Lionel Messi has revealed that he disliked the training style of Pep Guardiola during the time he played under the Spaniard.
Messi claimed that the method of training was “confusing”, noting that Guardiola’s tactics would limit the kid’s natural ability as they would have to play with a defined pattern.
Lionel Messi made these comments in respect of young kids at La Masia, pointing out that 6-year-olds were tutored to play faster and take two touches.
The 37-year-old stance expectedly is different from that of Pep Guardiola, as he feels that instead of such training, kids should be taught to understand football and work on their movements to locate spaces.
Certainly, you can tell that this is how Messi has patterned his career for most parts of it, as he loves to read his area on the pitch of play, before striking with excellent moves that on many occasions result in a goal.
The Comments Of Lionel Messi On His Dissatisfaction For The Training Style Of Pep Guardiola
Lionel Messi made his assertions about Guardiola’s tactical approach during an interview with JP Varsky on Clank Media.
He said: “The Guardiola era was a bit confusing… Many times, six and seven-year-old kids are already starting to be told that they have to play with two touches, to play fast and that they can’t have much of the ball.”
The former Paris Saint Germain man further stressed that these young lads should be tutored on how to play quickly, but not to remove that element of “spontaneity” from them.
The Argentine added: “I think that at that age it has to be a bit like what happened to me: to teach them to better understand the game, to know how to move, to find spaces, to play quickly, but not to take away the spontaneity of each one.”
Messi And Guardiola At Barcelona
Messi played under Pep Guardiola between 2008 and 2012, with the pair experiencing massive success together.
They won 2 UEFA Champions League titles, 2 FIFA Club World Cups, 3 La Liga titles, 2 UEFA Super Cups, 2 Copa del Rey, and 3 Spanish Super Cups.
Interestingly, their relationship appeared telepathic to the public and it didn’t also look like they weren’t in tandem with regards to the training regimen.
It can be said that Guardiola allowed Messi to express himself in his setup and that possibly resulted in the latter producing magical scenes.
The pair are icons of Barcelona for what they did at the club, with Lionel Messi being the greatest player in the club’s history.
Pep Guardiola on the other hand might only be second behind Johan Cruyff in terms of iconic managers to have tutored the Catalan giants.
Pep Guardiola’s Tactical Approach
Guardiola’s style has brought him success throughout his career, although it must be noted that several football enthusiasts have often pointed out the Spaniard’s seemingly robotic style.
They claim that Pep Guardiola’s style does limit his players as Messi has asserted, with them not being able to produce individualistic brilliance or express themselves.
His autocratic possession-based football has many times left his players needing to act controlled as opposed to just playing the round leather game in the traditional manner, where brilliance and errors define who wins or gets defeated.
Well, this certainly is not a dig at a popular style that has brought success to him and many others and is also being copied by others.
Additionally, Guardiola has in some sought tweaked his approach in recent times, with his players playing a bit more with freedom than being restricted, although their style is still very much visible.
Pep Guardiola has managed just three clubs in his career, namely; Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City.
The 53-year-old has been in charge of 880 matches, winning 652, drawing 120 and losing 108.
