Messi strikes fear into Real
Source: Agencies |
April 8, 2010, Thursday
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LIONEL Messi's 4-1 destruction of Arsenal in the Champions League on Tuesday has filled the Madrid-based sports press with trepidation ahead of Saturday's La Liga "clasico" between Barcelona and Real Madrid at the Bernabeu.
"How do we stop this guy?" was the headline in Marca after the Argentina forward hit four past Arsenal to send holders Barcelona through to the semifinals 6-3 on aggregate.
"Messi is the one who scares us," said As.
The 22-year-old World Player of the Year tops the La Liga scoring chart with 26, two ahead of Real striker and compatriot Gonzalo Higuain, and keeping him quiet is an achievement that has eluded some of the best defenses around this season.
"You have to take your hat off to him because he is a player who makes the difference," Real defender Sergio Ramos said on Real's Website.
"Our weapons will be to stay focused and show the maximum possible respect to Barcelona."
Real tops the standings on goal difference with eight matches remaining but after Saturday's clash the head-to-head record will separate the arch-rivals if they are still level on points.
Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner summed up Messi's performance as "phenomenal" while Theo Walcott said sometimes you just want to sit back and watch Messi at work.
"A player like this only comes along every 25-30 years," teammate Xavi Hernandez said.
Coach Pep Guardiola believes the 22-year-old is certainly on his way to becoming the Catalan club's greatest player. "These kinds of things you can't explain. There are no words," Guardiola said. "This kind of performance you have to see it."
Barcelona's next obstacle in its bid to become the first team to defend the European Cup since AC Milan in 1990 will be Jose Mourinho.
The Portuguese boss of Inter Milan was coach Bobby Robson's translator at Barcelona in the 1990s before turning to management himself.
"Whatever happens in the semifinal or the final, Inter will be full of confidence going into next season's Champions League," Mourinho said. "If we don't win it this year, Inter will win it in the next few years."
But Mourinho's Inter side couldn't match Barcelona's ruthless display as it produced a more mundane victory in Moscow.
Already leading 1-0 from the first leg, Wesley Sneijder doubled Inter's advantage in the 6th minute by firing a low free-kick through the wall which glanced off CSKA midfielder Keisuke Honda and beat goalkeeper Igor Akinfeyev.
"True, maybe it wasn't the most exciting game, but the real prize was reaching the semifinals," Mourinho said.
"There were 500 Inter fans here in Moscow and our job was to make the semifinals, not put on a show, and that's what we did."
CSKA defender Chidi Odiah was sent off four minutes into the second half after receiving a second yellow card for fouling Samuel Eto'o.
(Agencies)
"How do we stop this guy?" was the headline in Marca after the Argentina forward hit four past Arsenal to send holders Barcelona through to the semifinals 6-3 on aggregate.
"Messi is the one who scares us," said As.
The 22-year-old World Player of the Year tops the La Liga scoring chart with 26, two ahead of Real striker and compatriot Gonzalo Higuain, and keeping him quiet is an achievement that has eluded some of the best defenses around this season.
"You have to take your hat off to him because he is a player who makes the difference," Real defender Sergio Ramos said on Real's Website.
"Our weapons will be to stay focused and show the maximum possible respect to Barcelona."
Real tops the standings on goal difference with eight matches remaining but after Saturday's clash the head-to-head record will separate the arch-rivals if they are still level on points.
Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner summed up Messi's performance as "phenomenal" while Theo Walcott said sometimes you just want to sit back and watch Messi at work.
"A player like this only comes along every 25-30 years," teammate Xavi Hernandez said.
Coach Pep Guardiola believes the 22-year-old is certainly on his way to becoming the Catalan club's greatest player. "These kinds of things you can't explain. There are no words," Guardiola said. "This kind of performance you have to see it."
Barcelona's next obstacle in its bid to become the first team to defend the European Cup since AC Milan in 1990 will be Jose Mourinho.
The Portuguese boss of Inter Milan was coach Bobby Robson's translator at Barcelona in the 1990s before turning to management himself.
"Whatever happens in the semifinal or the final, Inter will be full of confidence going into next season's Champions League," Mourinho said. "If we don't win it this year, Inter will win it in the next few years."
But Mourinho's Inter side couldn't match Barcelona's ruthless display as it produced a more mundane victory in Moscow.
Already leading 1-0 from the first leg, Wesley Sneijder doubled Inter's advantage in the 6th minute by firing a low free-kick through the wall which glanced off CSKA midfielder Keisuke Honda and beat goalkeeper Igor Akinfeyev.
"True, maybe it wasn't the most exciting game, but the real prize was reaching the semifinals," Mourinho said.
"There were 500 Inter fans here in Moscow and our job was to make the semifinals, not put on a show, and that's what we did."
CSKA defender Chidi Odiah was sent off four minutes into the second half after receiving a second yellow card for fouling Samuel Eto'o.
(Agencies)
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