Former Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has faced Lionel Messi on more than one occasion during his stint at the club. So he must have a good idea on how to defend against the five-time Ballon d’ Or winner.
In an exclusive interview with Goal.com he said, “To prepare a game for Messi is impossible, Messi is a fantastic talent and if you are to prepare for a game against Messi, well, you have to avoid speaking about Messi, about the skill and the ability of Messi. “
Lionel Messi has been one of the best players in the world for quite a few years now. What hasn’t changed is how several teams are unable to stop the magician. His goal-scoring record in La Liga is phenomenal.
But even if Messi is one of their most important players Ancelotti has a very interesting approach to stop the Argentine. “Messi is a fantastic talent and if you speak to your players about the skills of Messi, then the players will be afraid because I think he is a top talent. So, the most important thing is to avoid speaking about Messi and, as I said before, to be focused on your game”
Messi is currently 28 years of age but he doesn’t seem to have lost any of his pace or skill. The player has a brilliant record in El Clasicos and is currently the highest scorer in the derby with 21 goals. The previous holder was the great Alfredo Di Stefano with 18 goals.
Ancelotti spent two seasons with Los Blancos where he managed to win the coveted Champions League trophy in 2014 after Madrid had failed to win it since 2002. The Italian faced the Catalans four times in his career but managed to win only once.
Zinedine Zidane set to face his first El Clasico as a manager
Zinedine Zidane has played several Clasicos before as a player and always gave Barca a good fight when he faced them. But Madrid’s recent form against their eternal rivals hasn’t been the greatest.
The Los Blancos have only managed a solitary win against Barcelona in their last five games. Their most recent result was a humiliating 4-0 loss at the Bernabeu in November, a game which saw Messi make his return from injury.
But Zidane will use all his experience from previous encounters and help his team understand how they can overcome a Barcelona side that haven’t lost since October 2015.
