Soccer News 2014: Lionel Messi Eyeing 2015 Copa America Victory for Argentina
Lionel Messi has yet to win a senior title with Argentina, and the FC Barcelona star said that he is eyeing leading his country to Copa America success next year.
Argentina has not won a major international title at the senior level since winning the Copa America in 1993 against Mexico and winning the World Cup in 1986 during Diego Maradona's prime.
Messi, on the other hand, led Argentina to a gold medal finish at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and to a title during the 2005 Under-20 World Cup, but has failed to help Albiceleste in recent major international tournaments.
Messi and Argentina almost ended their drought during the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, but they took a painful 1-0 loss to Germany in the final.
The superstar forward expressed disappointment over their failure to win a major title for Argentine fans, but Messi vowed that they will train hard in order to put themselves in a good position to win the 2015 Copa America.
"We have to fight to win all tournaments," Messi said via ESPN FC. "Unfortunately, it is a long time since Argentina managed to win something. We came close at the World Cup, but that is already behind us. We have not won the Copa America for a long time, and the objective is to win it."
Messi recently scored two goals to lead Argentina to a blowout 7-0 win against Hong Kong on Tuesday, which came after losing to Brazil, 2-0, in Beijing. The 27-year-old forward is played down the result of their recent friendly matches, saying that they are focused on improving under new coach Gerardo Martino.
"In these friendlies the results are not as important as quickly picking up what Tata wants. Above and beyond the result or the opponent, we must keep looking for what works best," Messi said.
When asked if Martino's system is better than former coach Alejandro Sabella's tactics, Messi insisted that each system has its own strength. He insisted, though, that he is quickly adapting to what Martino is asking from him.
"It is different from Alejandro in some aspects, in other things similar, but that is normal," Messi said of Martino's record. "Everyone had their idea, one is not better than another, just different. We are adapting now to what Tata wants."
For the latest sports news, follow Latin Post Sports on Twitter.
FOR MORE SOCCER NEWS UPDATES, CLICK ON THIS LINK TO VISIT LATIN POST.COM'S SPORTS PAGE.
* This is a contributed article and this content does not necessarily represent the views of latinpost.com