Analysis of the Argentina national team for its runner-up finishes at the recent Copa America and the 2014 World Cup are all welcome, but personal attacks against Lionel Messi and his teammates show disrespect, said former Argentina national team players Juan Sebastian Veron and Mario Kempes.
"It is one thing to criticise," Veron, who played in the 1998, 2002 and 2010 World Cups, told Fox Sports Radio Del Plata. "It is another thing to show complete lack of respect for someone when they have fallen to the ground and then step on them or denigrate them.
"That someone would say to a player: 'you can't play,' I can't conceive that, it goes beyond the talk of whether Messi has to stay or not. It is about the respect you have for the work that player does. And the player has been disrespected here."
Veron was responding to an editorial recently published in Argentine daily Ole that blasted Messi for his play.
The editorial was followed by unconfirmed reports, also from Ole, that suggested, based on Messi's recent Facebook post, that the Barcelona star was tired of criticism in his own country and would take a break from the national team.
"It is not just Messi, I am not just defending one player," said Veron, who is now president at Argentine club Estudiantes. "I am saying that this is a profession just like many others. And we football players, we don't go around saying or defining how each person should work. That we are public figures, that is part of being a football player, but it doesn't give people the authority to disrespect us as was done."
Veron said he hoped Messi "would keep coming [to national team play] and never leave the team," although he clarified that if Messi did stop playing for the Albiceleste, he would respect his decision.
"We can't forget that it has been more than 20 years since we have won or since any group has taken us into the final of a World Cup and a Copa America in less than the span of a year. It could be, because of the history of our national team and the quality of the players, analysis and constructive criticism is justified. It could be that no one is exempt from having a bad match, but now the criticism is becoming more frequent and it is crossing over the line into disrespect."
Kempes, now an ESPN analyst, also came to Messi's defence and blasted the Argentine media for being harsh on Messi and too gentle with another legendary player, whom Kempes did not mention by name.
"You can't put all the blame on Messi," said Kempes, who scored two goals in the final to lead Argentina to the 1978 World Cup victory. "We need to take care of him, not criticise him. We worry about a player who is giving his everything for Argentina even though things aren't going well. But there is another player, who has stained the Argentina uniform and yet we never speak of that and we hail him still.
"Messi is a human being and we have to respect him. If I were him, I would not have played [Copa America]. Why would I spend [vacation] time in Chile? I don't blame him. People are saying: 'the Argentina uniform should not be stained.' Forget about it. The Argentina uniform is already pretty stained."
On Monday, Messi, who is currently vacationing at his family's home in Rosario, posted this message on Facebook following Argentina's 4-1 loss on penalty kicks to Chile at Copa America.
No hay nada más doloroso en el fútbol que perder una final, pero no quiero que pase más tiempo sin darles las gracias a...
Posted by Leo Messi on Lunes, 6 de julio de 2015