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Bauza will chat with Messi, but not about playing for Argentina

Friedemann Vogel / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Eduardo Bauza conquered the Copa Libertadores on two occasions. The first conquest came in 2008, when Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito became the first Ecuadorian club to win South American club football's most prestigious tournament. The second conquest took place in 2014, when San Lorenzo won the competition.

But Bauza, or "El Paton" as he is affectionately known, faces a new challenge after being appointed as Argentina's manager: he must try to talk Lionel Messi out of his plans to retire from international football.

Bauza was hired as Gerardo Martino's successor on Monday, more than one months after FIFA appointed a normalisation committee for the Asociacion del Futbol Argentina. Luis Segura, the AFA's former president, was charged with fraudulent administration related to television broadcasting rights, and the incident appeared to complicate the appointment of Argentina's next manager.

Related: Argentina hires Bauza as manager from Sao Paulo

"We haven't had any contact with Messi or anyone from his family," Bauza told FOX Sports. "Once I meet with Armando Perez and we agree on the work that we're going to do, the idea is to try and travel and chat with him. It's not about convincing him of anything, just to chat about football.

In the final of the Copa America Centenario, Argentina capitulated to Chile in a penalty shootout that saw Messi fire his shot to outer space and subsequently suggest he may have represented La Albiceleste for the last time. "In the dressing room I thought that this is the end for me with the national team, it's not for me," he said. "That's the way I feel right now, it's a huge sadness once again and I missed the penalty that was so important."

It's worth noting that Bauza and Messi hail from the same region. The manager was born in Granadero Baigorria, Argentina, which is located directly north of Rosario, Argentina, the city where Messi was born.

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