2014 World Cup

Argentina's Lionel Messi On Colombia Victory: 'Sometimes You Cannot Play Attractive Football'

The 2010 Fifa Ballon d'Or winner reflected on the Albiceleste's 2-1 win over Colombia as he urged his team to build on the momentum for the rest of the qualifying campaign

16-Nov-2011 9:25:00 AM

By Marcus Higgins

More On : Argentina, Colombia, Kun Agüero, Lionel Messi, Colombia vs Argentina

Comments

Argentina star Lionel Messi has emphasised the importance of his team's 2-1 win over Colombia on Tuesday in the Conmebol World Cup qualifiers, which ended their run of two games without a win in the qualifying campaign.

With Argentina trailing 1-0 at the break, goals from Messi and Sergio Aguero in the second half were enough to provide victory, putting the Albiceleste back on track in their World Cup qualifying campaign and their captain was aware of the significance of the three points.

Don't Miss

"The truth is that it was important to win, we knew that after playing Bolivia we had left a bad image [of ourselves]," Messi said, according to Ole.

"We knew how to play on a pitch that was hard and with a lot of wear. We had the ball more than they did, and we wanted to play and not let them have any chances on the counter-attack."

The Barcelona ace then went on to stress that the team must now build on the victory, even if it means sacrificing their attractive style of play.

"We handled the ball very well each time we had possession. We have to play like this in every game. Sometimes you can not play attractive football, and you have to suffer and adapt to every game. We knew it was important to do that.

"We wanted a reaction and the group responded spectacularly. We must be strong, there must be a change after this win and we must continue like this in the qualifiers, which are not easy. We have to win and get points."