How to stop Lionel Messi? (Picture: AP)
CHELSEA face an in-form Barcelona tomorrow morning (Singapore time) in the Champions League semi-final at the Nou Camp, and for the Blues, the match could not come at a worse time.
While the Premiership club have been revitalised with the appointment of interim coach Guus Hiddink, chalking up 11 victories in the Dutchman’s 15 games in charge, they face a Barcelona that had all but swept aside Bayern Munich in the previous stage of the competition.
A particular area to note would be Chelsea’s left flank.
Leftback Ashley Cole is suspended for the first-leg, after receiving a yellow card in the second-leg quarter-final against Liverpool. That flank just so happens to be the favourite hunting ground for Barca’s wonderboy Lionel Messi, who has grown from strength to strength this season, and surely a shoo-in for one of the contenders for the World Player of the Year award this season.
Without Wayne Bridge, who has since departed for Manchester City, Hiddink seems to be thinking of using Bosingwa to keep the mercurial Argentinian in check.
Problem is, Messi isn’t the only problem that Chelsea have to face. Strike partners Samuel Eto’o and Thierry Henry have been prolific in front of goal this season as well, scoring 27 and 17 goals respectively.
Given the situation, what would be your strategy if you were Guus Hiddink?
WELCOME TO THE POSTMAN'S NEIGHBOURHOOD 
Play man for man marking. All Barca players are individuals who can turn a game around.
Barca key man : Lionel Messi
Chelsea’s equalizer : Michael Essien. Essien should go all out marking the Argentinian. When Messi gets the ball, dispossess him very quickly. Be careful not to get a yellow card.
Barca key man : Thierry Henry
Chelsea’s equalizer : John Terry. John knows a lot about Henry when Henry was playing for Arsenal. Terry must not allow Henry time on the ball.
Braca key man : Samuel Eto’o
Chelsea’s equalizer : Alex. All Alex have to do is nullify Eto’o out of the equation.
Chelsea will again play 4-3-3 which they are comfortable with. Here’s my teamsheet…
GK – PETR CECH
LB – Bratislav Ivanovic
CB – John Terry
CB – Alex
RB – Jose Boswingwa
DM – Michael Essien
CM – FRANK LAMPARD
CM – Michael Ballack
LW – Florent Malouda
ST – Didier Drogba
RW – SALOMON KALOU
I may not wake up to watch the match live. So I hope for a satisfying result when I wake up checking http://www.livescore.com
Qyaerus-Syahrein, 27, Sengkang Punggol fan
Comment by Alex Hart — April 28, 2009 @ 2:04 pm
Messi and co will be stopped tonight by Chelsea. We can clearly see that Barca luvs to play a 4-3-3 formation thus do expect the 3 muskeeters Eto, Henry and Messi to start up front. To stop them from running rampant, Chelsea has to snuff out the midfield as in play a 4-5-1 and pin them back in their own half thus no supply to the barca’s attacking trio. Having Drobg a tall and strong striker would also be beneficial to Chelsea as they can afford to play a 4-5-1 with drogba. Behind him should be an anchor trio of Essien, Lampard and Ballack and Malouda and Anelka on the wings. Essien will man mark Messi and the remaning defenders will adopt a Essien tackles messi first, messi pushes the ball pass Essien then I clear attitude. In the midfield once getting the ball they would either distribute to the wings where Anelka or Malouda can make good use of their pace to bring it in or cross it whereas Drogba should always be in the box thus making the defender anxious as if he follows the last man closely he can marginally beat the offside trap and being tall and strong he is a good header of the ball. The discipline of the trio Essien, Lampard and Ballack, the speed of Malouda and Anelka and the scoring powers of Drogba will be too much for Barca to handle.
Barca beats the small teams playing a 4-3-3 formation but when teams get better, all good teams approach a 4-2-3-1 or modified 4-5-1 formation as we can see in the later stages/finals of Euro 2008 where goals are hard to come by and the midfield needs to be beefed up, clearly a 4-3-3 formation will be too risky.
Comment by KC — April 28, 2009 @ 3:17 pm
In Henry, Messi and Eto, Barcelona possesses a deadly strike force. Together with their creative midfield duo of Xavi and Ineista, they can wreck havoc in any defence. Furthermore, the Catalan giants have an impressive scoring record a Nou camp. It will be an uphill task to contain them even with Ashley Cole around.
