Leandro Paredes speaks on Argentina, the World Cup, Lionel Messi, PSG, Kylian Mbappe

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Leandro Paredes spoke about the Argentina national team, the World Cup, Lionel Messi, PSG and Kylian Mbappe’s comments on South American football.

Paredes has been part of the Argentina national team since since Lionel Scaloni took over as coach. Now a starter in midfield, Paredes has already played in two Copa Americas. Speaking in an interview with Radio La Red, here is what he had to say:

“When we were eliminated at the 2019 Copa America against Brazil, the group got much stronger and after that, the results helped us.

“Football has come a long way. I was a victim of my way of playing but I knew what I could give to Argentina.

“I feel the support but I’m not undisputed (starter). The only one is Leo Messi. The rest of us have to show that we are at the level of the national tea. Dibu, Cuti, Rodri, Gio and Lautaro have been doing well for a long time. But only Messi is undisputed.

“We very much enjoy being with the national team. Not only playing but the day to day. Coming to the national team is a privilege and we enjoy it. In the midfield of the national team, we are three playmakers and that gives us a lot of play. We are the young guys who grew up really fast. We got strong.

“If we don’t recover (the ball) quickly, we don’t have fast players to recover it. Without the ball, we would suffer a lot.

“Winning at the Maracana gave us a lot of confidence and it was seen after that, we started to play better. It was a huge relief.”

The Argentine also spoke about the coach:

“We have put a lot of trust in Scaloni from the first moment, the same way he did with us. He kept a group that is still there today. Scaloni gives confidence to the player, he is very close, he talks a lot and makes things clear.

Regarding Argentina playing against a European team:

“In Argentina, there was talk that we had to test ourselves against a European team and we did it in the best way. We were protagonists and that was more than important. The undefeated record is important for history but it doesn’t worry us. If we think about it, when we lose, we are going to suffer a lot.”

In regards to Lionel Messi and the World Cup:

“If we win the World Cup, I would be happier for Messi than I would be for myself. Hopefully it will not be Messi’s last World Cup. It’s difficult to go through four more years to play a World Cup. Let him play as a number five and I’ll move back, haha.

“Everyone has a chance to be world champions. We are going to try.”

He also spoke about PSG:

“I’m staying at PSG next season. It was a complicated year with PSG, it wasn’t easy for Messi either. He has been much better these last few months. I hope he starts the season in the best way.”

About Kylian Mbappe’s comments on football in South America:

“Mbappe and these types of players will never know what it is like to play at altitude, in the heat of Colombia and in those places.”

32 Comments

  1. In this forum anuparno has serious problem.sometimes he said messi needs goal to regain his confedence and messi was man of the match in finalissma and got 5 goal.befor finalissma he said italy’s midfield was better than Argentina after he said this is italy’s b team.lionel scaloni doing good job.and now the way Argentina playing is so good,Argentina’s pressing is now another level something like liverpool.scaloni’s wc team Isn’t final so it’s anybody’s opportunity to included the team.33 match unbeaten. Argentina’s GA and GF was better and scaloni’s win % is better than any National side.but i Don’t know who give you the job for bringing only negetivity in this site.what are you want.what are you want to prove?i Don’t know scaloni is good tactician or not but so far he is doing good.

    • Anusparno is 100% a troll.
      Fan or not, consciously or not, he is trolling this website.
      Invading Every Single Thread spreading negativity about Argentina, praising other NTs while downplaying ours. But it’s nothing new here…
      We just dominated Euro champions 3-0, it’s fucking World Cup year and look at the state of this “fan” forum – invaded with spam and trolling.
      I don’t know if anyone remembers what it was like just before and during Copa last year, but this space was so toxic that I decided to leave for months.
      Sometimes I feel like I’m just wasting my time here.
      0 moderation + no ignore/block/report button = an open invitation for trolls and toxic fans of other NTs. Admin only seems to respond on Twitter but not email or comment section of his website

      I appreciate your work @royn but if nothing is done this page will keep losing its good members and replaced by trolls, toxicity and spam

      • Anuparno is an idiot. He and very few others are the most contradicted ones in the forum. The guy should be in the hall of shame for good.

