{"id":95838,"date":"2023-11-09T15:26:55","date_gmt":"2023-11-09T15:26:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/?p=95838"},"modified":"2023-11-09T15:26:55","modified_gmt":"2023-11-09T15:26:55","slug":"defender-messi-named-his-tougest-opponent-set-for-argentina-call-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/soccer\/defender-messi-named-his-tougest-opponent-set-for-argentina-call-up\/","title":{"rendered":"Defender Messi named his TOUGEST opponent set for Argentina call-up"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>LaLiga defender &#8211; who Lionel Messi named as his TOUGHEST opponent &#8211; is set to be handed first Argentina call-up by Lionel Scaloni after switching international allegiances from Spain<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The pair met in 2017 when Messi was playing for Barcelona against Girona\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Player has never had an international cap at senior level despite Spain youth ties\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Liverpool&#8217;s Luis Diaz is extraordinary &#8211; Listen here to It&#8217;s All Kicking Off\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni is set to call up a player once described by Lionel Messi as the &#8216;toughest&#8217; rival he ever faced, Mallorca defender Pablo Maffeo.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Spanish-born right back was born in Barcelona, but is of Italian and Argentine descent, and yet to make a senior team appearance for Spain.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The 26-year-old last featured internationally for Spain&#8217;s under-21 where he made five appearances between 2017 and 2018, but the call-up signals a switch of allegiances for the player following a strong run of LaLiga performances for the Balearic club.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Scaloni is thought to have monitored the former Manchester City prospect for some time in a bid to strengthen his squad options for upcoming World Cup qualifiers.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Argentina are due to face off with Uruguay and Brazil during November&#8217;s international break as they look to shore up their hold at the top of their South American qualifying group.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/09\/12\/77603717-12729839-image-a-92_1699533453063.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Lionel Messi called facing off with Pablo Maffeo one of his most intense evenings of his career<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/09\/12\/77603923-12729839-image-a-97_1699533709188.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The 26-year-old Mallorca defender is on the verge of winning his first senior international cap<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/09\/12\/77603757-12729839-image-a-93_1699533456354.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Maffeo (left) has Argentine and Italian heritage, but previously featured for Spain&#8217;s youth team<\/p>\n<p>Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n<p>A move to the Albiceleste means a reunion for Maffeo with the eight-time Ballon d&#8217;Or winner, who had only the highest praise for the defender in 2020.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Pablo Maffeo of Girona was the toughest (defender I&#8217;ve faced). I&#8217;ve never been one who complains, but that (match) was intense!&#8217;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The fixture in question took place in 2017, when the then-Girona defender was tasked with man-marking the Inter Miami star at the end of his spell with Barcelona.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>At only 20 years old, Maffeo rose to the occasion and kept Messi almost entirely under wraps &#8211; despite the Blaugrana walking away with the tie 3-0.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>At the time, Maffeo explained:\u00a0&#8216;Messi told me: &#8220;I&#8217;ve got you here for the whole day&#8221; and I said: &#8220;You&#8217;re the best in the world, I&#8217;m not going to leave you&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;He asked me how old I was, if I had been assigned by Manchester City (where Maffeo was on loan from) and what it was like there. He said the marking was not pleasant.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Messi and I were together the whole match. He has asked me a couple of things. He is a good person.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>After leaving Man City in 2018 without making a single senior appearance in the Premier League, Maffeo had spells at Stuttgart, Heuesca, and Mallorca before making his loan permanent at the LaLiga side in 2022.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/09\/12\/77603743-12729839-image-a-96_1699533477015.jpg\" height=\"461\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>During his spell at Manchester City, Maffeo featured in just three senior ties for the club<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/09\/12\/77603759-12729839-image-a-94_1699533461232.jpg\" height=\"470\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>After leaving Man City in 2018, Maffeo endured a number of loan spells during his time at Bundesliga side Stuttgart<\/p>\n<p>Since signing his deal, Maffeo has made 42 appearances and scored twice during his travails.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The reward of a potential first senior international cap is one that has been much desired by the player.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;He&#8217;s super, super excited,&#8217; His agent Jorge Capilla told D Sports Radio. &#8216;It&#8217;s an opportunity for him. In the end, it is his mother&#8217;s country, and he has very great roots and ties (to the country), and above all, Argentina is the current world champion.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I think it is an opportunity for everyone, it is a good moment for him, in terms of sports, and it comes at a very good age (for him).&#8217;\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3>IT&#8217;S ALL KICKING OFF!\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p><span>It&#8217;s All Kicking Off\u00a0is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football, launching with a preview show today and every week this season.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube , Apple Music and Spotify<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2017\/08\/02\/636x90_facebook_ad_sport.png\" width=\"636\" height=\"90\"><br \/>\nSource: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/football\/article-12729839\/Lionel-Messi-TOUGEST-opponent-Argentina.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>LaLiga defender &#8211; who Lionel Messi named as his TOUGHEST opponent &#8211; is set to be handed first Argentina call-up<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Defender Messi named his TOUGEST opponent set for Argentina call-up - stopsmokingway<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/soccer\/defender-messi-named-his-tougest-opponent-set-for-argentina-call-up\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Defender Messi named his TOUGEST opponent set for Argentina call-up - stopsmokingway\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"LaLiga defender &#8211; 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