Argentina: Maradona, Bilardo And Messi Enjoy 'Positive' Talks

Diego Maradona and his assistant Carlos Bilardo had successful talks with Barcelona star Lionel Messi on Thursday as the new Argentine national team coaching set-up continue their tour of Europe.

"We had a very positive meeting with Messi," Bilardo told reporters as he left the hotel Majestic in Barcelona following talks with the 21 year old.

"It is good that he wants to be involved in all the games that the national team play and we leave the talks fully content with the result," he affirmed.

Maradona and Bilardo had hoped to speak with Barcelona president Joan Laporta to negotiate the release of Messi for Argentina's friendly with Scotland on the 19th November, but were unable to do so as Laporta had to travel to Brussels.

Barcelona had agreed with the AFA that Messi would be rested for friendly matches, but Maradona is keen to have him at his disposal for his first game in charge and also intends to meet with Barca coach Josep Guardiola to discuss the possibility during his visit to Europe.

Yesterday, Maradona and Bilardo met with Real Madrid pair Gabriel Heinze and Fernando Gago as part of their efforts to smooth over relationships with certain European based players that had become strained in the final days of Alfio Basile's reign.

The next stop is Germany, where they will meet Bayern Munich duo Jose Sosa and Martin Demichelis, before travelling to England to speak with Manchester United's Carlos Tevez and Liverpool's Javier Mascherano.

Cruyff Gives Messi Some Advice

Barcelona legend Johan Cruyff has given some advice to young sensation Lionel Messi in his Monday column for the Newspaper of Catalunya.

After Barcelona's 3-1 defeat to Villarreal at the weekend, Cruyff has urged Messi to learn when he can play the ball quickly and when it is better to dribble at opponents with it:

"It is his prerogative. But single, I against the world runs fail to con the opposition when you try it time and time again. It would be better if he learned to regulate himself. He is a sensation, but still it can improve. He must know when to move the ball on quickly and when to try the impossible mission."

Once Messi has learned to vary his approach, Cruyff said, "He will not gain a Gold Ball, but a collection of them."

There are not many who could offer advice to Lionel Messi based on his current form, but Cruyff is one of those who comments have weight, considering he was arguably the best wide attacker of his day. It is an element of Messi's game that will definitely improve over time and considering how young he is, he still has plenty of time to learn.

Ballon D'Or Shortlist Announced by France Football

France Football have released a list of the fifty players in contention for the Ballon D'Or, otherwise known as the European Footballer of the year.

They seem to have relaxed the entry rules over previous years, as now players who do not ply their trade in Europe are also included in the list.

There are ten Latin American players included:

Daniel Alves (Sevilla, Brazil), Rogerio Ceni (Sao Paulo, Brazil), Diego (Werder Breman, Brazil), Kaka (Milan, Brazil), Lionel Messi (Barcelona, Argentina), Guillermo Ochoa (America, Mexico), Juan Riquelme (Villarreal, Argentina), Robinho (Real Madrid, Brazil), Ronaldinho (Barcelona, Brazil), Carlos Tevez (Manchester United, Argentina).

Barcelona to Offer Messi Improved Contract

Despite already having a contract which runs to 2014, Barcelona are in talks with Argentine sensation Lionel Messi over improved terms.

Sporting director Txiki Begiristain explained the situation:

"We are not worried about rumour of offers for the youngster. Leo is happy at Barcelona and signed a deal until June 2014, but the club is open to renegotiating some of the conditions - Messi deserves this.

"Leo gives us 100 per cent and can help win many titles with us and Argentina."

Messi's previous contract had a buy-out clause of £105million and it remains to be seen whether Barcelona are looking to up this as part of the new contract, with various top European clubs thought to be sniffing around the youngster.

Shortlist Announced for FIFA World Player of the Year

After Kaka scooped up the FIFPro award last week, he is now among the favourites to capture the FIFA World Player of the Year.

There were seven Latin American players nominated, listed below:

Juninho (Lyon, Brazil), Kaka (AC Milan, Brazil), Rafael Marquez (Barcelona, Mexico), Lionel Messi (Barcelona, Argentina), Juan Riquelme (Villarreal, Argentina), Ronaldinho (Barcelona, Brazil), Carlos Tevez (Manchester United, Argentina).

Voting now begins, with the winner to be announced on the 17th December this year.

Kaka wins FIFPro World Player of The Year Award

AC Milan's attacking midfielder Kaka has won this year's FIFPro World Player of The Year award, succeeding fellow Brazilian Ronaldinho.

He had these words to say upon receiving the accolade:

"I am humbled to receive such an honour. To follow my good friend and such a great player as Ronaldinho makes this a very special award."

The FIFPro World Eleven for the year was also announced at the ceremony, with Barcelona's Ronaldinho and Lionel Messi the other Latin American players included in the side.

Maradona Speaks

Diego Maradona has spoken in Ole (Spanish link), mainly about Argentina's loss to Brazil in the Copa America final.

He is disappointed that Argentina have once again failed at the crucial point in an international tournament, remarking that they had no "physical nor psychic answers to Brazil". He feels that Argentina need to look at the way European teams like Italy, Germany and Spain play and maybe incorporate some of that into their play if they are to be succesful in future tournaments.

On the retirement of Roberto Ayala from international football, Maradona thinks that he was a great player and that no blame should be attested to him for the Copa America final defeat. He also seems to hint that Ayala felt a lack of support from national team boss Alfio Basile, which is why he has decided to retire.

Maradona states that Juan Riquelme had a great tournament, and that he wishes for Riquelme to stay with Boca Juniors next season, despite various offers from European sides.

He remarks of Lionel Messi, "whenever he touched the ball, it felt that he was going to do something important" and goes on to describe him as a "phenomenon" for whom the sky is the limit. Maradona is also proud that Messi carries round a signed picture of him in his wallet and idolises him.

When asked who else in the Argentina team impressed him during the Copa America, he singles out Javier Mascherano, saying that "Mascherano is always where the ball is" and likening him to Matias Almeyda.

He is then asked what he thought of Ever Banega's performances during the U-20 World Cup, Maradona responds that he was very impressed with the way Banega played. He says that he always seems to know what to do in every situation, although he does perhaps need to calm down a bit.

Finally, when asked who he would support out of Barcelona and Real Madrid next season, he responded that he couldn't seperate them, as he is fans of both Javier Saviola and Fernando Gago at Real and Lionel Messi at Barcelona. He feels Barcelona will prehaps be a little stronger due to the purchase of Thierry Henry.