Argentina are more than Messi:Daily Star

Argentina forward Gonzalo Higuain (R) celebrates his strike against Belgium in the 8th minute in their World Cup quarterfinal in Brasilia on Saturday. Photo: AFP The Argentina manager Alejandro Sabella has denied suggestions his team are overly reliant on Lionel Messi and insisted his side's collective efforts have granted the Barcelona forward his opportunities to thrive in the tournament. The South Americans will attempt to force passage into a first World Cup semifinal in 24 years when they confront Belgium on Saturday, with Messi hopeful of maintaining his own eye-catching form. The forward has claimed the man of the match award in each of Argentina's games, scoring four goals and setting up Angel di Maria's winner against Switzerland in their last-16 tie, though Diego Maradona felt moved this week to claim the coach risked a "catastrophe" if the team continue to rely so heavily on their talismanic captain. "Four years ago Messi was criticised for not contributing enough, and now people say we depend too greatly upon him," said an exasperated Sabella. "It's not easy. Any team who has a player like Messi in their ranks -- he's the best player in the world -- will greatly depend upon him, as a player. But there's a group of players who support Messi, who make him stronger and make him feel well. I believe that the fact he's done what he has here is down to the work the team puts in. "The winning goal against the Swiss the other day came about because a forward, Rodrigo Palacio, who was playing in midfield closed down the space and helped us win the ball back. You have to work to create the spaces for players like Messi to thrive. If we hadn't had Palacio playing against Switzerland, we wouldn't have scored that goal. Messi wouldn't have provided that goal [for di Maria]." Argentina have clearly leaned more heavily on Messi given their other forwards' toils in Brazil, with Gonzalo Higuain scoreless to date, di Maria relatively inconsistent and Sergio Aguero hamstrung. The Manchester City striker has resumed training and will be on the bench against the Belgians, hopeful he can still play a major role in the latter stages of the tournament. Higuain is expected to retain his place on Saturday and drew praise from his manager. "In the last match he ran more than anyone else, sacrificing himself for the good of the team," said Sabella. "We all have confidence in him because he's a great player and he's doing his job for the team. OK, he's missed a few opportunities, but we have faith in him." This team carries an onerous weight of expectation in Brazil as they attempt to reach a first semifinal since 1990. "People in Argentina always believe we are more than what we are," added the manager. "Sometimes that's good. At other times, it's bad. It has its positive and negative sides. When I was growing up I always heard people saying we were the best team in the world, but we'd never been world champions at the time. And yet we were the best? It's part of our culture to think this way. "It has been a long time since we were in the semifinals, and we have to cross that Rubicon. But we have confidence we can progress. Judgments are made on results. If you win you are extraordinary, a phenomenon. If you lose, you're useless. The one who finishes first did everything right, the one who finishes second did everything wrong. So far over here we've won four tight matches. We are looking for an improvement in terms of performance, yes, but these tournaments are harder than ever. Football is increasingly more even, more competitive. Teams are better prepared tactically and physically, with players who play all over the world. A lot of games in the round of 16 went to extra time, which shows how tight it all is."