Former Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde recently recalls his experience with Argentine legend and Blaugrana captain Lionel Messi. He says Messi can’t be compared with any other footballer and is also an extremely easy player to coach. The Spanish manager recently spent two-and-a-half years in Camp Nou.
Ernesto Valverde left his duty for the Catalan side recently in January 2020. However, he helped the side to win 4 major trophies including consecutive La Liga titles during his tenure. And now, the former manager thinks Lionel Messi is the main driving force through the 16-year career of the Argentine star at Camp Nou.
Ernesto Valverde thinks Lionel Messi can’t be compared with any other footballer
The former manager Ernesto Valverde, while talking about Messi, said, “Messi can’t be compared with anyone,” and then further said, “It’s very difficult to tell him if you’ve seen this or another player when he does things in training that you haven’t seen yourself.”
He said, “Many times, from the touchline, you’re always thinking what can be the best option and, ultimately, he sees it much better than you from on the pitch.” The manager then added, “Messi is a very easy player to coach because he also has a great impulse with respect to the team. He has a great ambition to win, he always feels such an obligation to the game as for the club. He transmits that to the group and it forces everyone to be at a higher level.”
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Valverde said, “Seeing him play is impressive from afar… but even more so from up close.” He also talked about the strategy that he implemented during his time at Camp Nou. He said, “It’s about trying to be superior to a rival and dominate in the game, which is having more chances than your opponent and they have fewer than you.”
He said, “There are times when you have possession and not chances and without chances, you don’t have that dominance, but to have chances, you have to have the ball.” He then added, “I like being the master of the ball because you take it off your opponent. The question then is if you’re deep or not with that ball. Each person has to see how they feel at ease to be able to get their message across.”