The night before the game, away in Madrid, Guardiola was busy analysing his opponents, and discovered a way to potentially exploit a weakness in their midfield. Guardiola noticed there was a space in Real Madrids team in the middle of the pitch, and immediately called Messi and asked to see him. When he arrived, Guardiola paused a video clip, pointed to the space and said From now on, that will be the Messi zone. The extract from Perarnaus book reads: At 10.30pm there is a gentle knock at Peps office door and a 21-year-old Leo Messi comes in. The coach shows him the video, pausing it to point out the empty space. He wants his player to make that space his own. From now on it will be the Messi zone. Tomorrow in Madrid I want you to start on the wing as usual, but the minute I give you a sign I want you to move away from the midfielders and into the space I just showed you. The minute Xavi or Andres Iniesta break between the lines and give you the ball I want you to head straight for Casillas goal. It was a secret between the two. Nobody else would know about the plans until Pep explained to Tito Vilanova the following day in the team hotel. Just minutes before kick-off, Guardiola took Xavi and Iniesta to one side and told them. Barcelona won 6-2. Messi scored 2 goals and the space he created aided Xavi in making 3 assists. The rest is history.
Posted on: Sat, 18 Oct 2014 06:33:24 +0000
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