Messi: "It's not good to play the return away"

Barcelona player Lionel Messi gave an interview to Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo.





What a show this Barça puts up!
Yeah, yeah,… We enjoy ourselves while playing, but we’re also serious about it. We're having a good time and that leads to good football, but at the same time we're not forgetting about the guidelines Pep is giving us.

All the praising makes you feel more relaxed?
No, it’s ok, if we play well, it’s nice to hear people talk positively about our game. But the most important thing is that we’re aware that we’re only halfway. We’re having a good time, but we’ll have an even better time if we win trophies, and the more, the better.

You sound a lot like Pep…
This is also how we think because two years ago we also played very good but in the end we didn’t win anything. This is our football, with our football we can go a long way, but it’s not also entertaining, it’s also serious.

There seem to be a good atmosphere…
Yes, that’s true. We work well, we have a good time and our way of playing makes it possible to enjoy ourselves on the pitch. Everything with one touch, with great players, everyone at Barça plays very good.

Can we already dream about the Champions League final in Rome?
Well… We first have four very difficult games left. We’ll reach the final in Rome if we continue to be united, if we play our game and if we are able to suffer. Actually, you can add luck to that, because in this competition being lucky also has an influence. But the most important thing, what matters most to me, is that we always play our football, that we reach the final with our football philosophy. That’s the greatest thing about this club.

You celebrated in the dressingroom when you saw the draw against Bayern?
I'm neutral about it, not only because of the opponent but also because we play the second game away. I said that I'm not afraid of any team because if you really want to win the trophy, you have to defeat whoever you meet, but it's not a good thing to have to play the return game away from home.

What do you think about Ribéry?
He’s the key player of Bayern. He’s always around. I played against him with the national team and he appeared everywhere on the pitch. It’s a decisive player but he’s not the only one to watch. Bayern is like Barça: if you only focus on one player, you’re dead because the other players also can decide a game.

What would you highlight about Bayern?
Their ability to score, their strikers. They have goalscorers with a different profile and this is a real threat because you never know where the danger is coming from. Bayern is a club with a great reputation, one of the top clubs in Europe, one of those teams whois always there, whom you hear about since you're a child. This is the Champions League, the greatest club competition.

How can you win the tie with Bayern?
Our strategy should be to play united, as a team, be ourselves. The music of the Champions league is something special, you know you’re between the best.

Guardiola takes care of you?
Pep takes care of me, he protects me and he uses me intelligently. I’m delighted with Pep. At the beginning they said that we didn't get along but that’s not at all the case. From the beginning, Pep treated me marvellously. Pep wants us all to be fit, he gives us rest when we need it, he knows that quicker than us because he controls everything. He talks a lot with us, about everything, not only about football.

You and Alves make the best right wing of the moment…
Yeah, yeah, it seems I have something special with the Brazilians, I have a good relationship with them… The truth is that it’s easy to play with Dani because his game is excellent. We get along very well, both on and off the pitch.


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