BUENOS AIRES, June 6 -- Argentina forward Carlos Tevez told media on Tuesday in Herzogenaurach, Germany, where the team is training for the World Cup finals, that he dreams of playing in Argentina's opening match, according to reports reaching here.

"I have to 100 percent show the manager that I can play calmly, " said Tevez, who is one of the few Argentines playing for one of Brazil's great teams: Corinthians. He hasn't secured a place in Saturday's game against Group C rival Cote d'Ivoire.

"It is so hard to be satisfied with your own performance when there are so many good players on the team," he added. "I train thinking 'this could be my World Cup' and I wake up in the morning thinking the same thing."

Argentine manager, Jose Pekerman, has chosen Javier Saviola and Hernan Crespo to lead the attack against Cote d'Ivoire.

Asked about Lionel Messi, his teenage colleague on the national team, Tevez said: "He is still very young and many things could be able to harm him. I think it is not right to compare him with Diego Maradona. We have to look after him... and make sure he remains at peace."

Maradona, a big star of Argentine football in the 1980s and 1990s, began his World Cup career as a talented teenager, and proved decisive in many Argentina games.

Maximiliano Rodriguez, World Cup teammate who plays midfield for Spain's Atletico Madrid, said that an Argentine victory over Cote d'Ivoire would give the team the confidence it needs to get through the first phase, but warned that all three opponents will prove difficult.

Argentina faces Cote d'Ivoire, the Netherlands and Serbia and Montenegro in Group C.