World Cup's best moment? Argentina boss 'leaks' Messi news to legendary 91-year-old journalist

News

Tom Weber | Writer

Multilingual sports writer who specialises in European football and American soccer.

Lionel Scaloni produced a wonderful gesture at his pre-match press conference ahead of Argentina's clash with Jordan.

The reigning world champions have already won Group J and qualified for the knockout stages after comfortable wins over Algeria and Austria, with superstar forward Lionel Messi starring on both occasions.

The 39-year-old bagged all five goals Argentina have scored so far, notching a hat-trick against Algeria and a brace against Austria, which saw him pull two clear of Germany legend Miroslav Klose at the top of the World Cup's all-time scoring charts.

Argentina are set to face surprise packages Cape Verde in the round of 32, and head coach Scaloni is expected to heavily rotate his side for the dead rubber against eliminated Jordan.

Indeed, one of the players expected to be rested in Dallas later today is Messi. This has already been confirmed by Scaloni, who 'leaked' the news to iconic journalist and broadcaster Enrique Macaya Marquez, who has attended every World Cup since 1958.

Marquez steals the show

The 91-year-old stole the show at Scaloni's pre-match press conference as he was hailed by both the coach and defender Nicolas Tagliafico as a "legend" for his decades-long coverage of football in Argentina.

Marquez asked Scaloni whether Messi would start against Jordan, which prompted the following response from the 48-year-old: "It's a pleasure to see you here, Enrique, thank you for coming. We were talking about your 18 World Cups - incredible.

"It's a pleasure to be able to answer your question. When I played for Argentina, I watched you constantly, and for those of us who lived through that era, you were a legend.

"I’m answering because it’s you: Leo will be on the bench. I’ll keep the team to myself, but Leo will play later. I have the team confirmed, but we’ll announce it [later]."

After fulfilling his media duties, Scaloni went over to Marquez, exchanged a few words and took a picture with the veteran journalist in one of the most wholesome moments of the World Cup so far.

Tagliafico was up next and spoke in similar glowing terms about the 91-year-old. "The man, the legend - I was lucky enough to work with his son, it's truly something incomparable.

"In the end, I think I felt the same way I did when I was a kid, hearing him speak, that I had my first realisation that he's a legend, as I said. I'm grateful he's here, and I hope we can give our best so he can enjoy the match."

Tagliafico also went over to embrace Marquez after the press conference.

Who is Enrique Macaya Marquez?

Marquez is best known as the presenter of Futbol de Primera in the 1990s in Argentina, which was a long-running TV programme covering Argentinian football, particularly the domestic top division.

He attended his first World Cup in 1958 in Sweden while working as a radio broadcaster, and he has been to every edition of FIFA's showpiece event since.

The 91-year-old became famous when he publicly criticised Diego Maradona and Argentina for refusing to play a friendly in Japan, drawing attention to the "Golden Boy's" excessive partying.

Maradona initially dismissed Marquez's scathing criticism but later came to his senses and publicly apologised to him on television after inviting him out for a coffee. He was later even invited to Maradona's wedding in 1989.

Marquez grew up in the same neighbourhood in Buenos Aires as Real Madrid legend Alfredo di Stefano and played football with him as a youngster. Speaking in 2022, Mayaca named his friend Di Stefano as the greatest player he had ever seen.

"For me, he was the best player of them all," he explained. "Although I suppose it depends on the era. I saw Johan Cruyff as being like Di Stefano. So, Di Stefano, Pele, Cruyff, Maradona, Messi. On that timeline. They are the top five."