The Argentina national team will play two friendly matches in Buenos Aires, both in March.
Argentina will be playing their first matches as World Cup champions at home. According to TyC Sports, both matches will be in March and will both be taking place in Buenos Aires.
No opponent has been named just yet. There were rumors and reports that the World Cup qualifiers could begin in March but that it now appears that it could start in the middle of this year or September.
Lionel Messi has been named as L’Équipe’s “Champion des Champions”, the best male athlete of the year for the second time.
Messi continues to win trophies, even at 35 years of age. The Argentine has been named as the best male athlete of the year by L’Équipe in France.
He won with 808 points, very much ahead of second place Kylian Mbappe who had 381 points and tennis star Rafael Nadal with 285 points.
This is the second time Messi has won the award, having previously won it in 2011 and is the only footballer to have won it twice, excluding the award which is specifically for French athletes. For football players, prior to him was Zinedine Zidane in 1998, Romario in 1994, Diego Maradona in 1986 and Paolo Rossi in 1982.
Lionel Messi has been named as L’Équipe’s “Champion des Champions”, the best male athlete of the year. pic.twitter.com/PDVmi5rVji
— Roy Nemer (@RoyNemer) January 6, 2023
Franco Armani spoke about Lionel Messi’s speech before the World Cup final and Emiliano Martínez and how he does on penalty kicks.
Armani played at the 2018 World Cup with the Argentina national team but was on the bench in 2022 when they won the World Cup. And speaking in an interview with TyC Sports, Armani commented on Lionel Messi’s speech before the 2022 World Cup final. Here is what he had to say:
“Messi is an absolute leader inside and outside of the locker room. I remember motivational words, for us to enjoy and to take advantage of an opportunity that isn’t given every day.
“Also, memories of the family, very encouraging and gratifying words that make you want to go out onto the pitch and eat up the opponent. Truth is that he deserved it more than anyone. It was the only thing that was missing to put a final stamp on his career.
“He left everything in every match. You saw him and you wanted to hug him and congratulate him on his dedication and friendship. He is a very humble person and open to everything.”
Regarding Emiliano Martínez at the World Cup:
“The goalkeepers analyze the opponent, the strikers, the possible changes and the penalty kicks. We are aware of how they will finish and after that, we practice it a day before the match. The guys will shoot and with Gerónimo Rulli, we helped Dibu, always taking it seriously.
“It could happen in final instances and if we saw something, we would tell Dibu, who took it naturally. We formed a very nice working group because we had a lot of confidence. Each one could speak and give their knowledge. Everything was studied, obviously it happened as we had seen it.”
In regards to Martínez and penalty kicks:
“That is something natural from him that comes out at the moment on the pitch. In that he did not share anything with us. I appreciate him a lot, he is an excellent kid.”
Emiliano Martínez has been named as the second best goalkeeper by the IFFHS, with Thibaut Courtois being named as the best.
Martínez won the World Cup with Argentina and was named as the goalkeeper of the tournament but it was Thibaut Courtois of Belgium who was named as the best goalkeeper of the year.
Thibaut Courtois won the Champions League and La Liga with Real Madrid but did not have a great World Cup with Belgium. Courtois finished with 125 points as Martínez finished with 110 points. Third place goalkeeper was Yassine Bounou of Morocco and Sevilla who finished with 55 points.
Mateo Tanlongo of Rosario Central has joined Sporting in Portugal.
Tanlongo has joined on a free transfer with a move away from Rosario Central having been rumored for weeks. The 19 year old Argentina U20 midfielder has agreed on a deal until 2027.
He joins on a free with a release clause of €60 million.
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