By Gabriel Araujo
KANSAS CITY, Missouri, July 6 (Reuters) - Twenty years before Lionel Messi became a World Cup-winning icon, Jose Pekerman sent a shy 18-year-old on for his tournament debut with Argentina in cruise control and a conviction that every minute on soccer’s biggest stage would matter.
With Argentina 4-0 up against Serbia and Montenegro in Gelsenkirchen, he sent Messi on to the field in the 75th minute, convinced he was not simply introducing another gifted youngster, but beginning a journey
he believed would one day make this player one of the game's defining figures.
Messi rewarded that faith within minutes, setting up Hernan Crespo for a goal before becoming the youngest Argentine to score at a World Cup as the South Americans completed a 6-0 rout.
Yet Pekerman says the cameo was never about chasing another goal in a match already won, downplaying criticism for keeping Messi on the bench for much of that tournament.
Every appearance, however brief, was part of a longer plan to expose the teenager to the unique demands of the World Cup, he said, convinced those early experiences would shape the player he was destined to become.
"For me, every minute was important, because I had no doubt that over the next 10 years he would be fighting to be one of the best players in the world," Pekerman told Reuters in an interview.
"It was important for him to get used to a more professional, more demanding level of soccer, to let his talent grow along with his experience."
Twenty years later, Messi, now 39, has won the 2022 title and appeared in six World Cups, with 30 matches played and 20 goals scored in the tournament -- more than any other player. He is also Argentina's oldest World Cup scorer.
"It is a beautiful story, and I enjoy it very much," the 76-year-old Pekerman said. "He was obviously going to be a tremendous talent. We can't talk about discovering something, because it was so evident."
CRITICISM
Germany 2006, however, remains a debated chapter of Pekerman's coaching career, as many in Argentina believe he could have given Messi more playing time during the tournament.
The teenager started only once, a 0-0 draw with the Netherlands, and made substitute appearances against Serbia and Montenegro in the group stage and Mexico in the round of 16.
He remained on the bench as hosts Germany knocked Argentina out in a quarter-final penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw.
"Argentina blow it with crazy substitutions," Britain's Guardian newspaper wrote, criticising Pekerman for sending on midfielder Esteban Cambiasso and forward Julio Cruz instead of Messi or playmaker Pablo Aimar.
"Argentines wonder why Messi sat out," the International Herald Tribune headlined.
Pekerman stands by his decisions, arguing that Messi, who had spent most of his youth career in Spain, still needed time to adapt to international soccer and gradually build experience with the national team.
"I have good and bad news," Pekerman recalled telling Messi before that World Cup.
"I believe you have to be in the squad," the coach said. "But I can't tell you that you're going to play many minutes. The team already has an organisation. You're going to bring a lot to the side, but only in the minutes I can give you."
Pekerman remembered celebrating Messi's 19th birthday during the tournament along with more experienced players such as Roberto Ayala and Aimar, both currently serving as assistants to Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni.
"He was a kid," said Pekerman, who left Argentina after the Germany clash but later returned to the World Cup with Colombia, guiding them to the 2014 and 2018 tournaments.
MARADONA COMPARISON
A former midfielder, Pekerman followed Diego Maradona's early days at Argentinos Juniors in the 1970s, and became one of the national team's most successful youth coaches. When Messi emerged at Barcelona, he noticed familiar signs.
"It was the same that had happened with Maradona. Something that went beyond his age," said Pekerman, who remembered Messi as a quiet teenager who was transformed once he stepped onto the pitch.
"The intelligence he had to understand soccer and master different situations, despite being so young."
Twenty years later, Pekerman says what impresses him most is not the records, but that Messi has fulfilled those extraordinary expectations without ever changing who he is.
"He has been a true role model," the coach said.
"The records he is setting will be very difficult to break. It isn't easy to stay at that level for so long, always finding new goals to achieve.
"And he has done it without losing his essence as a person. I think the decisions he has made throughout his career have always been the right ones," Pekerman added.
(Reporting by Gabriel Araujo, editing by Julien Pretot and Ed Osmond)
