Lionel Messi announced his retirement from international football, and Giggs and Ferdinand discussed their encounters with him on a podcast.

For those who never got the chance to play against Lionel Messi, we've both faced him. Now that he's retired from international football, it's time we tell everyone what it was like to play against Messi. Do you want to start? My experience wasn't exactly enjoyable.

It really wasn't. In fact, the first few times I played against him, it was manageable. Back then he was playing on the right wing, and I remember Évra marking him very well. Later on, he was given more freedom and could roam where he wanted. In the Champions League final at Wembley, I was playing in midfield, so he was near me. When he came into my area,

I tried to physically challenge him in the first few minutes, but he just bounced off me. I tried to tackle him hard, but he didn't flinch. He just dribbled past me.

People know about his level compared to Cristiano Ronaldo, their abilities, goals, and consistency, but they forget that these players are barely affected by injuries and hardly ever miss games. Players from 20 or 30 years ago were different. Back then tackles were brutal, but after fouling you'd get back up. The fact that he doesn't miss games and doesn't get injured is a level we'll never see again. Lionel Messi is short and drops below arm level, so you can't use your arms to stop him. He's too quick,

and can change direction however he wants. His acceleration is the best, especially over short distances—the best I've ever seen. You think you've got him cornered, but suddenly he bursts away. It was a complete nightmare, and it was definitely harder for me.

He knows exactly where to go, and no one can stop him. Like in the World Cup match against England, he went to where everyone was crowding. We had to contain him, but for some reason we couldn't do it during the match. I still don't understand why we couldn't do it then. That's football intelligence. Pure game intelligence, knowing where to be. We talked about him moving from the wing to the false nine position, and he does it brilliantly. It's exemplary. I think players like Vinicius could fit into that category in the future. What's the difficulty in moving from winger to a central position? After all, there's more physical contact in midfield.

Although there's more physical contact around you, you also have more options to choose your direction and everything is more open. But when you play on the wing, the fullback only gives you one option.

Lionel Messi was incredible as a winger, but when he played as a free number nine, he took it to another level because he could drop deep to receive the ball. Yes, he doesn't really run. I've never seen anyone walk like Messi. He's just conserving energy, and because he brings so much to the team, the whole tactical setup is built around him. So he just walks into position and receives the ball. And as I said, the acceleration from a standstill to top speed—I've never seen anything like it. His center of gravity is so low. You can't stop him with your arms. He's impossible to handle, you just can't stop him.

You mentioned his acceleration as his superpower, but would you say it's one of the most powerful aspects of his game at that time?

Yes, his balance and acceleration. Because the game is so fast, opponents will go past him and accelerate, but Lionel Messi has both balance and strength. He's strong and short but has thick legs. He has everything. Confidence, ball control, positioning, the ability to move the ball past defenders.

I think this is an underrated aspect of his game. It's how well he finds space. We always talk about his play when he has the ball, but as the most explosive player on the field, his ability to use space makes him the most lethal and decisive player on the field. Usually such players get tight marking or double-teamed, but he always manages to get the ball when time and space allow it. That's a remarkable ability.

Yes, all those defenders wanted to stop him, but none of them succeeded. That's his experience and wisdom. He can dribble directly, and he can control the ball perfectly however it's passed to him. He can do anything—he can even score with his head.

When you played against him, did you feel a special aura about him?

I'm not sure you'll agree, but that Barcelona team was the best team I faced at Wembley. Yes. Xavi, Busquets, Puyol, Iniesta. I think we could have beaten that team if Messi hadn't been there. But with Messi, it was impossible. I've never said this before, but they had so many brilliant players. But they had Messi. He was unstoppable. He picked up the ball in the right space, the left space, and scored with one shot. He was so difficult to defend against. Because I play for Manchester United, I think we could beat any strong team—Real Madrid, Juventus, AC Milan. But looking back at that Champions League final, it was really difficult because of Messi. Of course, they had other brilliant players too.

Going back to that match, I'd like to know your thoughts on it as a coach. Especially for the match at Wembley—could we have dealt with it differently? Beyond just playing more attractively.

I think we needed to play a perfect match, and they needed to play badly, but they had no real weaknesses. I wish we could have done better. What I mean is, it wasn't a matter of the two teams being in different situations. I think the problem was Messi. He was really difficult for us.

Because we played so well that season, it was really hard to designate someone to mark Messi or adapt to their rhythm in a different way. So we could only play the way we played against other teams in the Champions League, and we played very well, but that team was just a step above us.

I remember sitting in the dressing room thinking, 'What just happened?' Like at Wembley, I remember standing with you and Scholes, holding hands saying, 'Please help us.' I just wanted to shake off this confusion. It was so embarrassing. I thought all my friends would say, 'Wow, you got completely destroyed in the final.' This will probably stay with me forever.

Yes, as I said, we needed to play perfectly, they needed to play a bit poorly, and Messi needed to play a bit poorly too, but he rarely has an off day in big matches. That shows what a great player he is. It was difficult.

AI 번역.

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