SAO PAULO (AP):

Although Kaka remains hopeful he will be crowned the best player in the world again, he acknowledges Lionel Messi deserves that title for now.

"He is a player who makes a difference," Kaka said on Thursday, just two days before meeting Messi in a World Cup qualifier between South American rivals Brazil and Argentina. "I would vote for him for all he has done, leading Barcelona to all these titles."

Messi has never won FIFA's Player-of-the-Year Award but he is considered a front-runner for this year's title. Kaka won it in 2007 and has constantly said his goal was to earn the prize again.

"It remains my objective to get back there and win it," the Real Madrid midfielder said.

Kaka dismissed a duel with Messi when in the qualifier at Rosario today.

"The media always talk about a duel, that was the case with me and Cristiano Ronaldo too," Kaka said. "But on the field it's not like that. It will be Brazil vs Argentina and both teams have several talented players on both sides."

Kaka, who will be making his 70th appearance for Brazil, said he sees himself with a little of the "art" of Argentina coach Diego Maradona and some of the "efficiency" of Brazil coach Dunga.

"I opted for a mix so I can be a complete player," Kaka said. "I'm not a great artist like Maradona was, I know my limitations and that talent alone is not enough. The ideal is to mix art and efficiency."

Kaka is one goal shy of tying Romario and Zico as Brazil's leading scorers in World Cup qualifiers with 11 goals.

True striker

"It would be special to do it against Argentina," he said. "But there still are four matches left and hopefully I'll be able to reach that mark, which would be nice because I'm not really a true striker."

Kaka said he was anxious about Real Madrid's upcoming encounter with former club AC Milan in the group stage of the Champions League.

"It will be the first time I play against a former club, so I don't know how it's going to be," Kaka said. "It's going to be a bit hard to play at San Siro (stadium), where the fans supported me for six years of my life and now they will be cheering against me."

Talented

Kaka said Real Madrid have a "very talented" group with "impressive" players in all positions, but they still need to improve in order to play up to their full potential.

"We have to improve a lot," Kaka said. "We need these talented players to become a group and achieve good results."

Brazil lead South American qualifying with 27 points, one more than Chile and three more than Paraguay. Argentina are fourth with 22. The top four automatically secure a spot in next year's World Cup in South Africa.

Brazil, a five-time world champion, can clinch a spot if they beat Argentina and Colombia beat Ecuador and Uruguay fail to defeat Peru.