Gio Lo Celso of Villarreal commented on the role of the midfielder in football.

Lo Celso has been in great form since joining Villarreal from Tottenham Hotspur. The midfielder has often been one of Villarreal’s better players since joining them. Despite not scoring since joining the club, his form has been great and he commented on the role of a midfielder. Speaking in an interview with Marca, here is what he had to say:

“Pablito (Aimar) is a typical 10 as we call them in Argentina, from Riquelme’s era, who was also a ten. Sadly, that position is being lost because football in Europe has adapted to other positions and today, football is measured a lot in statistics.

“The ten is more the creator of the play, the one who plays the last pass or the one who makes the team play but he doesn’t score as much and it makes it seem like it doesn’t have much importance.

“But he has a big impact. I remember Benzema saying in an interview that when he is not on a good goal streak, they would criticize him because he wasn’t scoring and he said that sadly, today, football is measured in statistics. And we know that Benzema brings on the pitch, what he creates, the chances he creates for his team mates.”

In terms of things a midfielder can do which won’t show in a statistic:

“A midfiielder with one pass can break a line of three players but he is not the one that ends up scoring the header… But we know what football is about these days, statistics.”

Roberto Ayala spoke about the Argentina national team, Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona.

Ayala is part of the Argentina national team staff and was part of the staff which won the 2021 Copa America. Speaking with Radio La Red, he commented on the possibility of playing European teams and he also spoke about the Argentina national team, Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona. In regards to the list of players for the World Cup possibly being more than 23, here is what he had to say:

“There is talk of it being 26, we still don’t know. You know that it will be unfair to some people, you work with an important group of players and not all of them are going to be fortunate enough to go. If there’s more places, it will be good. You will have more solutions and less long faces.”

In regards to having more players in midfield:

“It’s a place where we would like to look at. I would say from there to the front. They are different characteristics.”

He also spoke about Lionel Messi and stated that “Here, he disconnects” from the atmosphere in Paris.

“A very nice group has been created. They’re enjoying it. The trainings come out the way we want them to. It becomes easy because they make it easy for us. There are no long faces. They are always anxious to be there.

“For many, he is the idol and he is by their side. He wants to be treated like another one of the boys. Here, things go well. He is well, he’s enjoying it. I see him as a leader, not just on the pitch but with small gestures. That means a lot to us.”

The Argentine also spoke about Diego Maradona:

“Every time I have to talk about Diego, I get a lump in my throat. For us, he was a benchmark. What I wouldn’t give for him to give the talk prior to the start of the World Cup in Qatar.

“Maradona could criticize you the day before but you would sit next to him and you would still be stunned. Talking about Diego always excites you.”