          • Guys Chill. Anuparno is just expressing his fear. Not everyone has the same attitude. There are optimist fans also there are pessimist fans. Plus whatever he says does not affect our national team. Anuparno’s comments wont stop us from lifting the WC.

  2. Barca approaching Di Maria. Please not Barca. Ousmane Dembele was Barca best player last season and Di Maria plays in the same position as him.

    It seems that Di Maria just wants one year contract with Juve. Juve want 2 years.

    Other news. Inter keep trying to sign Dybala. If Dybala signs there, they have so many forwards. Lautaro, Dzeko, Dybala, Joaquin Correa. Joaquin would likely be the 4th choice. Down from third to fourth.

    Another one who is attracting a lot of attentions is Senesi. Inter, Roma, and Napoli all want him now.

    • I hope Senesi goes to Inter or Napoli. From the little that I’ve seen, this guy is NT material from the few minutes he was trusted with. He looked composed and has good touch with good positional awareness. In a WC, I’d trust Licha or Senesi to be solid subs and even starters but Otamendi’s experience trumps the 2 for the starting. However, I know Otamendi will do stupid things to earn himself a suspension (hopefully no red card) as always but he does some unnecessary reckless things regularly as if he has forgotten about that the team needs him.

  3. https://youtu.be/a5UIaq5V5XM
    I was re-watching the game against Croatia in 2018 wc our defense was horrible and 3 players of that defense lineup still there otamendi, acuna and tagliafico that’s scary.
    Argentina started meza and perez both missed a sitter each and was playing in argentine league at that time so i can understand why scaloni reluctant to call players from argentine league only Alvarez and armani is from argentine league so if Enzo cant go to Europe he has practically no chance.
    We improved a lot but i hope they don’t get too overconfident. And i hope we don’t play too offensive as well as too defensive and back 3 never works and we should avoid it. And seeing caballero error i can say its better to play armani than playing rulli as error prone goalkeeper can be disastrous. I am still worried regarding this world cup. I hope everyone in our squad will be fully fit come world cup. Lisandro not getting any offer from big clubs is a concern. And my biggest concern is the injury of emi Martinez. He is vital for our chances and practically no alternative just like Romero and messi. Romero is also vital as we don’t have good replacement in rcb position. Pezella if plays will cost us the wc maybe otamendi can be used if Romero is injured

    • That match is same as many champions league matches like for example psg n real Madrid match where the goalkeeper makes a blunder and the whole team fell apart after that I.e, Caballero makes mistake and everyone lost confidence. He has his reasons to start meza and perez but his tactics didn’t work out. Only perez missed big chance and he is just one more player among Higuain, Messi, beckam, Cristiano etc. who missed easy chances.
      Scaloni is not reluctant to call argentina league players actually it is opposite most local league players he called have reached Europe moreover Alvarez will play in Europe next season.

    • Look, that was 4 year’s ago and even those names of those 3 defenders u mentioned remain rock solid at current Arg Nt which is led by Scaloni&Co and not by Sampa who used change his Mind every 5th minute so i do understand u are worried, but what does that help ? Seriously u think u can change the future or the past or select current Arg’s players ? I mean why be so negative after u post an another negative post u will come up even with more negative post and so on, so let me give u a advice as if u fear something or anything in life u better seek help straight away as if u do not the longer u let your fear to grow the more control it will TaKe on you until u will start fear everything so as i see the case allready now with u so, please either seek help seriously for your fear or start posting about the end of world or the dooms day or whatever disaster as u could end up luckily as famous Nostradamus himself!

