Angel Di María: "It hurt me when they said I was shitting myself in the finals"

Ángel Di María managed to get rid of that thorn that had stuck in him some time ago at the World Cup in Qatar, when the National Team was accused of losing finals.

The man from Rosario not only started but also made it 2-0 that La Scaloneta seemed to give him the World Cup but that Kylian Mbappé led to extra time and also to penalties, where Argentina did defeat France there.

A little over a month after the consecration in Doha,

gave an extensive interview to the sports newspaper

.

-Y?

You fell?

-Not yet, heh.

There we are.

People remind you of it all the time and there are moments that do, moments that don't... When you see photos, when you see images.

I see the Montiel penalty constantly.

But I think that one is falling little by little and is realizing what he achieved.

Di María with Messi and the World Cup in Qatar.

Photo: Fernando de la Orden

-You know that at the airport, on planes, everywhere, there are people with Argentine shirts...

-The relatives tell me, I see them in my friends, in the people close to me.

I see it at Juve too, when we play there are always Argentine shirts and flags.

And that makes us very happy because it shows what we have achieved and we realize what we have achieved in people as well.

Do you think about something from the World Cup every day?

-Always, always the memories.

It was what we most wanted, what we most wanted to achieve.

It is impossible to forget.

The years will pass, I see it in the players who are 50 and 60 now and who won the World Cup, and they continue to talk about the issues, and they continue to remember every moment they lived.

It is impossible to forget.

It is obvious that one already has his head set on the club, on the objectives, but the World Cup will always be present.

Are there permanent memories?

-Yes Yes.

For example, last night I had done an interview recently here and they had posted a lot of photos of us, they gave them to me and yesterday my jermu was making the pictures with the photos of each one, from the World Cup.

Every day there is something new and World Cup things always happen.

- Was it what you dreamed of or much more?

-Much more, the truth is that much more.

It is something unique, let's say.

Honestly, everything that came after raising the Cup, we did not imagine.

I imagined lifting the Cup, kissing it, but what we experienced when we arrived in Argentina, the next day with the people.

Not being able to reach the Obelisk, I think he exceeded everything I could have dreamed of one day.

The hug of Angelito and Leo during the game with Mexico.

Photo: Fernando de la Orden / Special Envoy

Did you receive any surprise messages?

-Nerd.

I received calls, messages from all over the world.

But hey, one always thinks and has the family in mind, the ones who send the messages first and bancándote.

But you have thousands of people, friends, all of whom are going to send you... I take this opportunity to say that there are still messages that I couldn't answer, so imagine... They are normal things but one tries to enjoy that moment and enjoy it with the most close.

-Like that hug with the family when being champion...

-(Sighs for several seconds) I'm sorry because they were the ones who were always there and bankrolled me, the ones who didn't want me to loosen up and it was the most desired moment.

Let the game end and be able to hug them, tell them 'that's it, we've done it'.

It was my dad's dream to win something with the Argentine National Team.

-But you had already won the Copa América at the Maracana...

-No, no, but this honestly has no comparison.

What I experienced after lifting it was something unique, dreamed, I think that not even dreaming it would have been this way.

-You talk about those who always banked you, but at some point did you think of stepping aside?

What was the criticism that hurt you the most?

-What hurt me the most was that criticism that ended up hurting you.

The one that did not give us to be in the Selection.

In the end God gave me that revenge and after three finals in which I could not be 100% (2014 World Cup and 2015 and 2016 Copa América), and in the next three (2021 Copa América, 2022 Finalissima and 2022 World Cup) I was able to be 100% and show that that really wasn't what was happening to me.

But they were things of life as you say.

Injuries that had to happen to me for something and now they didn't happen to me and it ended up being what it was.

Those criticisms are the ones that hurt the most.

Not only one, because I continue to play the same, I'm in Europe, but for those who are in Argentina always listening to the same thing, that hurts too much.