I do not doubt that Messi is the most potent danger of all, however, too much focus have been placed on the wonder kid. I believe it will place unnecessary pressure on Chelsea’s backline, and more so to the Bosingwa who is probably going to man mark Messi.
Regardless of the efforts placed on defence, it would be tough to keep a clean sheet against the Spanish giants. I believe that the Blues should rather focus on their offence. It will be good if they can grind out some away goals, and look to settle the scores at Stamford Bridge. While there can be more favourable score lines to be taken from the 1st leg, a 2-1 or 3-2 result will still be good for Chelsea.
Chelsea should take an offensive stance into the match. With Drogba and co. going on form at the right time, they should be allowed to roam up front and put constant pressure on Braca’s defence. This should prevent their offence from pouring forward at an unstoppable rate. Barcelona will definitely look to attack, and it is where they will be vulnerable to counter attacks. On the other hand, Chelsea should have Essien deployed to defend against counter attacks also. The Ghanaian has shown great capabilities in breaking up attacks.
The backline should work as a whole unit to neutralize the threat of the attacking trio. While Bosingwa can take up the responsibility of man marking Messi, it would be naïve to think that one defender will be able to neutralize the Argentine. Central defenders have to be alert to threat from both wings.
In conclusion, offence is the best defence. Chelsea should utilize their current attacking instincts to keep Barcelona at bay. Defence would also be important and Essien will be the key man to stop the midfield supply. The Blues should also exploit any chances to counter attack.
Comment by Suen Chun Lung — April 28, 2009 @ 3:47 pm
If I were Hiddink, I would pray hard, real hard! Barcelona are unlike anyone Chelsea have faced this season.
Barcelona are a combination of Arsenal and Man United. The Spaniards pass the ball around as good if not better than Arsenal and they combine that with United’s effectiveness and stylish attacking plays. It’s worth noticing that Chelsea have not beaten Arsenal and United in the league this season and that’s the magnitude of their task tonight.
To seek answer on how to beat Barcelona is like asking any tennis player how to beat Rafael Nadal on clay court or asking Force India how on earth can they go past Brawn GP?! The question is simply…No Way!
First, you hope lady luck’s on your side.
Second, you hope Barcelona’s luck is as “Good” as Klinsmanns’.
Third, you have to play the best game of your entire life.
Fourth, you hope Barcelona play a stinker of a game!
Fifth, you hope referee Wolfgang Stark likes you as much as Howard Webb likes Man United!
Sixth, you hope Messi somehow injure himself in the first minute.
Seventh, you hope Cech finally remember who he is.
I don’t think you can ever man-mark any Barcelona players because they have so many who can hurt you with just a little piece of genius. Xavi is not the Euros Player of the tournament without reason, Iniesta is currently a better player than Fabregas(Imagine!), Henry is showing glimpses of his Arsenal self, Eto’o is as deadly as ever, Alves is Brazil’s best right-back since Cafu and then there is Messi. That he has been touted as the modern day “Maradona” speaks for itself.
So what would I do if I were in Hiddink’s shoes? I will use Chelsea’s strength against Barcelona’s weakness. I would ask my tall and strong players like Alex, Terry, Ivanovic, Ballack and Drogba to go forward during set-pieces at every opportunity. Barcelona have only Pique or “Maybe” Puyol, Keita or Toure who can deal with us.
The problem for Chelsea is that they probably know they cannot “Not’ concede against Barcelona. So it is vital the Blues got on the scoresheet themselves as away goals are very important nowadays. Sitting back against Barcelona is suicidal and my advice is to “Go All-Out Attack”!
I believe it would be a close game and the scoreline would be something like 2-1 or 2-2.
Comment by Loh Shengli, 24, Man United — April 28, 2009 @ 3:54 pm
Messi tends to cut through to the middle of the pitch. Hence, a right-footed player at left-back is just what Chelsea need to stop Messi. The fact that Bosingwa is a very attacking-minded player may make Messi hesitate before coming up for an attack.
Comment by Toh Zhi Hua — April 28, 2009 @ 6:05 pm
Who can stop him currently given that he is in such a brilliant form!Perhaps,maybe sending 3 or 4 guys to serve him and treat him like Ronaldo by giving him all sorts of tackle,other than this,there is not much Chelse can do,if they stop Messi then either Iniesta or Xavi will punish Chelse.Let Hiddink tinker, and if he do win then it just shows that Chelsea require him.
