Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has described his 2011 clash with Lionel Messi as a soul-sucking experience.
“Messi defied gravity, stole his soul and went on to win the UEFA Champions League,” Ferdinand said on Monday (Aug. 29), according to UK-based TalkSPORT.
The legendary United defender faced Messi four times during his career and suffered two bitter defeats.
The first meeting was a draw. Against Barcelona in the Champions League quarterfinals of the 2007-2008 season, Ferdinand tied up Messi, who was still a promising youngster, and the game ended in a 0-0 draw.
In the second leg, he and Wes Brown kept Messi and the rest of the Barcelona offense in check, winning 1-0 on a Paul Scholes goal to reach the final. In the final, they defeated Chelsea to win their first Champions League title.
But then he was brought to his knees by Messi twice in a row. In the 2008-2009 season, Ferdinand, who along with Nemanja Vidic formed one of the best defenses in the Premier League, conceded a header to Messi in the Champions League final against Barcelona, which ended in a runner-up finish. Two years later, he faced Messi again in the 2010-11 Champions League final, but was unable to repeat the feat, conceding the winner in the ninth minute.
Nearly 13 years later, Ferdinand recalled the encounter and admitted that he was beaten by Messi.
“The game in Rome (the 2008-09 final) was a game that I felt we could have won, that we should have won,” Ferdinand told the BBC’s documentary Messi, according to TalkSport. “I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but I bet that Messi wouldn’t be able to get past me and score a goal,” he recalled, adding that at first he thought he had enough to deal with the Argentine.
“The problem was that it was Xavi Hernandez who had the ball. We should have known who we were playing against. “He didn’t score many headers in his career, but he scored them at 토토사이트 crucial moments,” says Ferdinand. “That’s what makes a good player and a great player. That’s what separates a good player from a great player.”
“We’ve played against Messi before, and we’ve stopped him well. But the Messi we saw afterwards was different. “Before, he had a limited radius, so we were able to contain him to a certain extent. Of course, he was great then. But in that game, when Messi was given real freedom, he came out of nowhere and surprised us. It was an unbelievable play,” he added.
The 2011 Messi was even better, he added tongue-in-cheek. “He was even better at Wembley (in the 2010-11 final),” Ferdinand said. I watched Barcelona lift the trophy with Scholes and I remember thinking, ‘They’ve taken my soul, I’ve got to get off the pitch,’” he says, adding that he felt like he had given his soul to Messi.
“Messi was the center, he was the player I had to face,” says Ferdinand. He would be far away and then suddenly appear with a bang. “I can’t tell you how good he was,” he says, “I can’t tell you how good 카지노사이트 추천 he was. “I can’t tell you how good he was. I remember being very depressed, devastated and devastated. It felt like my heart was being ripped out of my chest,” he says, adding that he couldn’t stop himself.
“No matter how much you analyze the situation and say, ‘I could have done it,’ it’s almost impossible to do it against a player like Messi, who makes decisions as quickly, decisively, and effectively as anyone else,” Ferdinand concludes. Lionel Messi in his prime. He was unstoppable,” he reflects.