Former Italian coach Fabio Capello says Leo Messi surprised him in the World Cup semi-final against Croatia: ‘Before, he was walking on the pitch.’
The Argentinean star led his national team to the second World Cup Final in the last eight years. He contributed to eight goals in Qatar and on Sunday, he will have a chance to win the World Cup for the first time in his career, facing Kylian Mbappé’s France in the Final.
“It’s been a good World Cup. Everyone got there fresh, running a lot, pressing a lot. Very focused on everything,” Capello told Spanish media, as quoted by AS and Calciomercato.com.
“Coaches have paid a lot of attention, so I think the two teams who have players of a different level reached the Final.
“Mbappé and Messi made the difference in the semi-finals. The referees were good as well. Usually, the World Cup is played in June and players are tired. This time, nobody was tired, so the World Cup was even more enjoyable,” the ex-Roma, Milan and Juventus boss continued.
“Messi is back to being Messi again, he played a great game [against Croatia]. The last match really surprised me, not the first ones. Initially, he was walking on the pitch, but his quality is also very, very high.”
Capello took part in two editions of the World Cup as a coach. First, in 2010 in charge of England, when he was eliminated in the Round of 16 at the hands of Germany. Four years later, he coached Russia at Brazil 2014 but failed to go beyond the group stage.
He is one of the most successful coaches in the history of Italian football, having won five domestic titles in Italy and two in Spain, one Champions League and one UEFA Super Cup.
He also won four Scudetti and two Coppa Italia as a footballer.