Footage have emerged showing how the Brazilian national team planned to stop Lionel Messi ahead of a match between the South American giants.
Messi, a seven time Ballon d’Or winner and arguably the best player ever to grace a football pitch often strikes fear into his opponents.
If you look at Messi, at just 5ft7 he does not appear to be a threat from a physical point of view, but the little magician is an absolute genius when it comes to playing the game we love.
Some of the things that he can do with a football is beyond belief. He has shown over the last 10 years just how talented he is.
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Messi’s biggest attribute is his ridiculously good dribbling skills, his low centre of gravity and his insane ball control makes him a sight to behold when travelling at full pace.
His ability to control and dictate games on his own is also another reason why he is arguably the most complete footballer the world has ever seen.
Many teams will have tried to conjure up the perfect plan to limit Messi’s influence on a match but many have failed.
Brazil is a team that possesses some of the finest players in the world. Even with the likes of Alisson Becker, Thiago Silva and Neymar in their ranks, their manager still had to think of a game plan that evolved around stopping Messi.
Footage from the ‘All or Nothing: Brazil National Team’ documentary series on Amazon Prime showed Brazil’s preparations ahead of their Copa America semi final clash with Messi’s Argentina back in 2019.
One football fan has edited all the best clips from the episode named ‘Clash of Rivals’ into one video and it is a great watch.
Manager Tite outlined how Messi likes to turn after receiving the ball at his feet, and also planned a section of training based on a spectacular free kick he scored against Liverpool in the Champions League.
He said: “When we’re setting up the wall I say, If you don’t have the guts, you’re out of the wall.”
“If you don’t jump looking at the ball so you can push it out, you’re out.”
One of the Brazilian players said: “ When playing against Messi you have to be alert for 90 minutes, if you blink for a second, he scores a goal.”
Messi was the main focus during Tite’s team talk as he reminded his squad to make sure they don’t let Messi take control of the match.
The intensely detailed plan worked its magic, as Brazil managed to beat their bitter rivals 2-0 thanks to goals from Gabriel Jesus and Roberto Firmino. They went on to win the tournament after beating Peru 3-1 in the final.
Topics: Lionel Messi, Brazil, Argentina, Football, Copa America
Marcus Chan