Argentina forward Lionel Messi does not need to win a World Cup to be the best, says former Brazilian star Zico. By the time of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the Barcelona superstar will be 35 years old, and the possibility of getting the World Cup is not great.
“It is not a frustration. People nowadays think only of achievements. I think that your career, your work is the most important. Football is a collective sport and many times it doesn’t depend on you playing well. It depends if the team is playing well.” Zico said.
“Sometimes you decide games, but you can’t decide a competition. So, Messi’s merit is not undone because he hasn’t won a World Cup.
“[Johan] Cryff didn’t win any World Cup and was one of the great players of history and he will always be, and many others the same.
“It is too much for me, and not us. If you take a young man he doesn’t ask about your career, he asks: ‘Have you been the best in the World? Have you been the best of this, or that?’ Everything is based on being the best. Football is a collective game, not and individual game.” Zico added.
Messi has won 32 titles and five Ballons d’Or in 14 seasons at Barcelona, but the 31-year-old striker has never lifted the World Cup.
Brazilian football legend Zico. (Source:www.abs-cbnnews.com)
Zico believes that Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have been able to stand out in the last ten years because they have always placed the honor of the team before their personal honor.
“Cristaiano Ronaldo and Messi have never stopped to contribute to the team. If I am still young today, then they are the benchmark for me to play, and players like this level are still contributing to the team.” Zico said.
“They are the best players. They have been working quietly. They dare to bet with you. You never see them absent from training, go out to party, or indulge in social networks.
“They will always pay attention to themselves. The body and state so that they can maintain a good personal performance, they know that this is good for their team.” he added.
