However, Messi was thick-skinned, and as soon as the training was over, he threw all the pot to his teammates, and after returning to the room, he hugged Raphael like a short-legged koala and did not let go, his eyes shining: "Raphael, it's too late for you to change jobs now......"

Raphael turned his head: "Don't even think about it!"

"Don't let down your talent as a midfielder!" Messi was heartbroken.

"I think I have the better talent as a striker, and I need to be more responsible," Rafael was unmoved, and looked at him with disgust, "And Leao, what about your image as a senior in football? Although we are already very familiar, you should also pay attention to it, if you are seen, I don't care, do you want the face of the national team boss?"

Messi's expression was very innocent, and the focus was completely different: "So I still have an image of you?"

He immediately got off Rafael, and then changed his serious appearance and patted the other party's shoulder and said seriously: "Rafael, the national team needs an all-rounder like you, you have to know how to sacrifice and dedicate." ”

Raphael twitched the corners of his mouth and didn't want to speak, why did the friends around him, no matter how normal they were before, become funny after getting along for a long time?

I'm tired......

Well, in fact, Messi is just joking, although there is a small expectation in it, but he will not really force Rafael to do something he doesn't like.

The midfield, the strikers are also very good, and he still remembers the friendly match in the United States, that kind of heart-to-heart cooperation...... As long as they are teammates, no matter what position Rafael is, they will be the best partners.

So whether in training or outside training, as long as the coach does not specify the group, he has to take Rafael in a different way, and the good feelings make Aguero feel that he has been abandoned - he knows that the two are friends, which he has long confirmed from various news reports and even friends, but he has not seen it with his own eyes, he has no idea that the two have been so good - they can blind people!

In fact, Ah Kun doesn't need to be so excited, because sooner or later, he will get used to it......

There is also a reason why Messi is so high-profile, and that is the silent protest against Batista's tactics.

Batista kept saying that he wanted to build the Barcelona system around him, but Messi didn't feel much sincerity. His former teammates Ravic and Di Maria could barely adapt, but in the end, Tevez still came ghostly.

He didn't say that Tevez's strength was not qualified to be his teammate, but he was very helpless, Tevez and him were two types of people, and they didn't call at all.

And he can feel that the other party is just as unconvinced as he is, after all, who doesn't want to be the core? Even if they can barely cooperate in training now, he has no doubt that when it comes to the competition, the situation will be scattered, and they will fight separately. He just wants to play happy football, he wants to have good games with his team-mates, he wants to play well, but ...... He alone is not enough.

Out of personal feelings, the partners he really wants, one is Ah Kun and the other is Rafael, but one is a substitute and the other is a substitute.

As far as tacit understanding is concerned, his desire for Rafael is greater than that of Ah Kun, but he didn't dare to think too much at first, Rafael's age makes everything a luxury, who knows that Angel himself is so powerful, even if he is not familiar with the midfield position, he can play so dazzling, so Messi feels that he can still save it.

Those who can enter the national team are not fools, Messi's careful thinking teammates are a little clear after careful consideration, so the atmosphere in the Ezeiza base during this time is a little delicate. After all, there are only 11 starters in a team, one person goes up, and the other person has to come down, the reality is so cruel, no one is so kind and willing to be cannon fodder for others.

On the third day of Rafael's arrival, Batista announced the official list of 23 players for the Copa America, and as predicted by the media, Batista eliminated three fringe players, namely Boca Juniors defender Monzon, as well as former university midfielder Enzo Perez and Lanús midfielder Diego Valery.

In this way, counting Di Maria, there are exactly seven strikers in the national team.

Wouldn't such an architecture be too unbalanced?

Brazil's Globo Sports newspaper wrote an article mocking their neighbors: "Argentina is like an upstart now, facing a lot of shiny rings, whether they fit it or not, they all want to put it on their fingers, and they want to be scared to death when their opponents see his hands." It's a pity that they didn't use this trick during the World Cup, and it won't be useful now. ”

The European media watching the drama also found it difficult to understand: "Sitting on a world-class striker, why is Argentina not satisfied, and would rather flood than let go, the offensive complex is really scary." ”

The domestic media also euphemistically said: "Seven strikers compete for three forward positions, which is really a bit wasteful." There are only five midfielders, and once the main team is injured, the midfield strength will be greatly damaged. ”

In the face of media skepticism, Batista appeared very calm: "We should be more tolerant of young people, they are the future of the country." If it weren't for the limited number of places, I would be willing to give more people a chance. As for Rafael, I think what he lacks is tournament experience, not quality, and the training in the past few days has made me even more convinced of that. ”

Having said that, Rafael has known for a long time that what the manager says in front of the media, just listen to it, don't take it seriously. For example, in the last open training session on the 29th, he only played the last five minutes, although it was a familiar striker position...... But he touched the ball twice from start to finish, and after passing it out there was no response.