Norman Ng,14,Liverpool fan
Comment by norman — April 28, 2009 @ 7:10 pm
chelsea will take a score draw home…their strength and power will help them….2-2 i say…
Comment by Sunil — April 28, 2009 @ 7:56 pm
I would feel that the way to stop Barcelona would be to control the midfield, stopping Barce’s sleek passing which they are renowned for. The job of man-marking Messi should be left to Essien, who was a pivotal figure in marking Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard out of the game in the Chelsea-Liverpool clash. It is vital not to place too much emphasis on Messi, as they have experience in Henry and Eto’ who have an incredible scoring record. I think Barca’s weakness is at the back. Pique is not experienced enough and Puyol would have a arduous task against Drogba. Alves, the full back would be bombing up the flanks, leaving that side exposed. The keeper, Victor Valdes, is seen by many as a liability. Hence, the way to stop Barca is to take advantage of the frail defence with Drogba’s strength, with Lampard delivering quality balls to Malouda. Also, Chelsea must cut down on their defensive mistakes and Petr Cech has to be on form in order to beat Barca. Ballack and Essien have to help out Terry and Alex by carrying out more of their defensive duties because of Barca’s offensive front three- Messi, Eto’ and Henry
Jun Jie, 18, Man Utd fan
Comment by Jun Jie — April 28, 2009 @ 8:34 pm
So the Golden Guus has managed to silence Barca at Camp Nou and will need to repeat the same feat at Stamford Bridge next week to guide Chelsea into the Rome Final. In yesterday’s game, it was like a 1-4-2-2-1 with Malouda given a free role on the left hand side.
Cech(Keeper), Bosingwa(LB), Alex and Terry(CB),Ivanovic(RB), Essien and Mikel(Defensive Midfielders/Holding Midfielders) with Essien given more attacking freedom while Mikel is to hold the fort at all times, Lampard and Ballack (central attacking midfielders) and Drogba (lone striker), while Malouda is to help out Bosingwa in defending against Alves and Messi and also exploit the space left by Alves just to keep the right side of Barca in check.
Now Henry plays down the left side of Barca without drifting towards the centre because Eto and Messi are there. Messi is on the right but cuts in very often to draw free kicks or work a 1-2 with Alves or Iniesta. Eto was kept very quiet but broke away once after leaving Alex dead and nutmegging Terry. Luckily Cech and the two central defenders did well to slow him down and close his angle before he could take a shot.
Xavi is a very intelligent player who is currently protecting the defence and starting all the attacks. He was simply too impressive yesterday and even robbed Lampard of the ball a few times. Now Guus was correct to take off Lampard because he was not playing well. That was because he made a few bad fouls and not keeping the ball well. At the moment, Essien, Ballack and Drogba are doing very well in keeping the ball, linking up play or defending.
Now, the right side of the field is somewhere Chelsea could look to exploit with Ashley Cole back. Messi does not defend at all when he gets marked out of the game. Perhaps Malouda with his newly found form could look to attack Alves with more regularity and partnership with Ashley. Yesterday no attacks were made on the left hand side of the field because Chelsea did not play with a right midfielder. Ballack occasionally gets into that position but he brings the ball in.
The right side of the field is not a problem because once you get the measure of Henry, Abidal is ageing and does not provide enough attacking threat. Of course that is if you do get the measure of Henry. Ivanovic was beaten a few times but closed down the space sufficiently with Terry helping him.
Chelsea played alot of long balls up to Drogba which he wins with ease yesterday but because of Barca’s insanely fast midfield, the attacks were always broken up. However two things worked in favour of Chelsea with Marquez(meniscus) and Puyol (second yellow card) ruled out for the game at Stamford Bridge.
Now lets talk about the shape of Barca. Valdes in goal, with the back four of Alves(RB), Pique and Marquez(replaced by Puyol) (CB) and Abidal(LB), Yaya Toure(defensive midfield), Iniesta and Xavi(central attacking midfield), Messi(right forward), Eto(central forward), Henry(left forward) in a 1-4-1-2-3 manner. They will be playing the same team next week minus one central defender. So Martin Caceres, Xavi Torres or Sylvinho could come into central defence to partner Pique. Or even Yaya could be moved back and Keita be used as the holding midfielder.
