Messi says he switched off after Argentina exit (28 Jul 2006 17:42 GMT)
Argentina forward Lionel Messi said on Thursday he could not face watching the rest of the World Cup after his team went out in the quarter-finals to hosts Germany on penalties.
"After we lost to Germany, I didn't watch any more World Cup games," he told Argentine television. "I didn't know about anything that was going on."
The speedy teenager was surprisingly did not even come on as a substitute in quarterfinal game with Germany.
"You'll have to ask Pekerman why I didn't get to play more," he said. "There were 23 very good players. But I had no problem with Pekerman, he took me to the World Cup and gave me my debut. He's a very good coach, he's very good at leading a group. I wouldn't be unhappy if he continued."
Messi said the 2006 World Cup was overall a positive experience for him.
"I played my first World Cup, I made my debut at the age of 18. On the personal side, that was positive."
"It was a strange World Cup in which the best teams got knocked out. Argentina were eliminated when we were playing the best football," he added.
source : Yahoo! Sports