Rafael didn't think much of it, but felt sorry for the fans who cheered for him all morning and eagerly awaited his appearance.

He didn't notice that Messi was watching him from behind him, and his whole body was shrouded in low air pressure until Milito walked over and patted him on the shoulder.

As Argentina's number one star, Messi took time out of his training session to give an interview to El País. When asked by reporters what he thought of the fans' accusations that his performance in the national team was very different from Barcelona's, he was usually gentle and reserved, with a rare hint of anger: "Because no team can win the game by one person, this is not bullfighting." Scoring goals for the national team has always been my greatest aspiration, but football is a game of eleven men and I am not enough. ”

His emotions were quickly restrained, and the reporter only thought it was his own delusion.

After all, this does not seem to be any different from Messi's previous statements - every time the national team plays, the Barcelona king always has to emphasize this......

Meanwhile, FIFA released the latest edition of the national team rankings, with Spain still at the top of the rankings, while Argentina fell from ninth to tenth, replaced by Mexico, who had just won the CONCACAF Gold Cup, which had risen 19 places in the rankings.

The news undoubtedly sparked the Argentines and reminded them once again that a world-class team that has won the World Cup twice and the Copa America 14 times is now facing the painful situation of not winning a title for 18 years. And this year's local America's Cup will be the best time for the national team to break the championship drought in one fell swoop.

With the increasingly strong atmosphere of the Copa America in Argentina, the hopes, expectations, and prayers condensed by the people have all turned into pressure, like a mountain, and they have been heavily pressed on the national team.

Even the company sees Argentina, which is playing on homesoil, as the biggest favorite to win the championship, ahead of Brazil and Uruguay.

Compared with the confidence of the outside world, everyone in the national team is equally eager for the championship - 18 years of championship drought, as long as there is still fighting spirit, who doesn't want to be the one to end the record? If it weren't for the over-emphasis on it, they wouldn't rush back to the training camp as soon as they were called, regardless of their tired bodies without any rest. You must know that in this regard, even Brazil, which is aiming for three consecutive championships, has not played the main force, at least Kaka and Marcelo, who play for Real Madrid, are absent from this Copa America.

It's just that looking at the training results in the past few days, there is always a faint shadow in the hearts of the members of the national team, which always lingers.

The day before the opening match, Palermo, who had hung up his boots and retired, came to visit the Ezeiza base. Rafael and the others were training from set-pieces, and it was only after the training that Palermo paid tribute to them and wished them a good result in the Copa America.

During this time, many football celebrities like to cheer them on like this, and Raphael is also used to it, sometimes his thoughts are divergent, and he remembers the online games he played with Manu once or twice, which is not considered a friendly NPC that came to add various blessing buffs to them before the next dungeon.

As for the optimism of the red-named NPC, it is to maliciously feed poisoned milk, such as the Brazilian head coach Menezes, who knows to praise the Argentine team every day when he doesn't do business, and in the words of his fellow countrymen, he is here to defeat RP, and his heart is too dark.

When Rafael was in his fugue, the Boca legend had already walked up to him, took the initiative to pull his arm and smiled: "Boy, after you play, you must show your spirit and strength to play derby! ”

Rafael nodded with a little surprise and a wry smile, only the seniors were joking, and it was still a question whether he could play.

As everyone knows, Palermo is really very optimistic about him, as the saying goes, the person who knows you best must be your opponent. As early as the World Cup in South Africa, Palermo had a premonition that Rafael might become his biggest rival in the new season, and sure enough, the first derby was won by the opponent neatly, the hat-trick became famous in one fell swoop, and Boca sadly became a stepping stone. The second derby was even more of a disgrace for Boca, even if it was won, it would be dishonorable to say it, and the amateur referee made Palermo deeply regret.

Admitting that his opponent is of a high level is not something that is impossible to talk about, especially since he has been through the storm for a long time and has a big heart.

However, the biggest purpose of Palermo's trip was to cheer on his friend Tevez and encourage Rafael only in passing.

In the evening, head coach Battista attended the pre-match press conference for the opening match of the Copa America and officially announced the starting list for the first match of the Argentine team.

There are no changes to the main lineup that was practiced in previous training. Lionel Messi will play as a central striker, with Ravic on the left and Tevez officially squeezing out Di Maria to take the starting left midfielder.