The Argentina forward was seen spraying water on his coach during their win over Nigeria but says the incident was done in good humour
Argentina forward Ezequiel Lavezzi has revealed that he sprayed water on Alejandro Sabella to calm his coach’s nerves.
The Paris Saint-Germain attacker, who was a first-half substitute during the 3-2 win over Nigeria, was spotted dousing his trainer with a squirt from his water bottle while receiving instructions on the touchline.
Despite getting soaked, Sabella continued to give his instruction without flinching and Lavezzi claims that may be because his coach is already accustomed to his sense of humour.
“I threw water on Sabella because I saw that he was too nervous,” he joked to TyC Sports after the match.
“I don’t think that I will ask him about it, because he is already used to it!”
Argentina’s victory over Nigeria saw them through to the knockout stages as Group F winners and Lavezzi, who has come off the bench in their last two games, stressed that their real challenge starts now.
“Now begins the World Cup where there is no margin for error,” he said.
“You can question what you want, but we went from low to high and won all three games. One must be available to the team. I do what I can in the time that I have to play.”
Lionel Messi scored twice against the Africans to take his tournament tally to four in three games, and Lavezzi hoped that the rest of the team could match their captain’s exploits.
“Leo was prepared for this and it is showing,” he continued.
“We must try to complement him to achieve something important together. Hopefully we can keep it up to take the team to the top. This is the objective.”