  4. So far the ride with Scaloni as our coach has been very adventurous. For me the match that changed the dynamics of the team , players mindset and exhibit Scaloni’s never die attitude was against Germany! With 2-0 down the way he was able to make a come back and draw the match was phenomenal. Also, the match where our players first played like a proper team was against Brazil in semi final of COPA 2019. Our new team had displayed a very good fight and only lost because of corrupt CONMEBOL refereeing. Otherwise until the Brazil match in 2019 Copa and prior matches we looked lost with zero chemistry and game plan. Scaloni didn’t look the right person to lead us at all. After 2019 COPA, our team had an above average run in WCQs for few games, then the back to back draws just before COPA 2020 happened which was very concerning!! Scaloni took strict action and dropped few players including Foyth. Then in COPA 2020, we slowly and gradually progressed match by match and peaked in the final !! Since then we haven’t looked back. If non of our players get injured before and during the world cup , I simply don’t see any coach out witting Lionel Scaloni.

    • Very well said. This is nothing but the truth. Occasionally scaloni is lil bit reluctant to experiment but other than that I’m very very satisfied with him. By far for me he is the best coach I have seen for Argentina(90s to 20s). Credit to his team as well.

    • SuleV : i couldn’t agree you more
      I”m glad that I was one of the few people who was backing scaloni from the start, I really believe this Argentina side under scaloni have genuine chance to win world cup. As fan i”m more than optimistic this time around

    • That was a germany C side. Starting lineup was
      Terstegen
      Can koch sule
      Klostermann havertz kimich halsenberg
      Brandt waltdschimidt
      Gnabry
      Plus coming back from 2-0 down is nothing much specially considering its a friendly. In a competitive match teams after going 2-0 up will completely go to defensive mode and it will be difficult to draw level.
      I want a match before wc where Argentina will go behind that will test the mental strength of this team

      • Here we go again Mr negative aka Anuparno, say whatever you like the fact is this Argentina side are clicking right time weather you be negative or not .

        • Im just conservative and will only go gaga after winning the wc. For me these all r practice for the ultimate event wc. If you can’t perform in these matches u can’t perform in world cup so these matches r very important but great performance in these matches doesn’t gurantee success in the ultimate tournament. Both players and fans need to be humble. Many great sides failed to win the world cup its not that easy u need many things to win it. Pressure handling is on

          • And so u are saying that Arg players are not staying humble or if some fans here on Mundo think that this the best Arg team for a long time so that they can’t be proud of them as i have not seen any Mundo member saying or claiming that Arg will win for sure the WC as no one here is so stupid as u that most of us do not make comparison’s or predictions instead we just wish for the best as u are completly the opposite so please stop your Mind games as they are obvious to everyone that u are not an true Arg fan, simple as that !

      • I think you are missing a significant factor.
        Considering the situation we were in post 2016 till 2018 and the whole fallout of that disastrous WC where “some” were worried that we will never get back to the top level even in Conmebol. I would urge you to go through the timeline and squad changes that the NT went through 2 yrs leading into the WC.From that mess to , now where we are to me the most hungry , impressive NT in the world right now. Its an absolutely brilliant journey for the coach the players. They have done more than fkin enough to shut our mouths and worries. I repeat there is no NT that imposes themselves on the ground as we do. As far as winning the WC is concerned we all know to win any tournament many things needs to go well. We were great in 2014 , just because we lost the final does not mean we were not the best in the tournament. The very fact that we are challengers for the WC is unimaginably good in context of recent history.

      • U want another friendly before WC to prove? LOL; On one side u downplay Germany friendly & on another side u want another friendly b4 WC to convince you…..

  5. Just like he said, the team started coming together during that 2019 Copa and their resolve got even stronger after getting OPENLY CHEATED.
    This is truly a HAPPY squad, No ill feelings, no bad blood, no backbiting and everybody knows they need to pay to play and only one is immune from that treatment and they love him for it.

