DESPITE standing at a towering 1.9m, Villareal’s huge defender Raul Albiol admits it is really tough to stop the 1.7m magician Lionel Messi aka the “Flea” in La Liga matches.
The 2010 World Cup winner said the only way to stop six-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi is a team effort, which means it needs more than one player.
“Messi is very hard to mark, and the only way to do so is to do it as a team. We have to use stage marking and try to stop him. But it’s difficult...if you see him on television, he’s virtually unstoppable,” he told Timesport yesterday.
Albiol said he watches a lot of videos of the opponents when preparing for a match, especially against a top team like Barcelona.
“I watch videos of my opponents. I want to see their strengths and weaknesses. From here, I learn how to play against them.’
Apart from marking Messi, the 34-year-old Albiol has experienced playing alongside superstars Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka when he was at Real Madrid.
Though Albiol is vastly experienced and has lots of knowledge to impart to others, he said the Villareal youngsters can also teach him a couple of new tricks.
“It’s a two-way street. Sometimes I guide the younger players and they also show me a couple of things. Ultimately, the team’s goal is to do everything together,” he said.
On European stars moving to football leagues in Japan and China, Albiol said: “It’s very good because the European footballers are taking their experience there, and in return there is plenty for them to learn from the Asian leagues as well.”
When asked whether he will take up coaching, Albiol replied: “Of course coaching is something I would consider.
“But I just recently signed with Villareal and you are asking me to leave?” quipped Albiol, who only joined Villareal last year.