SPAIN WILL BE TOO TIRED AT THE WORLD CUP-MENOTTI

The 75-year-old believes that the 2010 winners will suffer from fatigue after a demanding season, while he has also given his thoughts on Messi’s talent ahead of Brazil 2014

Former Argentina coach Cesar Luis Menotti believes that Spain will go into the World Cup in Brazil with "extreme fatigue".

The 75-year-old has questioned whether the Spanish squad will be at full fitness, following a very demanding domestic season which has seen two of La Liga’s biggest teams reach the last four of the Champions League, with another also bowing out at the quarter-final stage.

However, Menotti has not written off the 2010 World Cup winners and believes they will still be a threat at the coveted competition.

"I see them suffering from extreme fatigue. There are too many players who have played too many games," Menotti told DPA.

"And fatigue is not only in the muscles and you can’t just recover immediately from sleeping or resting. Fatigue can stem from commitment, responsibility, having to win every time you play.

“But still, if the Spanish players perform at 80 percent of what you normally see from them, they certainly remain a strong candidate to win the World Cup."

Menotti also questioned whether the World Cup will be the coronation of Lionel Messi and believes this will depend primarily on how the Argentina team set-up around the Barcelona man.

"I think Messi will prove he is a great footballer at the World Cup, especially now that he is a very famous player around the world.

“Now then, to be the coronation of Maradona ‘86 depended a lot on the team around him and how they aided him as a player but, still, the current team does not play to the strength of Messi," Menotti concluded.