Former Athletic Club star’s honest admission about facing Messi: ‘How am I not going to be afraid of him?’
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Lionel Messi left Barcelona years ago, but stories about facing him still keep appearing in the media every other day. His opponents’ appreciation for him explains better than any statistic what he meant at his peak.
The latest in a long list comes from former Athletic Club midfielder Dani Garcia, who has spoken honestly about the fear of coming face to face with him.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAs quoted by SPORT, Garcia recalled on the podcast Offsiders how difficult it was to defend against Messi during his Athletic days, especially because of the Argentine’s control, speed and ability to turn one touch into a decisive action.
He revealed a conversation with Eduardo Berizzo before one match against Barça, when the coach asked him whether he was afraid of Messi. Garcia said he lied in the moment and answered:
“Me? No, I’m not afraid of him.”
Berizzo then made the challenge clear:
“That is what I want to see in the match, you are going to mark him man-to-man.”
Messi in action against Athletic Club’s Dani Garcia and Oscar De Marcos. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)
AdvertisementAdvertisementThe fear every opponent understood
Garcia has now admitted, after all these years, that he lied to his coach. He said:
“How am I not going to be afraid of Messi? Every time he gets the ball, he is going to get away no matter what.”
That line says everything. With Messi, it was never a question of quality. It was a question of inevitability.
Garcia also explained how he tried to stop Messi when the Argentine came off the bench in one match. His solution was brutal but honest:
“The only way to stop him is to hit him on every wall pass.”
He also revealed that Messi, understandably irritated by the repeated fouls and interruptions, confronted him during the game. He said:
AdvertisementAdvertisement“Come on, do you not know how to play football?”
The only way to survive Messi
Garcia said he answered Messi directly:
“Leo, well, I do not know how to play football and this is the only thing I can do to stop you, man. I am sorry.”
He added that when it happened again, Messi would say: “Again, again.”
Greatest of all time. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
There is almost a strange beauty in that honesty. Garcia was not pretending he had found a clever tactical trick. He was admitting that Messi had reduced an elite professional footballer to tackling without reason.
Garcia explained why he felt forced to foul him:
AdvertisementAdvertisement“If I do not stop him, his move is going to reach Jordi Alba and the cutback is a goal, so I have to hit you no matter what. If I do not do it, my coach kills me.”
“Foul him and then with a yellow card, you hit him less, but until they show it to you, you have to stop him.”
This is a fascinating insight into how someone tasked with marking Messi felt during games. At his best, the Argentine was unstoppable, and he continues to be so to this day.
It also makes you appreciate the likes of Casemiro, who have done it so many times and with reasonable success, showing that there can be a method to the madness.
Messi’s time at Barça as a player may be done, but through such stories, his legacy will stay intact for generations to come.
Badenoch blasts 'moaning' female Labour MPs over Burnham jobs 'quota'
Kemi Badenoch has told Labour women to earn a job in Andy Burnham's Cabinet instead of demanding they are handed jobs because of their gender.
The Tory leader lashed out today amid reports that female MPs are demanding the de-facto new prime minister introduce a 50:50 gender split 'quota' in his government.
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister also complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts.
But in a scathing article in the Times today Mrs Badenoch told them to 'stop moaning' and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'.
'There are many, many reasons why you shouldn't have any Milibands in the cabinet,' she said.
'But complaining that the boys haven't given them the right jobs or that the boys are taking all the jobs, just shows that Labour's women still don't get it.'
The idea of quotas was also attacked by Baroness Jacqui Smith, Labour's Skills Minister.
Asked by Times Radio if Mr Burnham should reserve jobs for women, she said: 'No, I think what Andy Burnham should be doing is building the very best team around him to change this country.'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband (above, right, in 2010) is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts
But Mrs Badenoch told them to pipe down and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party and seen by the BBC has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs after he succeeds Sir Keir Starmer.
'We are asking you to demonstrate this change from day one and address the toxicity and misogyny within our own party and government,' it said.
Labour has never had a female leader, while the Conservatives have had three, and Mrs Badenoch urged the government to follow its meritocratic example.
'If you run a meritocracy, then you do not have to worry about jobs for the boys,' she wrote.
'Every woman who is a Conservative MP, every woman who has ever won the leadership, has had to fight to get where she is.
'By contrast, Labour women are demanding guarantees from Burnham. But the truth is he doesn't have to give any guarantees.
'If none of Labour's women are prepared to get their hands dirty and challenge him for the leadership, their demands are toothless.'
'In fact, it's quite revealing that the women's parliamentary Labour Party has written to Burnham asking him to commit himself to at least 50 per cent female ministers.
'This has nothing to do with meritocracy. It is yet more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country.'
