Mesi apologizes for his behavior in the World Cup quarter-final against the Netherlands

Although the World Cup can be called a closed chapter, it seems that the events that took place there continue to have an impact on sports fans and the protagonists of those days. Meanwhile, World Cup winner Lionel Messi regretted his heated exchange with the Netherlands coach and players during the World Cup quarter-final in Qatar. The attacker said this in an interview published on Monday. Mesi spoke for the radio "Urbana Play" of Buenos Aires. The captain of Argentina spoke about the fierce clash with the Dutch that the South Americans won on penalties. A record 17 yellow cards were set including one for Messi for dissent. When Messi scored from the penalty spot in regular time, he stood in front of Dutch coach Luis van Gaal and cupped his ears with both hands. After the match he gestured towards the Dutch bench and insulted striker Vout Veghorst, who scored twice in regular time. "I don't like what I did, I don't like what happened next. These are moments with a lot of tension, a lot of nerves. It's very fast and people react the way they do. Nothing was planned, it just happened," Mesi said. That quarter-final was surrounded by controversy. Before the match, coach Van Gaal said his players were better prepared than their rivals for penalty shootouts. He also said that "Mesi didn't touch the ball" in the semi-final between the two teams at the 2014 World Cup. Argentina also won that match on penalties. Messi said it was his teammates who told him about Van Gaal's words, which motivated him. As for the moment with the striker Veghorst, Mesi said it was a "natural thing". "I reacted like that. There had been many things with this player, moments of tension like these. . . I was in the 'mix zone', it just happened. I hate to leave that image, but these things happened. "It was the worst match we played because of all the things involved, as it was a matter of victory," Mesi added. Argentina lost their opening game to Saudi Arabia, 2-1, in one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history, and had to beat Mexico to stay in contention to advance to the knockout round. Mexico was defeated 2:0 and Argentina advanced further. Mesi said that he has not seen the final against France. Argentina won the final on penalties to win their first World Cup title since 1986. “From that day everything changed for me. For Lucky, what we dreamed of so much happened. I wanted this trophy so much in my career and it finally came", concluded Mesi.