The former Barcelona boss did not want to be faced with the prospect with having to knock out his old side in order to reach the final
Argentina coach Gerardo Martino admits the prospect of eliminating Paraguay from the Copa America is not one he is relishing.
The two nations met in their opening group game in the continental competition - producing a 2-2 draw in La Serena on June 13 - and they will face again in Tuesday's semi-final.
Martino led Paraguay to the final of the Copa America four years ago and he has lamented that the draw has pitted him against his old team.
"I would have preferred not to have played Paraguay," said Martino, who coached Paraguay from 2006 to 2011, told reporters. "We have a lot of things in common, there are a lot of feelings.
"I worked there for a long time, we started and finished a process... the World Cup, the Copa America. There is a very close relationship.
"I trained many of those players and they helped me grow as a coach. They had a big influence in my career."
Martino was criticised after their first match in the Chile showpiece for sending on Gonzalo Higuain and Carlos Tevez when his team were defending a 2-1 lead, but the former Barcelona boss is still standing by his tactical move.
"That match could have finished 6-2 or 5-2," he said. "Nobody puts on two strikers at 2-1 up, but that was my interpretation at the time and nobody has been able to convince me that I was really wrong, even though you think about it afterwards."
Since scoring twice in the first half against Paraguay, Argentina have added only two more goals in three-and-a-half matches, and Martino admitted his side need to start converting their chances.
"It's clear that we have a problem with our finishing," he said. "Not just in that famous second half against Paraguay, but in phases of the game against Uruguay and especially against Jamaica.
"There is a red flag against our finishing and that is something we will have to improve, but I agree with Javier Mascherano that it is more coincidence than anything else."
Paraguay have grown in confidence since the draw against Argentina and played an attacking game in their quarter-final against Brazil on Saturday, which they won on penalties after a 1-1 draw in Concepcion.
"Paraguay played much more in the opposition half," Martino said.
"Their defensive line was further forward and at one point, they had more possession than Brazil. Against us, they played with four forwards in the second half, but the team was split in two. Against Brazil it was a very different approach."
Lionel Messi was booked against Colombia in the quarter-finals as Argentina triumphed on penalties and the 28-year-old will miss the final if he is shown another yellow card on Tuesday.
"It is a situation we are aware of," Martino said.
"And we are talking about the best player in the world here, but we hope that won't happen to Leo, to Sergio Aguero or to Javier. In any case, we have a squad of 23 footballers and I can't complain with the players I have here."
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