Van Gaal rejects Messi and Neymar: "I prefer Milner". Photo EPA / PETER POWELL
BARCELONA – Louis van Gaal rejects Lionel Messi and Neymar during an interview with El Paìs. The former Barcelona coach has criticized the two strikers because he considers them too individualistic and not very functional for teamwork.
These are surprising statements because all the coaches in the world would like world-class riders like Messi and Neymar. All but not van Gaal.
The statements of the former Barcelona coach are reported on the gianlucadimarzio.com website.
"Lionel Messi? For me, he is the best individual soccer player on the face of the Earth. The statistics say that they are crazy. At soccer, however, it is played in eleven ".
Better Neymar or Messi? Inside a game system, I don't like either of them. Individually, Messi is fantastic as a footballer. But how is it possible that Barcelona have not won the Champions League for many years? Why? If I were him, as team captain, I'd ask. I don't think Arthur, Vidal, Jordi Alba, Rakitic and Coutinho are poor teammates. And then, it means that something is wrong. And Messi must inevitably be considered as one of those responsible "
More than players like Messi and Neymar, I appreciate those functional to team play. A name? James Milner of Liverpool. At 33, he played a Champions League final as a midfielder and defender. The Reds attackers, however, know how to give as much to those on the field with them.
As I see it, even Messi and Neymar should play for the team. When Neymar was at Barcelona, instead of playing for the team … he played for Messi! Only Guardiola did a good job with Leo: Messi played for the team, Barça won the Champions. After Pep, all the Barcelona coaches have put Lionel in front of the rest of the formation ".
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Source: Blitz Quotidiano