Ancelotti faced up to Messi’s brilliance when in charge of Real Madrid

Former Real Madrid and Bayern Munich manager-in-waiting, Carlo Ancelotti has described Barcelona’s Lionel Messi as ‘unstoppable’. The Italian tactician underlined the futility of trying to create a defensive strategy to nullify Messi, as he was personally witness to the Argentine’s magic when in charge of Real Madrid.

Writing in his column for Chinese news outlet Sina Sports, Ancelotti initially revealed what he considers the best way to stop Messi, saying “Man-marking Messi is very complicated. The defender marking him would have to be at a very high level.”

“The best way to stop him is by defending as a team, keeping the space between the lines tight and now allowing him to touch the ball. You need a lot of players in midfield to make that happen. That reduces Messi's options and he will see less of the ball, at least in dangerous positions.”

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