Mariano Pernía, ex-Spain World Cup player: “The margin was too narrow” | OneFootball

The Argentine former footballer naturalized as Spanish, Mariano Pernía, analyzed the World final and was blunt in his assessment of Spain’s performance. The former full-back considered the 1-0 win over Argentina a “short” result and said the side managed by Luis de la Fuente should “have won by a bigger margin”.

With mixed feelings because of his Argentine past and his connection to Spain, Pernía admitted that he wanted the Albiceleste to win, although he said La Roja were the deserved winners of the final. “Obviously, my wish was for Argentina to win because I lived there for 41 years and eight in Spain,” acknowledged the former left-back.

“If I had to choose a winner, it was Argentina, but losing to Spain was the least painful defeat. In Spain I established myself as a footballer and in eight years I experienced very special things,” he explained.

Although he came through at Independiente and finished his career at Tigre, the 49-year-old former defender had a long spell in Spanish football, where he wore the shirts of Recreativo de Huelva, Getafe and Atlético Madrid.

His eight years in Europe opened up the possibility of representing the Spanish national team, with whom he even went on to play at the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

Pernía, who revealed that his children have already asked him for the Spain shirt “with the two stars,” regretted that after the final there was “a lot of noise” that had little to do with sport.

“I think it all started because of statements from other countries, not Spain, in which Argentina’s victories were being questioned. De la Fuente was always a gentleman and lived up to the occasion. But people kept saying that FIFA wanted Messi to win,” explained the former full-back about the constant criticism the national side received throughout the World Cup.

On the other hand, he referred to the embarrassing incidents involving Leandro Paredes, Nahuel Molina and Roberto Ayala after the match, and pointed out that it is something that “cannot be done because a billion people are watching you on television”.

“You have to set an example for young people. In life you have to be wholesome and clean. You congratulate them, you applaud, and that’s it, because they were the best,” Pernía summed up, praising the attitude of Lionel Messi and Lionel Scaloni, who publicly acknowledged Spain’s superiority.

“Football was fair to Spain, who were the best. And to Argentina, since they were able to reach the final thanks to Messi’s effort. The trophy went to the best team, the one that defended best, the one that had more of the ball, and the one that attacked best. That’s all there is to it,” Pernía concluded.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.