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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 7 AUGUST 2016 53 Sport FOOTBALL Lionel Messi tops Bauza's agenda as Argentina coach is formally unveiled NEW Argentina coach Edgardo Bauza believes a softy, softly ap- proach is the way to try to bring talisman Lionel Messi back into the national team. Bauza, officially unveiled as Gerardo Martino's successor at Argentine FA headquarters on Friday, said he would seek to speak with retired captain Messi in Barcelona next week. "My sole intention is to see if I can talk about football with Messi... and from that chat will come the possibility of him be- ing called up to play Argentina's next games," Bauza told a news conference. Less than a month after Bauza took charge, Argentina face 2018 World Cup qualifiers at home to Uruguay and away to Venezuela in the first week of September. "I want to tell him my idea and for him to tell me how things are with him and then we'll see what comes out of it," Bauza said. Messi quit the team after his fourth major final defeat with Argentina, and third as their captain, at the Copa America in the United States in June. There is a widespread belief that the 29-year-old will revise a decision he took in the heat of the moment and look to try and take part in a fourth World Cup in Russia in 2018. Bauza, a lanky former central defender who has won the Copa Libertadores twice as a coach, said he understood Messi's reac- tion to a second successive Copa America final defeat on penal- ties against Chile. "I have felt frustrated for losing a match or a final and under- stand that statement (of quit- ting) when you are overwhelmed with frustration, but I know it can be reversed." said Bauza, who is known as 'Paton' (big foot). Argentina are third in the 10-nation South American group with 11 points from six matches, two points behind leading pair Uruguay and Ecua- dor. The top four after 18 matches qualify for the finals in Russia, while the fifth-placed team goes into an intercontinental playoff for one more berth. Argentina's new national soccer team coach Edgardo Bauza attends a news conference at the squad's camp in Buenos Aires, Argentina RAFA Benitez got his first bitter taste of life in the Champion- ship (second tier) as his relegated Newcastle United side suffered a 1-0 defeat at Fulham in the first match of the English league sea- son on Friday. Fulham scored a deserved win- ner on the stroke of halftime when Matt Smith rose above a f lat-footed defence to power home a header from a corner with Newcastle generally second best. "It's a wake-up call. We will have games more difficult than this one," Benitez was quoted as saying by the BBC. "If we play for something more important than the first game of the season maybe the anxiety will be even higher, we need to make sure we can manage that and play better." His side might have had better luck, though, with two penalty claims turned down. Fulham's Ryan Tunnicliffe ap- peared to handle a shot from Matt Ritchie in the 35th minute but the referee waved play on with replays suggesting he could have awarded a penalty. Benitez did not use the decision as justification for his side failing to take a point. "It's not an excuse, we have to be better," said the former Real Madrid and Liverpool coach. "We have to trust referees, but they can make mistakes." Another penalty appeal by Newcastle for handball by Tomas Kalas two minutes from time was also turned down, again af- ter a shot by Scotland's former Bournemouth midfielder Ritch- ie, one of the signings Benitez has made to help strengthen his side. Fulham looked more com- fortable in a division they have played in for the last two seasons but Newcastle need to adjust fast if they are to bounce straight back to the Premier League. "At the beginning we were nerv- ous, in the second half we made the wrong decisions," added Be- nitez, whose team host Hudders- field Town at St James' Park next weekend. Fulham's Matt Smith scores their first goal Benitez's Newcastle slump to 1-0 defeat in Championship opener