Of course, Guardiola might want to play it safer with Eto and Messi up front while throwing in another midfielder like Hleb to stretch play. Or Keita to offer more protection to the defence. Guus will definitely have taken that into account when he plans his offensive for next week.
So the backline of Barca is very good to attack. If Lampard can get his form next week, Chelsea can use route one again to take the game to Barca. Drogba was winning almost every long ball but his teammates were too cautious and not fast enough to link up with him. Pique did a very good job yesterday but Chelsea will look to exploit his inexperience next week. Iniesta was definitely more impressive than any of the players on the pitch yesterday. You cannot also catch Messi once he starts dribbling, unless you physically catch him and foul him.
So Essien and Mikel or Ballack and Mikel needs to snuff out the threats of both Xavi and Iniesta. Ashley and Malouda will work on Messi and Alves. Essien could break away and he dribbles out of tight situation ever so well.
Perhaps Anelka could be used as a right winger or right forward to offer more threat against the ageing Abidal. Henry does not help out in defence as well so If Chelsea can stretch Barca on the wings, Drogba. Lampard or Essien can cut through the middle and go straight against the Barca defense. That is if you can keep Xavi and Iniesta quiet. Ballack is having a good spell so he might be able to play against them.
So if we can get Lampard and Mikel up to scratch, Chelsea has a very good chance to winning the game at the Bridge. Of course, the most important thing is still not to concede so no gungho football will be served up from the off. Perhaps Hiddink would want Chelsea to retain more of the ball and certain players like Alex and Ballack might just be one booking away from missing the final.. so they have got to be really careful.
In conclusion, mark out Messi, Xavi and Iniesta. With Messi you really have to get Ashley to stick really close and Essien or Mikel to deputise if Ashley is linking up in attack. While Xavi and Iniesta will have to neutralize via the midfield battle with Ballack and Lampard. With Drogba and Malouda or Anelka against Barca’s defense, it is highly possible to get a few goals.
With Ashley back, a fit Bosingwa might move back to right back and Ivanovic might just have to make way. He was abit unsteady against Henry but played intelligently and worked very hard. He was also fearless and it will be interesting to see if Bosingwa gets his place back. After all, Bosingwa may be faster than Ivanovic but Bosingwa lets opponents get past him as well because he is not that good a tackler. He goes up in attack often and usually when he does not perform, Chelsea does not play well as well. But then again, a flying Bosingwa with Anelka on the right might just tear down that side of Barca.
So attack through the wings and straight lobs to Drogba for him to bring Chelsea into the play. The rest of midfield will be defending and attacking on the break. If we let Barca score, we will have to open up and Barca can tear you apart with their counter attacking or even direct attempts. So the second leg remains a thrilling tactical battle. I will not be surprised for Guus to start practising penalty kicks or aim to kill off Barca in extra time when away goals do not count.
Comment by Ong Guan Hong — April 29, 2009 @ 8:21 pm
Great article, thank you very much.
Comment by תוכנה לסוכני ביטוח — May 4, 2009 @ 11:37 pm
1)Man mark Messi the whole game.
2)Commit as many fouls outside the penalty box.
3)First to react wins.
4)Fans support much needed during the game. As loud as possible for Chelsea.
5)Base the game mainly on possession rather than pushing for goals. With more frequent possession comes more goals and better stability in defence. Fustrate them.
6)Consistent short ball play instead of long ball play. Don’t give away possession.
Comment by Jack — May 5, 2009 @ 5:49 pm
See what Chelsea has earned for themselves.
Been hopeful and high for 84 minutes or even more and in the end sucker punched with a decisive goal right in their faces during injury time.
Somemore, opponent Barcelona were one man down in second half.
If only they had followed my advices above, they might nick a goal in the final part and go thru easily to the final. No need fight so hard and earn nothing. Barcelona is already hard like steel and playing hard is the way to counter them? So so silly. Should learn the Taiji style. Soak and attack instead of continuous attacking.
Maybe Barcelona players intentionally wanted to get send off to draw Chelsea players especially out of their den/goal mouth to hit them with a last moment surprising goal and win.
Comment by Jack — May 7, 2009 @ 8:11 pm