‘I asked for Messi after 25 minutes’

Fabio Capello has recalled the first time he saw Lionel Messi, when in charge of Juventus and playing against Barcelona a decade ago.

Capello’s Old Lady travelled to Camp Nou for the Joan Gamper Trophy, the same event of which Roma are this year part.

Juventus’ involvement was notable for the starring role of Messi, then 18, a player who so impressed Capello that the veteran Coach immediately tried to take him on loan.

“After 25 minutes of the match I approached Frank Rijkaard and asked for the loan of Messi to Juve,” Capello confirmed to Mundo Deportivo.

“I knew there were some bureaucratic problems and thought he couldn’t start the season with Barcelona. Then it occurred to me to take him to Turin.

“But Frank told me that in three or four months it would all be settled, that Leo would be playing for Barcelona.”

Capello elaborated on exactly what it was that made him want to take Messi to Italy, and compared him to some of the young players he saw in his time as a youth team coach with Milan.

“I remember when I saw his name in the line-up. And from the start, I was blown away,” he revealed.

“That a player of his age could play like that, before 90,000 fans, undeterred by [Federico] Balzaretti, the full-back who marked him and it seemed [Messi] knew everything he was going to do.

“His personal quality, dribbling, fantasy…he grabbed the ball and went straight for goal with an unusual audacity.

“[Franco] Baresi or [Paolo] Maldini were players who we knew would reach the top because of the great talent they had. From there, a lot depends on the head of the player.

“If they like to sacrifice: train, train, play, train, train, play…but with Messi, I noticed something different from what we had seen so far.

“With what he showed in that game against Juve, there was no doubt he would reach the top.”

Capello concluded by offering his thoughts on the Messi of 2015, 10 years on from his remarkable Gamper performance.

“We have enjoyed his technical development, his talent. But now he can play with more experience, and that’s a plus,” he considered.

“With this balance he can stay at this level until the end of his career.

“You can’t talk about the best player in history, because football has had several different eras, and each player has excelled above the rest.

“First it was [Alfredo] Di Stefano, then Pele, and later [Diego] Maradona, and now Messi.”

Tags Fabio Capello Joan Gamper Trophy Juventus Lionel Messi
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