The last tip: the video of Maradona and Messi that got everyone excited again
A moment that will go down in history: Maradona approaches Messi before a key match at South Africa 2010. Years later, that brief exchange takes on new meaning. FIFA shared it on its social media.
A gesture, a glance, a brief conversation. FIFA 's official accounts have unearthed a memory that touches deep within Argentine football : Diego Armando Maradona giving instructions to Lionel Messi during the warm-up for the match against Germany at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
The video, which went viral on social media, shows a young and attentive Messi receiving final instructions from his eternal idol.
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It was the prelude to a painful afternoon. Argentina would be thrashed 4-0 in Cape Town, bowing out of that World Cup in the quarterfinals . But that moment between the two number 10s remains etched in the collective memory: the established idol guiding his heir apparent, Diego the coach caring for Lío as if he were his own footballing son.
Maradona, with his unmistakable intensity, approaches as Messi stretches his adductor muscles. He speaks, gestures. La Pulga nods, looks him in the eye. He was barely 23 years old and, for the first time, he carried the responsibility of being a star at a World Cup.
The match—played at Cape Town's Green Point Stadium in front of more than 64,000 spectators—ended in a crushing defeat. Germany struck from the start with a goal from Thomas Müller and completed the job in the second half with goals from Miroslav Klose (two) and Arne Friedrich. It also marked Maradona's farewell as coach of the national team; Julio Grondona did not renew his contract after disagreements over the continuity of his coaching staff.
Despite the bitter taste, the image remained. Over time, it became more valuable. Because that bond between Diego and Lionel was never broken. Even before his death, Maradona uttered a phrase that sounds like a prophecy today: "For me, Lío will be a world champion when I'm gone."
And so it was. In Qatar 2022, Messi lifted the World Cup and came full circle. Years later, remembering Diego, he said : “For Argentines, 10 is a very special number. You talk about ten and Maradona automatically comes to mind. As kids, we all wanted to be like him . Although none of us made it, the desire was always that,” Messi told Zinedine Zidane in an interview after lifting the World Cup.
Today, that old video is not just a memory, it's a moving legacy.
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