Chile national team coach Jorge Sampaoli said it would be his dream to one day coach Argentina and Barcelona star Lionel Messi.
"I would love to coach Messi. He is a player who is really impossible to beat when he is excited and emotional and moved by a project," said Sampaoli, who like Messi is from the province of Santa Fe and got his start at Newell's Old Boys.
The veteran coach, who admitted he is a supporter of River Plate, said during a TV interview that Messi "is a player who makes a huge difference when he is committed to a project."
Regarding the successes of Chile's squad, Sampaoli credited his mentor Marcelo Bielsa.
"He got Chile to rebel and compete against any team in any stadium."
Up next in 2018 World Cup qualifying for Chile are Colombia on Nov. 12 and Uruguay on Nov. 17. The reigning Copa America champs beat Brazil 2-0 and then went on to top Peru, 4-3, on two goals by Alexis Sanchez.
#INSERT type:image caption:Jorge Sampaoli credits Marcelo Bielsa for Chile's current success. END#
"We are thinking about how to beat Colombia, how to bury them on their pitch, how to make sure they can't come back out," Sampaoli said of the CONMEBOL rival.
The Argentine said he is happy with how Chile have performed thus far in World Cup qualifying.
"The players feel comfortable" with the coaching staff and they are committed to continued growth, Sampaoli said.
"There are a lot of ideas that we can add to improve our leadership," he said.
Sampaoli also said that the only team he currently enjoys watching is Bayern Munich, which features Arturo Vidal.
"On the rest of teams I can rescue players and single out individual play, but as a team there is a difference between the current Bayern squad and all the rest," he said. "The rest of them play to pass the ball and Bayern pass to play."
Sampaoli was briefly under consideration to coach Mexico earlier this year when El Tri began the search to replace Miguel Herrera. Sampaoli did not say whether he would consider taking the helm one day for the Albiceleste.
Argentina have struggled in the first round of CONMEBOL qualifying. The World Cup 2014 and Copa America runners-up, missing Messi due to injury and forced to cope with the early exit of Sergio Aguero, began their journey to Russia with a shock 2-0 defeat to Ecuador in Buenos Aires followed by a 0-0 draw against Paraguay.