Aimar, who also serves as an assistant to Lionel Scaloni, briefly played alongside Messi internationally and was once named as an idol as he by the superstar as he was coming through the ranks at Barcelona.
Lionel Messi’s dedication is unquestionable
Former Argentina international and current Under-17’s manager Pablo Aimar has emphasized that Lionel Messi’s dedication is unquestionable. Aimar, who also serves as an assistant to Lionel Scaloni, briefly played alongside Messi internationally. And was once named as an idol as he by the superstar as he was coming through the ranks at Barcelona. While Messi has regularly won trophies at the club level. He has yet to win a major silverware at the highest level with Argentina. And briefly retired from international duty after his country lost the 2016 Copa America final on penalties against Chile. The 33-year-old was lured back pretty quickly and is now wearing a captain’s armband. As he looks to lead his country to the silverware before he hangs up his boots.
No one can doubt Messi’s loyalty
Despite recent turbulence at club level with Barcelona, Messi impressed during the recent international break and scored a decisive penalty in a 1-0 win over Ecuador. Aimar continues to watch the Argentine star closely and is adamant that he remains fully committed to their cause moving forward. “He’s happy, it’s not a small thing. To be happy, to enjoy the moments, and obviously to go to games to win,” Aimar told reporters. “Do I see him with the same dedication as always? Who can doubt his loyalty, I never had any doubts. I love seeing him play, and I would love to see him elsewhere. I love seeing him exercising and I am so honoured to see him exercising. Wherever he is, I’ll watch him play.”
Aside from keeping tabs on Messi, Aimar has also come to terms with how to manage Argentina’s next immense talent, taking charge of their U-17 side in 2017. Aimar saw his side win the 2019 South American U-17 Championship. And admits learning to connect with a different generation of players presented a unique challenge. “I’m learning to express myself, to understand how they communicate. They acquire culture differently. I can’t recommend a book because they are used to watching videos in seven seconds or less,” Aimar said. “But they have a culture in their way, they have TV shows. And although I tell them, ‘Look, the book is better because you have to present,’ but they will prefer the series.”