Edmilson: "You cannot let Messi control the ball"

Former Barcelona and current Villarreal player Edmilson gave an interview to Catalan sports paper Sport.





What do you think about the new Barça, tactically speaking?
They remind me of the team that won two leagues and one Champions League. They put pressure very high on the pitch, when they lose the ball, they want to recover it rapidly and they're very motivated. Last Saturday, against Real Madrid, they had a hard time recovering the ball because the opponent positioned themselves well at the back, but Barça has some players with a winning mentality who make the difference. Guardiola is very clever, he knows the game well and he knows how to take advantage of the qualities of his team.

What kind of game can we expect today?
It will be a very hard match. We're facing the favourite to win the Liga and the Champions League. Barça is going through a very good moment and we'll have to fight hard for the three points.

Villarreal hasn't been an easy opponent for Barça in the past, to say the least...
From my time as Barça player I only remember us winning once in Villarreal, in a game where Motta, Deco and I played in midfield. Playing at home is very important and we must make our pitch a fortress. The stadium is an advantage for us and the players have to put in their part by starting the game full speed.

The only way to stop Messi is by kicking him, like Madrid did last weekend?
I don't think you should start a game with that attitude. I would say more, I don't think that any player comes on the pitch with the plan to kick or hurt a colleague. You have to stop Messi by preventing him from getting the ball. It's a football player who is playing at a superior level compared to the rest and you should avoid that he can control the ball with ease.

You lose Llorente, who is suspended. Is that a big disadvantage for Villarreal?
Llorente is a great player, who adds a lot to the team. He fights the whole game and he can score. But he's not there and hopefully we can count on Rossi, who was sick last week.

Guardiola's team has won the Liga if they win tonight?
I don't think so. There's a lot of league left and they have other complicated games ahead. We hope to win to keep the Liga exciting.

You think that Villarreal has enough quality to be a candidate to win the league title?
At this moment we're up there, we had a great start of the season and the only bad thing was the elimination in the Copa. We have a team that can fight with the best teams and that can try to make history.


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Edmilson: "Barça is the best display in Europe"