And that's why sometimes one says that's it, let him, but they are the ones who always told me no.

-Before the Copa América you said: "I'd rather be bitched by 40 million Argentines than have a coffee in Paris."

you were not wrong...

-It is clear that he was right, that the one above helped me say that and helped me to be able to win the following objectives.

Apart from that, I always felt the love of the people, when things didn't work out I always had that recognition and I will never forget those moments, from 2014, 2016, 2017. I think that football is like that and it gave us the possibility of As of 2019, with Scaloni, things will change.

I always say it, I have the thorn and bitterness for my former teammates who couldn't make it and we were so close.

-Of the goals in the finals, which one do you choose?

-I prefer the World Cup because it is the World Cup.

Di Maria's chosen one.

His goal against France.

Photo REUTERS/Dylan Martinez

-I imagine you saw the recreation of some boys on the beach.

-He he.

I saw it, everyone sent it to me.

She is very good, she is very good.

What I'm telling you, it's impossible to forget about this, people remind you of it every day at the World Cup, constantly.

It is something unique that they are put on a beach to do these things, with the rapporteur and everything complete.

Incredible, they turned out spectacular.

She hit him well, nothing more than that he celebrated for that side, I went to the other side, she missed him there.

How did you come up with that definition?

-I had spoken with Martín Tocalli, the goalkeeper's coach, and he had told me that (Lloris) always went down very quickly to cover up.

When the ball came, I just thought about crossing it by lifting it and when it came I hit it with an overdrive.

Nobody believes me, but I did.

This time I didn't poke it, I saw that the ball was coming and that if I pounced it, the French player would come to cut.

That goal doesn't go well even in practice, you throw it out... The whole play was terrible, the important thing was the above, otherwise the ball doesn't get there.

-In the final you came out with the game 2-0, with an ovation from 'Fideo, Fideo', we felt like champions... What did you feel with Mbappé's goals?

-That the world was falling, that we were leaving.

On the one hand, I felt when we talked to the boys that he was leaving us.

But for another no, I scored a goal.

And in each final that I scored a goal, we didn't lose it, so I thought 'we can't lose'.

She was with that in mind.

-And there is the premonitory chat with Jorgelina, that you told her that you were going to be world champion, the night before the game.

And you told him go and enjoy.

-Because I had felt it in the previous Copa América that we won, that same night.

Knowing that I was not playing because Nico (González) was playing and Leo (by Scaloni) out of nowhere, it occurred to him to start me with Brazil and I found out in the morning.

He had sent him a similar message, with Italy I did the same and now the final.

With France he knew two hours before the game that he was playing, nor did I imagine that he was going to do it on the left ...

The Di Maria family in Qatar.

-Did you speak with Mbappé?

Chat or something post final?

No, I didn't talk or anything.

On the court I think I greeted him.

If he already won it once, why do you want two, one is enough, heh.

-Don't you call to congratulate in these cases?

No, no, I think not.

He greeted Leo there and that's it.

You are defending your country.

I would not do it.

Inside it's killing me.

I could say congratulations, shake his hand, and it's over.

-I have the feeling that France believed they were winning and that in the World Cup there was talk that Argentina played dirty, had misplaced reactions and it was not so.

How did you take it?

-From what I saw in the World Cup and what happened before the final, I think there was a world less France behind Argentina because of Leo.

From the first day to the last, everyone wanted Leo to be world champion.

-There was controversy in the World Cup and there is, as with Ibrahimovic, which was pejorative.

How did they take it?

-We didn't give him a ball.

-Even Holland, it was said that Argentina celebrated in the face...

-It may be that we have celebrated in the face.

But it was after the game, not before.

They spoke before the game, we always with respect.

Leo (for Scaloni) always went to the conference with respect to the rival and they did not do it that way: they talked about penalties, about Messi, that with ten players you cannot play, that if 11 do not run... Later It is normal for one to have that fever, it goes inside.

