Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi: Lionel Messi is from Jupiter

 
True great: Lionel Messi is beginning to prove his worth on the biggest stage
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Andy Hodgson25 June 2014

Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi has said Lionel Messi ‘is from Jupiter’ after watching the Argentine score a first-half brace against his side.

Messi put the South Americans in front inside five minutes, before completing his double with a fine free-kick before the break.

Marcos Rojo later scored the winner in Porto Alegre, but it was Messi’s performance which stole the show.

Until the finals in Brazil, however, he had yet to shine on soccer's biggest stage following subdued performances on his previous two appearances.

Messi's patchy World Cup form called into question whether he would ever quite claim his spot in a pantheon that includes the likes of compatriot Diego Maradona, Brazil's Pele and Johan Cruyff of the Netherlands.

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The 27-year-old has now scored 10 times in his last eight games for his country and on Wednesday became the only Argentine apart from Maradona to score four World Cup goals in a row.

"Messi is one heck of a player," Keshi, whose side joined the South Americans in the last 16 despite Wednesday's defeat, said at a news conference.

"There are good calibre players in the Argentina team but Messi is from Jupiter," he added.

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