Rodriguez reflects on Qatar 2022 and Messi’s irrepressible ambition
Talks up Scaloni’s leadership and Argentina’s winning mentality
Former Newell’s Old Boys forward recalls watching Maradona up close
Few know Lionel Messi quite like Maxi Rodriguez does. Not just because of their time together on the pitch, but because of where they came from: like La Pulga (The Flea), Rodriguez was part of the academy at Newell’s Old Boys, a club steeped in talent and tradition.
In Rosario, countless children grow up dreaming of becoming footballers, with a real passion for the game taking root on local pitches, in the streets and at clubs. That was how both Messi’s and Rodriguez’s journeys began – a few years apart – although they wound up taking different roads to the top. One left for Europe at a very young age, while the other followed the familiar route through the youth ranks in Argentina, made his debut for his boyhood club and, over time, became one of its all-time greats.
Their paths crossed again later with La Albiceleste. On 16 June 2006, Messi made his debut in the 6-0 demolition of Serbia and Montenegro, coming on after 75 minutes in place of Rodriguez, who had bagged himself a brace. “I always joke with him that, when we high-fived, I passed the magic on,” the former winger quipped to FIFA.
Rodriguez’s pedigree precedes him. He played at three editions of FIFA’s flagship men’s competition – in 2006, 2010 and 2014 – which all ended in defeat at the hands of Germany: twice in the quarter-finals, then in the final. At the first of those tournaments, he scored one of the nation’s most celebrated World Cup goals, against Mexico in the Round of 16. Five years before that, he had been part of the team who won what was then the FIFA World Youth Championship, now the FIFA U-20 World Cup™, on home soil.
The 45-year-old is close to the current squad and knows coach Lionel Scaloni – who also had a period at Newell’s – particularly well, not least due to having shared the Argentina dressing room with him as a player. FIFA caught up with Rodriguez to tap into his insights and memories ahead of the fast-approaching, where the defending champions will meet Algeria, Austria and Jordan in Group J.
Maxi Rodriguez: It was amazing. I grew up watching Diego and his generation. He was my idol. Then, suddenly, we had Leo there too – the two greatest footballers the world has ever seen, with us every day. It felt like something out of a film. Sometimes, after training, we would stay behind taking free-kicks and Diego would join in. We would watch on in awe as Diego and Leo struck the ball. It was madness. One coached me, and I played with Leo for more than ten years with the national team. Those are the kinds of experiences you never think will happen to you. What Leo has done is beyond words, but what really sets him apart is his humility.
Even at that age, the way Maradona struck the ball was something else. He would finish training, take barely a couple of steps and shoot. I don’t think Mariano Andujar [Argentina’s back-up goalkeeper at the tournament] saved any of them; those that didn’t go in hit the woodwork. We would sit on the edge of the box and watch them take free-kicks. It was almost as though Diego was showing Leo the art of striking the ball.
It was insane. I was commentating on the matches actually, including the final, and of course you know how the players are feeling out there because you’ve been in their shoes. The pressure is huge, so when you finally achieve success, there’s an explosion of joy because you’re aware of all the blood, sweat and tears that went into it. Every national team are fighting for that same dream, and sometimes it comes down to the smallest details. It’s such a rush that you end up weeping with joy. It was beautiful because of what we were experiencing as Argentines.
We’d played for the national team, but we’re fans too. In a country as passionate as ours, it was a dream come true for so many of my former team-mates, and particularly for Leo. It was the one thing missing from his career: lifting that trophy, the most beautiful of all. And it helped silence some of the criticism he had faced.
Precisely that: experience. You know what to expect and what the tournament demands, but the adrenaline is still there because each edition is completely different and they only come about every four years. Argentines are fiercely competitive, and that’s one of this squad’s real strengths. You only have to speak to the players and coaches – many of whom are friends of mine – to see that the hunger to make history again remains. They haven’t taken their feet off the gas because of what they achieved in Qatar. On the contrary, they’ll do everything in their power to defend the title.
He understands his players and knows how to manage the dressing room – often the hardest thing of all. You can know about football, tactics, systems, whatever it may be, but you also have to understand that you’re dealing with 23 or 26 human beings, each with their own character and needs. You have to know how to manage a group, read situations and always think about what’s best for the team as a whole. He was always very boisterous: I’m surprised to see him so calm on the bench, given how intense he was as a player and as a person. But what strikes me most is his man management, as well as how down to earth he remains – he really hasn’t changed at all in that respect.
The youth national-team set-up gave us such a good grounding. Every time we walked through those gates [to Argentina’s training base], we were happy. Once you put on that sky-blue-and-white shirt, you never want to take it off. We would spend three or four days there before going back to our clubs, which created a real sense of belonging. Jose did a great job of cultivating that. Scaloni, Walter Samuel and Pablo Aimar were all shaped by Jose, just like many of the rest of us. So, I think we all understand that culture. When everyone is on the same page and the results follow, everything becomes so much easier. But the demands that come with playing for Argentina are huge.
Messi is fuelled by his hunger for glory and his desire to make history again. He keeps going – nothing can stop him. He plays for the pride of representing his country: nothing else crosses his mind, not even breaking records. He wants to be crowned a world champion again. He’s putting everything on the line once more because that hunger is part of who he is. Without that mindset and drive, he wouldn’t have achieved everything that he has. That’s why we’re still able to enjoy another World Cup with him in Argentina’s iconic No10 shirt.
Sources: FIFA Official