    • I’ ve been saying that the team’s mentallity changed right after the farce refereeing in Copa 2019 semi. The team has different attitude since then. When Messi openly criticized conmebol, that was the reborn of new Messi. He has a different mentallity since then when playing in NT.

      The other big difference between Scaloni and our great team from 2012-2016 was the creativity. Its been pass it to Messi and let him solve the puzzle all the time but now chances gets created left and right and came from various players.

      We have no winger midfielder and winger defender that capable of doing overlapping run and putting great crosses like Acuna and Molina, no solid box to box player like RDP , but only mr passanger Biglia. Masche was very solid at defending but was never a player who could threaten in final third.

      • > putting great crosses like Acuna and Molina

        I don’t think i could ever pick Molina over Zabaleta.

        > no solid box to box player

        True but we did have Banega. Banega is one of the most talented underutilized players. Moronic coaches failed over and over. The list of moronic decisions by coaches also includes scaloni when he didn’t pick Banega that year.

        > Masche was very solid at defending but was never a player who could threaten in final third.

        Paredes has a few wild outside the box shots but Guido and Paredes are non threatening in final third as well but Masche 1000% better defensively and leadership.

        A mid of GLC – Masche – RDP would be amazing to witness.

        • Molina is light years ahead of Zaba. More speed, better goalscorer and crossers.

          Paredes has scored 4 goals in NT plus few direct assists , Masche only has 2 goals in about 150 caps.

          Back then we dont have players that capable if putting preasure constantly off the ball, now almost the entire team capable doing that. Thats makes big difference. Our midfield and wingers are completely static before Scaloni took charge. Players from Tata & Sabella era are only good at doing one task, but in today’s football everyone must be able to do multiple tasks.

          Now I even see Lautaro & Julian preasuring when off the ball and makes it hard for opponent midfield cause they’ll never be at ease. Jorginho was always swarmed as soon as he touches the ball.

          • Don’t compare mascherano and Paredes. Javier is a legend of the game Paredes is Just another good midfielder. I am I big fan of Paredes I followed him since 17 but he is not Mascherano and they are not a same player Paredes is A deep lying play maker Mascherano is a pure Defensive Midfielder u can not expect him to score do u compare Pirlo and Gattusso because Pirlo plays in a devensive midfield position no.

          • > Molina is light years ahead of Zaba. More speed, better goalscorer and crossers.

            Such a hyperbolic statement. Zabaleta is a tried and tested incredible RB with years of proof to back his reputation. Molina just starting off and yet he’s “light years ahead” because has pace and few goals? Come on.

            > Paredes has scored 4 goals in NT plus few direct assists , Masche only has 2 goals in about 150 caps.

            Terrible statistic to use an argument. His 4 goals or Masches 2 goals are 100% meaningless.
            When you see Paredes for the last few years, you cannot seriously claims he’s active in the final 3rd or any credible threat to goal. I mean, even deep in the midfield he does not contribute to the attack with mostly sides and backwards passes. At least Masche had those incredible long balls switching sides or starting the counter. Paredes might be dead last in starting squad for goal threat. Otamendi and Romero dangerous from crosses, Molina banging in goals like a winger, RDP and GLC capable, front 3 no need to describe. maybe the only guy paredes is more threat is Acuna. Paredes did have that have great goal in the box but otherwise, he’s yet to prove he’s an attacking threat.

            And lack of pressing and static was due to coaching tactics. if Masche were in his prime and in this squad, you would see how well he presses and holds the line.

            I would pick Masch 10000 times before Paredes. No contest.

    • Yeah the sign of a great team. Each one knows their weaknesses and they keep working on it to improve and respecting the opponents strength. Neymar suffered with the unity of our team jorginho suffered it. Yeah always don’t be get overhyped. Today one day and tomorrow is just another day. Keep improving beloved Argentina.

  6. RDP’s minutes this season probably was not that bad………he played 2938 minutes and started many matches…..to compare Lautaro played around 3300 minutes…

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