Klinsmann: "We are all Messi"

"We all want him to win the World Cup so that in Argentina they talk about him at the same level as Maradona"

DOHA, Dec. 17 (dpa/EP) -

Former German coach Jürgen Klinsmann has shown his support for Leo Messi for the World Cup final in Qatar, in which Argentina and France will play for the title, and hopes that the Paris Saint-Germain striker can win so that people can talk in his country of him "at the same level as of Maradona".

"I have said it before: we are all Messi. We all want him to win this title so that he is finally talked about in his country at the same level as Diego Maradona. It is a wonderful story of this World Cup," Klinsmann declared this Saturday in Doha, in a joint press conference with FIFA's Director of World Football Development, Arsène Wenger.

Klinsmann won the World Cup as a player with the German team in 1990 and was a selector in two other World Cup tournaments: in 2006 with the German team and in 2014 with the United States. At the World Cup in Qatar, he directs FIFA's Technical Study Group, which analyzes all the World Cup matches for the organization.

In his opinion, both France and Argentina deserve to be in the final on Sunday at the Stade de Lusail. "Although my country, Germany, returned home early, there is a very special boy there: Jamal Musiala," said the 58-year-old coach, who explained that in world football there are highly talented players "who have just arrived." .

Klinsmann, 108 caps, did not hide his enthusiasm for Messi. When asked which player he would like to sign more, he had no doubts. "Everyone would stay with Messi. He is brilliant, he is a differential player. Of course, the tactic of every coach is to give him all the cards", he concluded.