Argentina captain Lionel Messi complained after a match about the state of the pitch in the Estadio Monumental de Maturín after playing against Venezuela during the world cup qualifier match on Thursday. Exceptional down pour occurred prior to the commencement of the match result in a waterlogged field and impairment of play.
La Argentina opened the score with a goal by Nicolás Otamendi but Salomón Rondón tie up the result for the Venezuelans in the second half and the two teams shared a point each. Messi blamed poor performance to the soggy ground terming it as ugly and unworthy to host any soccer related event.
‘It was very difficult; we could not complete two passes in a row,’ Messi said to TyC Sports. :And we even tied because the field did not do for us what we sought! That means that ‘‘Yes, we just had to play the second string when the ball was suddenly over on the other side of the field.’’
Midfielder Rodrigo De Paul shared sentiments with Messi: “In this case, we couldn’t play football.”
However, Argentina is leading the pack in the CONMEBOL with 19 points in the nine games. However, Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni was not happy with the pitch surface saying that it was not fit for the game in as much as it could offer.
This match was the first for Messi in the Argentina’s team after he had a lay off due to an ankle injury for two months. Messi was definitely not at his best showing up for several Inter Miami games and the September international window, but he was glad to be playing again on the field.
Argentina must now hopeful for the future as set for their final game of the October international window against Bolivia at the Estadio Mâs Monumental in Buenos Aires.
