Messi comment from Romania legend Liță Dumitru: Referees protect Argentina

76-year-old Ioan "Liță" Dumitru, one of the legendary figures of Romanian football and chosen as the footballer of the year in 1973 and 1975, evaluated this year's World Cup. Claiming that Argentina received support from referees in this tournament just as they did in recent World Cups, Dumitru stated that Lionel Messi is an extraordinarily talented footballer but runs less on the pitch than former Romanian star Nicolae Dobrin.

The experienced footballer, who faced world stars such as Cruyff and Pelé throughout his career, named Dutch legend Johan Cruyff as the greatest footballer in history. Recalling his duels with Brazil's legendary player Pelé in the 1970 Mexico World Cup, Dumitru stated that Pelé swore at him to compete on the pitch, but he could not get the ball even once against Cruyff.

Stating that the biggest surprise of the tournament was Paraguay eliminating Germany, the former footballer also touched upon the decline of Romanian football. Emphasizing that infrastructure and youth training face major problems, Dumitru added that it would be very difficult for Romania to achieve success in the international arena unless this structure is changed.