• Maradona to consult Mourinho over tactics • Messi ready to end comparisons with me, says Maradona

This article is more than 10 years old

This article is more than 10 years old

Diego Maradona says he may turn to José Mourinho for managerial tips as he prepares Argentina for the World Cup's knockout stages.

The Argentina manager said he keeps Mourinho's telephone number "on his bedside" and that he has asked the Portuguese for tactical advice in the past.

"I like Mourinho a lot. I've got his phone number, I might call him," Maradona said. "We spent hours talking about football, attacking and defensive tactics. He seemed to me a guy to take to your bedside table and ask him each time you need something."

Maradona would, however, prefer that his team do not adopt the kind of safety-first tactics that Mourinho used win the European Cup with Internazionale last month.

"No, not that. But it worked for him, right? He won the Champions League," he said.

Maradona added that Lionel Messi, who turned 23 today, was by some distance the best player at this World Cup.

"I have not seen a player at this World Cup who is even 30% [as good as] Messi," he said. "Maybe I will be called arrogant but I've not even seen a player who is 30% of Carlitos [Carlos Tevez]. I love my team."

Maradona believes Messi is ready to end comparisons between them. "I think he's there," said the 1986 World Cup winner. "I believe he's broken the mould and is ready, let's end the comparisons. Leo is ready to go out on to a pitch and leave it [the tournament] with the crown."

"Making Messi happy is everyone's pride, including his team-mates'. Because today you see Messi pulling a joke on [Javier] Pastore, on [Ariel] Garcé and he has never met them before in his life.

"And he talks to [Juan Sebastián] Verón and I spy on them: La Bruja [the Witch] is an intellectual of football, because he knows much more of football than Leo, but they start talking about it and the bastard answers back."