Xavier Guerrero

“Which Barcelona are we going to have when Messi decides to go home? That’s, for me, the big question. What next? That’s, for me, the big question.” Jose Mourinho faced Lionel Messi throughout his career, from Chelsea to Inter Milan and Real Madrid. After years of trying to stop him, he had one word to describe him: GENIUS. 🐐 Jose Mourinho: “What I can analyze is what I see. And what I see is a player who, during his career, went through a process. And that process was always based on, according to his qualities, how he could give the most to the team. I was very fortunate because I was, let’s say, close throughout his entire career. In fact, the first match he played for Barcelona was a Porto-Barcelona match at the opening of Porto’s new stadium in 2004. And then I played against him when I was at Chelsea, I played against him when I was at Inter, then I went to Madrid and I was in Madrid for three years, so I played against him many times, when he was coached by different managers, in different positions on the pitch. And the only thing I can say is that, progressively, he was always better and better and better. For me, ‘genius’… I think that’s the word you chose, and I think the word is correct. Genius. Lots of work? I don’t know, I’m not there to see. A fantastic social life? It looks like it, yes. You don’t see, you don’t listen, you don’t read many things about Messi doing wrong in his personal life, in his social life. So it looks like everything together, plus very good teammates. When he plays between the lines to get that pass from the center-backs, you get it from Piqué. You don’t get it from every center-back in Europe, even in some of the top teams. When Messi is on the right and comes inside, the sprints that Jordi Alba makes on the left, and he plays a 70-meter pass, you do that because Jordi Alba makes that run 25 times every game. The space that the striker opens for him, because you have Suárez. When he plays on the right and comes inside and he doesn’t defend, he needs Rakitić behind him to close the space behind him. So the team, and the teams he always had at Barcelona, were always good teams, with good players, with good coaching, and he was also supported by a fantastic situation. But, you know, no more words about this guy. ‘Genius’ is the word for me. And for me, a question that I asked the other day when I was on another television channel is the question that I’m going to keep for some time: Which Barcelona are we going to have when Messi decides to go home? That’s, for me, the big question. What next? That’s, for me, the big question.”

❤️ Joe Hart on the nightmare of facing Lionel Messi and the unforgettable experience of playing against MSN at the Camp Nou: Joe Hart: “You know the worst thing about him as a goalkeeper was… I’d go in goal and as it got narrowed down, I’d want to make it as difficult as I possibly could. You’d have to give them something. Because it was always in your advantage in a 1v1 or whatever. He’d always take the hardest one on and take it on with the most calmness. So if I would, I would give him the cutback rather than, and block the goal big, he’d cut it back calmly. And if I gave him the far post and said: ‘You’re gonna have to beat me at the far post.’ I’d just see the ball cruise past me in the far corner. And that was quite disheartening when you play against players like that, but it also brings the best out in you.” Micah Richards: “But you had one of your best games against Messi, though.” Joe Hart: “Yeah.” Micah Richards: “I remember that game, you were on fire! I think you got Man of the Match in the home leg for sure.” Joe Hart: “And then in the Camp Nou, to play against Messi, Neymar, and Suárez as a trio… and it was, honestly, it was like going back to my school days of just absolutely… I didn’t care about the Champions League, I didn’t care about the people in the stadium. It was just about being a kid in goal playing against the best. And it was, it was a magnificent night and one I’ll never, ever forget.”

😂 Juan Mata recalls how Messi single-handedly destroyed Valencia and reveals why Barcelona had to make him play for BOTH teams in training to keep things balanced. Juan Mata: “So, I remember one game, Valencia vs. Barcelona. We were 0-0, 70 minutes in at the Camp Nou, which is good. And then, suddenly, he decided to win the game. So, 3-0, a hat-trick in ten minutes. And he took the ball home. And then, the next day, it’s a different day. So, you hear so many things, not only from the games that you see, but from training, and the way he played in every position in small games. Because if he plays on one team, that team wins for sure. So they played him as a joker, so he played for both. They put a yellow bib on him, so the training was balanced.”