San Antonio Spurs legend Manu Ginobili recently appeared on the SKWEEK Show hosted by his former teammate Tony Parker. Amongst a huge discussion about all things basketball, Parker eventually wanted to know Ginobili’s thoughts about Lionel Messi, who won the 2022 Fifa World Cup, after playing a starring role throughout the tournament in Qatar.
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Parker initially asked Manu about the kind of celebrations that people in Argentina undertook on the occasion. Ginobili revealed that he had watched the tournament with his friends and his kids, and was lucky to be in Argentina when the celebrations initially broke.
“Very hard to explain. Luckily I was there. I was in Argentina mid-December this time. So it was summer, and people were happy, Messi was very close a few world cups ago, didn’t happen. Tough loss, and everybody was so hopeful, and so once it happened, I was watching with friends, and my kids,” Ginobili said, referring to Argentina’s 2014 World Cup Final loss against Germany that saw Mario Gotze score an extra-time winner.
Ginobili claimed that Messi, apart from being utterly talented, was the kind of guy who was simply happy playing football. He claimed that the two met during the 2008 Olympics and that he had a special admiration for the now Inter Miami superstar.
“He is the type of guy who looks happy having the ball around. He needs to play, and you can tell when the guy enjoys. We briefly met during one of the Olympics, in 08. We have never met since, but the deep admiration for what he has done, what he did on the pitch, and what he brought to the country,” Ginobili said, before being asked to compare Messi with Diego Maradona.
Ginobili claimed that while younger fans would end up choosing Messi, those Argentinians who were above 50 would always choose Maradona. “It’s generational, you are gonna talk to 50, and above, they are gonna say, Maradona was unique and that was where he gave the country and the way he spoke and acted, rebellious part of him, they will never get convinced that Messi is better. And the younger ones who did not experience or live the Maradona-side of things, they will always pick Maradona (Messi).”
When pressed to choose himself, Ginobili responded smartly. “I try not to always talk about Maradona against Messi. Remarkable thing is that we got both… Having those two guys that are so unique, we are very lucky to have them. So, we just gotta celebrate them both, be very happy, in my case I witnessed both,” he said, simply claiming that he was lucky to have witnessed both the legends in action.
The 46-year-old Argentinian claimed that he had no intention of comparing the two, and Argentina was simply uniquely lucky to have had the honor of seeing the two in action.
Manu Ginobili has deep respect for Lionel Messi despite having met him last in 2008
Ginobili’s interview suggested that the NBA legend had a lot of respect for his fellow countryman. The two met back in 2008 when Messi won the Olympic gold for his nation.
Ginobili himself won a gold medal for Argentina back in the 2004 Olympics and knows exactly how it feels to bring sporting glory to the country. Lionel Messi fulfilled what many believed to be his footballing destiny with the World Cup in Qatar last year.
He has since made a move to the USA’s MLS, which also created great hype and led to increased interest in football in the country. Messi led David Beckham’s Inter Miami to the MLS League Cup win last year and is expected to be one of the biggest reasons why they challenge the league itself, in the upcoming season.
