Ajax Coach Frank de Boer has mused that Barcelona are strong regardless of Lionel Messi’s presence on the pitch.
The Catalans will face their second game since the Argentine’s thigh tear earlier this month when they head out to Amsterdam to face former player De Boer’s side in the fifth matchday of the Champions League group stage.
For the Dutch tactician, with or without Messi in their ranks, Barca are there to be respected.
“We want to be second in the group but even without Messi they have lost very few points in both the League and the Champions League,” considered De Boer to reporters today.
“Even without Messi they have a lot of great players.
“Their injuries are not that important, we want to play a good game, whilst we are aware that if we are at our best and so are they, that they are most likely to win.
“I hope we can get the best out of ourselves, play well and get a good result. But for me it is always about the football and if you do that well than you can get a good result.
“I expect it to be a spectacle tomorrow because both teams like to attack and play forward.”
De Boer was asked for his take on Barca’s developing style under Tata Martino.
“Yes, the change could be a thing of the new Coach. Now they look for deep passes when before they would have the touches and the opponent would lock them out of the area and then Messi would appear.
“Now they are playing much more direct, but it will not influence our approach too much and we will look to face up to them in the game.
“We have the same philosophy as Barcelona, we play technically, we want to play offensively. We always think more offensively than defensively and this is similar.
“I am used to playing like this as a player and as a Coach. I want to show that tomorrow.
“Bayern Munich proved that by putting pressure on and playing proper football you can beat Barcelona. But Bayern are a fantastic team, we will play to our philosophy.”
