Argentine fury knows no bounds. In one of the hottest semifinals of the World Cup, the Argentina national team eliminated England and sparked madness. But the match left much more than a result: it left an epic clash between defender Cristian ‘Cuti’ Romero and former English player Gary Neville.
Neville, who ahead of the match had described the Argentine central duo as ‘the best and worst pair of center-backs in the world,’ received a direct and unfiltered response. ‘I hope when I retire I’m not that stupid,’ Romero fired back in a press conference, after Lionel Scaloni’s team sealed their place in the final.
The Tottenham defender held nothing back. ‘The only thing I hope is that when I retire I’m not that stupid. I hope that when I retire I don’t end up criticizing a player because in the end you go out to do your best for your team or national team,’ he added, visibly annoyed by the comments of the former Manchester United defender.
Lisandro Martínez, his partner in defense, also weighed in on the controversy. ‘We are used to people always talking, it seems they like to talk about us and we respond on the pitch and always with respect,’ said the Manchester United player.
Neville’s criticism had come at a key moment, when the Argentine central duo had already established themselves as starters. The former English player had said that ‘between the two of them they give away a goal in every match,’ but also praised them: ‘Then you see them again and it turns out they are scoring goals, winning every header and are, literally, popping up everywhere.’
Despite the clash, Romero highlighted the importance of the achievement. ‘We are happy to be in a World Cup final again, I think we are making history and that is huge for us, we feel the jersey like no one else,’ he stated.
Former English player Joe Cole had also been optimistic before the match, stating that ‘we have speed and strength to beat Argentina. We will beat them and we will play the final.’ Additionally, about Lionel Messi, he said: ‘We have to send him to sleep.’ But reality was different: the Albiceleste prevailed and now dreams of the title.
The clash between Romero and Neville adds to a long list of verbal confrontations between Argentines and English in football. This time, the response came both on and off the pitch, and made it clear that the Argentina national team does not stay silent before anyone.
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Para mí Cuti tiene toda la razón, Gary Neville es un boludo resentido que no entiende un carajo de fútbol. Los ingleses siempre llorando como nenas, pero en la cancha se cagan. Argentina campeón del mundo, papá! Vamos los pibes carajo!
para mi cuti romero se puso la 10 y le callo la boca al pelotudo de gary neville los ingleses siempre llorando a llorar a la iglesia vamos argentina carajo ojala neville se jubile de baderna dale lisandro la dupla rompe todo aguante la scaloneta