I even tried hitting him to bring him down – Alessandro Del Piero on playing against Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi is known to breach the opposition defense into pieces. The magician can run through the opposition single handedly and he is well known for his dribbling skills and he is also really fast. In fact, Messi was just unstoppable during the young days of his career.

Messi made a name for himself when he made his debut for Barcelona in the LA Liga when he was only 17-year-old in 2004. The talisman had everything in his game and he kept growing in stature as well as confidence.

There is no doubt that Messi was a torture for the opposition players as he made them dance to his tunes. Former Italy player and Juventus forward Alessandro Del Piero has shared his experience of playing against Messi when Juventus and Blaugrana took on each other in a friendly contest.

The Italian said while talking to ESPN FC, “I remember pretty well at that time because many people were already talking about Lionel, so it was the first and only time I had the opportunity to play against him, and it was funny.”

“At full time, he was doing so well, I was speaking with my teammates about this guy, he was unbelievable. I even tried hitting him to bring him down, but I couldn’t do it. It was something very beautiful to see even in that early age.”

Messi has made a huge mark in the game and he is regarded as the one of the best players of all-time. The Argentine’s numbers speak for themselves as he scored 769 goals and contributed 331 assists in 974 appearances in his glorious career (country and club combined).

On the other hand, it is expected to be the last FIFA World Cup for Lionel Messi as he is already 35-years-old and also Cristiano Ronaldo. Piero feels Argentina and Portugal have similar teams and they will have a chance to go all the way in the FIFA showpiece.

“The Euro 2020 proved that when a team comes together they can do amazing things. And of course, there’s a kind of emotional way to see the last World Cup for Messi. The same thing can happen for [Cristiano] Ronaldo. They basically have two very similar teams.”

“It’s good that we are going to the last World Cup for these amazing players with a good team that actually can win the tournament because it’s one month. Everything has to be perfect for one month. But you need to start that tournament on the right foot. And I believe both teams have the right foot to start.”

Meanwhile, Messi and co. will begin their FIFA World Cup campaign against Saudi Arabia on November 22. Subsequently, they will take on Mexico and Poland in Group C of the tournament.