This is a clear message to Maradona and whoever will be coaching the Argentine national team. Messi's best position is up top where other players give him the ball close to the goal. Unlike how Maradona used him in the WC, where he was the playmaker behind the goalscorers.

Ummm... I would say it isn't that...do you watch La Liga games? I've watched Messi for about 5 years now, he often plays a role which is like a midfielder for Barca, and he did so against Sevilla in the Spanish SuperCopa in the 2nd leg where he got a hat trick. The key is the quality of players feeding him the ball... even on his last goal, anyone could tap it in, it was David Villa (who played about 20 minutes in his first game play since the WC Final), and Iniesta who made the goal, it was Xavi who made the 2nd goal, an easy finish for any player. BTW, Villa scored 5 goals in 4 games when playing his natural position in the WC Finals, and he scored 0 goals in 3 games, including the Final itself, when playing out of position - my point is, I know what playing out of position does to a player. It's the quality of players feeding Messi the ball - it is not a clear message to Maradona or the AFA about where to play Messi, it is a clear message that Argentina does not have the quality of Spain (recall a year ago, Spain beat Argentina as well, and the Spaniards dominated in midfield)

Tom..I agree that Spain and Barcelona have better midfielders, but Maradona's insistance on playing Messi as a midfielder had cut down on his scoring opportunities, because he has the responsibility to create for others. What I am saying is that Messi can play either as an attacking midfielder or as a forward. But in my opinion, his best position is as a forward if he has good midfielders to feed him the ball.

Maradonna failed to build the team around Messi...having such a top quality player and wasting his strengths showed what kind of ego Maradonna has.