Goals by Lionel Messi, Carlos Tevez, Maxi Rodriguez and Sergio Aguero at the Monumental Stadium gave the home side an emphatic victory and helped them to move up to second in the South American World Cup qualifying group.

"This was better than I had dreamed. It was the perfect game and I'm proud of this team," said Maradona.

"We created many chances and we played well. It's not easy to score four goals."

Barcelona star Lionel Messi received the mythic number 10 shirt from Maradona and responded well with a splendid performance.

"I told Messi: 'The 10 is yours' and he responded. If he plays like that every game, it will be a pleasure."

Manchester United forward Carlos Tevez also earned praise from the Argentina coach: "We got Carlitos to play a controlled game. He contributed to three of our four goals, scored one and had a great performance."

Despite the big win, Maradona still felt that there were areas for improvement.

"We have to work hard in defence. The Venezuelans were not strong with their finishing but we could face problems if we don't improve in that area," he said.

"We will be well prepared for our trip to Bolivia. It's like we will return to using four defenders instead of three."

The Argentina boss also spoke about the whistling of fans aimed at Juan Sebastian Veron after he came on as a late substitute.

"Yes, they didn't like me because Veron had to come on to play today but his effort didn't deserve that kind of reaction," he said.

"That hurts me. Those who booed him must regret what they did."

Liverpool's Javier Mascherano praised the job done by the team since Maradona's arrival, saying: "We have won three games, we have scored seven goals and not conceded any.

"Today we settled the match at the beginning of the second half by scoring two goals in six minutes and we played with intensity."

Jonas Gutierrez added: "I'm very happy with the team's performance, they are all international-class players."