Messi hands Maradona luxury 4-0 win in debut

Mar 29, 2009, 3:59 GMT

   Buenos Aires/Montevideo - Lionel Messi rose to the challenge of wearing the historic number 10 Argentina jersey by leading his side to a comfortable 4-0 win over Venezuela Saturday in Buenos Aires, in Diego Maradona's official debut as Argentine national team coach.

   'It's a pleasure to see Messi like this everyday. We should all leave the stadium, pay another ticket and go in again,' Maradona said.

   Argentina thus redressed its course in the South American qualifiers towards the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, and now stand second on 19 points from 11 games, four points behind still-comfortable leader Paraguay.

   Also Saturday, Uruguay beat the mighty Paraguay - who had only lost one game before in the qualifiers - by 2-0 to add excitement to the region's route to South Africa, while Colombia defeated the lowly Bolivia by 2-0.

   Before the game in Buenos Aires, Maradona had said he wanted his men to leave the pitch with an ovation, and he got his way with an outstanding performance before a limited rival.

   'It was better than I expected, reality beat fiction,' the coach said after the game. 'Everyone wants to be in this national team, and I am proud of that.'

   Messi opened the score in the 26th minute, with a left-foot shot to the far post following a one-two with Carlos Tevez. Venezuela complained about a possible offside, but television footage showed the goal was legal.

   Barely two minutes after the break, Tevez made things 2-0 with a half-volley. Again, Messi was involved: he took the ball from Venezuela in the midfield and ran to cross from the right for the Manchester United striker to score.

   In the 51st minute, Maxi Rodriguez made the most of another good run and cross from the right by Messi, to leave the score 3-0 with a shot that was deflected by a defender.

   In the 73rd minute, Sergio Aguero got to leave his mark on the score, as he crowned an individual effort with a soft right-foot shot that found the net. Venezuelan keeper Renny Vega should have contained it easily, but a defender prevented him from seeing the direction of the ball.

   Venezuela had never beaten Argentina in a senior team game, away or at home. On Saturday, Argentine keeper Juan Pablo Carrizo did well to contain two Venezuelan shots in the second half, but the home win was never in question.

   Before full stands at the Monumental stadium, Argentina thoroughly dominated the game against lowly Venezuela, the only country in the region where football is not the most popular sport.

   Ahead of the game, Maradona - nicknamed 'El Diez' because he is for most the best player ever to wear that number - granted Messi the prestigious number 10 jersey.

   In recent years, the talented midfielder Juan Roman Riquelme has worn the number, but he stepped down from the national team earlier this month over a spat with Maradona.

   In Montevideo, Uruguay beat Paraguay 2-0 with goals from Diego Forlan in the 28th minute and from captain Diego Lugano 12 minutes into the second half at the Centenario stadium.

   The win leaves Uruguay - the winner of two editions of the World Cup, though the most recent 1950 - in a position to keep dreaming about returning to the crucial event. They now have 16 points from 11 games and are set to at least retain fifth place in the table whatever happens Sunday.

   In Bogota, Colombia beat lowly Bolivia 2-0 to keep alive its dream in the qualifiers. Macnelly Torres opened the scoring in the 27th minute, while Wason Renteria set the definitive 2-0 just two minutes before the end of the game.

   The result leaves Colombia with 14 points from 11 rounds of qualifiers, still with a chance of making it to the World Cup.

   In South America's World Cup qualifiers, each of the 10 sides plays each of the other nine teams at home and away. The top four win a place in the event. The fifth-placed team has a chance to advance through a play-off against a representative of the North, Central American and Caribbean region.

   On Sunday, Brazil - without Kaka - were playing Ecuador in Quito, at an altitude of 2,800 metres, while troubled Peru were hosting Chile.

   Next week, the 12th round of the qualifiers is set to start Tuesday in Puerto Ordaz, with Venezuela-Colombia. On Wednesday, the round will end with the games Chile-Uruguay, Brazil-Peru, Bolivia- Argentina and Ecuador-Paraguay.