DURBAN, South Africa (AFP) — Spanish coach Vicente del Bosque yesterday dubbed Argentine star Lionel Messi one of his players of the World Cup — even though the South Americans were crushed in the quarter-finals by Germany.

“Messi showed what a fine player he is, but for an individual to shine more then that has to go hand in hand with collective success,” Del Bosque told a press conference ahead of today’s semi-final with the Germans in Durban.

“He was one of the players of the tournament though he remained a little hidden by the situation of his team.”

Messi, who also earned praise from Spanish midfielder and Barcelona teammate Anders Iniesta, often was forced too deep against the Germans and found himself running into a brick wall once he entered the dangerzone while Argentina, despite their individual qualities, failed in the quarter-final properly to gel as a team.

“I always thought Leo did well. It’s hard for a player as good as he is to play badly,” said Iniesta.

“I thought he did well — he didn’t have the luck to score but he was always at the hub of Argentine play.”

“I am not his coach and I don’t know what he asked of him — I only know that it’s always a delight to watch him play,” Iniesta concluded.