You end up winning and it shows what Argentina and the Argentine are, and they go home.

-How did you experience the situation of the Dutch rushing Lautaro in the last penalty?

-They wanted to do the Dibu thing but they.

When Enzo (Fernández) went to kick, I got in front, so they let him go quietly.

The fourth referee didn't say anything and it was disrespectful.

It is one thing for the goalkeeper to do it, that you are one-on-one, and another for a midfield player to get in.

We are the biggest and we bank the kids, I did it with that intention.

He stayed there and everything that happened was due to the fever they talked about earlier.

-What happened to you in the final cap from Dibu to Kolo Muani?

-I only saw her for a bit, I didn't see when she covered her or when she kicked.

She was constantly praying, I feel an uhhh and when I want to look, I see that the ball comes out and bounces... Lautaro's counter is coming.

Then I saw it on the networks.

-There are videos with what would have happened if it was a goal...

Thank God that didn't happen.

It would have been a very hard blow for everyone.

I think Argentina would have recognized us but it was a very hard blow.

-Tell this moment: Montiel's goal and you fall to your knees.

-At that moment what crossed my mind was to thank God for letting me win the World Cup.

I have many titles and many things, 33, and this was what I was looking for the most.

And more than the Copa América passed, the Finalissima and we came with that clean and jerk.

The same illusion of the Argentines was ours;

We tried to get down, calm down a bit, but in the concentration we had the same illusion and desire, we were worse than the people in Qatar.

- Can you count cabals that will no longer be done, harangues or what was said before the penalties?

-My cabals are the same.

The same thing is always said in penalties or the extension, give the teammates forward.

And we came from a hard blow, from 2-0 to 2-2 and from 3-2 to 3-3.

I don't know if there is another final similar to this in the World Cups, with so many goals, a goal from each team in extra time, a spectacular match.

The cabals are not counted...

-Leo made a strong harangue like in the Copa América final?

-In this he spoke calm and normal.

He talked a little when we were 11, moving forward.

Normal, I don't remember exactly.

Calmer, it was not like the Copa América, we already knew what we were playing for.

-Ibrahimovic said that what happened was because of Messi and that the rest will never repeat it, but it shows the opposite, that a team was put together.

-I think that the Selection has for many years, it has an incredible generation.

These guys who won this World Cup are young, they know what the Argentine shirt is.

They represented the National Team as they have to represent it and if you look a little further down, there are players like Mati Soulé here (in Juventus), Garnacho, you have a lot of National Team players who in a few years are going to be fighting.

There are players for many years of Selection, impressive.

-And you have to convince Leo to continue... And Di María...

-In my case, we are for a little more.

I don't know how much, let's see.

It is what we talked about before, we go year by year how things are going, how I am feeling.

I will be there until I feel that I can contribute to the National Team or that the coach who is there tells me that I do not contribute.

Now I feel good, on a great level.

It is the illusion that I have and it depends on the coach, who does not marry anyone, he does not care who he is.

Taking out Leo we are all the same and whoever has to play plays.

And the one who decides goes to the concentration, makes decisions based on how each one is and not on names.

Say Maria and Scaloni.

Angelito was one of the coach's changes in the final with France.

Photo Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP

-Do you continue with the same technician or will Scaloni not continue?

-No, I think that is fixed.

He won all three titles and I think it's very difficult for him to leave.

I think that this coaching staff will have a very important back for many more years now and they have proven to be a great coaching staff.

Removing all the criticism before they start, with attitude they showed, with coldness to decide for one player or another.

And they made each player show 100% of each other when it was their turn to play, the difference was not noticeable.

And it is one of the most difficult things that a coach has to do in a group and even more so in the National Team, with the amount that there are.

-Messages to Tapia or Scaloni to fix it?

-No no, we already put pressure on the lap singing.

but I think he's going to get better, he's young, he has the ambition to continue winning things and he's up to it.

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