| BUENOS AIRES, March 28 (Reuters) - Argentina, inspired by Lionel
Messi, gave Diego Maradona what he described as a perfect home and
competitive debut as coach by beating Venezuela 4-0 in a World Cup
qualifier on Saturday.
Messi scored the first goal and then set up the second for Carlos
Tevez before Maximiliano Rodriguez and Sergio Aguero completed
an easy win for the hosts.
Maradona, who began his reign with friendly wins away to Scotland
and France, was given a rousing reception by the crowd when he
came onto the field before the game at the Monumental stadium.
"This was better than I expected, reality has overcome fiction,"
said Maradona, who since retiring as a player has been treated
for drug addiction, obesity and alcohol-induced liver disease,
at one stage spending 10 days in intensive care.
"I couldn't have imagined what happened today. It was perfect.
It's not easy to score four goals against Venezuela, we had to
work hard for it."
The win left Argentina with 19 points from 11 games in the South
American group, four behind leaders Paraguay. Venezuela have 10.
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