished former Chile and Sevilla boss hinted at his long-term plan to build a more cohesive unit that plays to the five-time Ballon d'Or winner's strengths.

Messi's position at Barcelona has been in constant evolution since he broke into the first team more than a decade ago.

No longer the false No. 9 of the Pep Guardiola era, his impact as a creator, supplier and scorer has grown with a licence to roam off the right wing as part of the renowned Messi-Suarez-Neymar attacking triumvirate.

The devastating effect has been Messi's 54 goals and 17 assists over 52 games for the Catalan giants in the latest season.

But his form in a national team stacked with individual talent has often been questioned in comparison.

"I believe Messi has been playing collectively in Barcelona as part of a team," Sampaoli said on Thursday.

"That's the type of synergy we want to create in the Argentina team.

"We don't want him to be playing in an isolated manner, we want him to play collectively.

"That's what we're going to push, for the team to play collectively with Messi to get the best out of him.

"The comparison between Messi playing for Barcelona and Messi playing for Argentina is clear because of that."

Messi is tipped to start on Friday, as are Juventus pair Paulo Dybala and Gonzalo Higuain and Paris Saint-Germain's Angel Di Maria.

World No. 1 Brazil is a tough first assignment for Argentine native Sampaoli, Argentina's third coach in the world No. 2 nation's precarious World Cup qualifying campaign.

Despite the pressure, the 57-year-old appeared relaxed speaking to 40-odd reporters on Thursday.

He's yet to make a final decision on how to set up against a Brazil side featuring Philippe Coutinho, Gabriel Jesus, David Luiz, Douglas Costa and Thiago Silva.

And he's not underestimating Tite's transformed Selecao despite the absence of superstar Neymar, controversially left behind for a rare offseason break, having already captained the team to Russia 2018 qualification.

But Sampaoli also hoped a mercurial approach might get the job done.

"There's a style we want to follow, however there are certain nuances that will allow us to be unpredictable," he said.

"Neymar is a very important player -- definitely one of the best in the world -- so Brazil is going to feel his loss.

"However Brazil has really good players able to pick up the team's performance without him.

"This situation could create fear of thinking about our rivals ... we need to not think about that and follow our philosophy."

^ Back to Top ^