Football
ESPN staff 7y

Osasuna players: We need handcuffs to stop Lionel Messi

Osasuna manager Petar Vasiljevic has said that his side will need extra help to stop Lionel Messi when La Liga's bottom club travel to the Camp Nou to face Barcelona on Wednesday. 

Messi's last-minute winner against Real Madrid in the Clasico left a lasting impression upon Vasiljevic, who has called on his players to show no fear, despite knowing that defeat to Barcelona could see them all but relegated.

"I've already said that we need a plan for Messi and the players told me [that we need to] carry handcuffs and a pistol," he told a news conference. "He disconnects, but later he plugs [himself] in for 10 minutes and does what he does."

Barca have just five games left to play and will be without the suspended Neymar on Wednesday, who misses the final game of his suspension following his red card against Malaga.

If the challenge of facing Messi wasn't enough, Osasuna have been asked by TV broadcasters to debut a new, third kit after it was feared that both their red-and-blue home and green-and-blue away kits would clash with the Blaugrana home kit. The club's new orange shirt will carry the message: "OsasunaNuncaSeRinde," which translates as "Osasuna never surrenders."

"We have to go out and compete, without fear. We know what level we're going to find," Vasiljevic said. "We know [Barcelona] are in a very good dynamic and playing very well.'' 

"[Barcelona] have a very good dynamic to fight for the championship," he added. "They are performing very well and any player, with the quality they have, can determine a match.

"They are back into the race [after the victory at the Bernabeu] and they can't afford to fail in front of their fans and I understand that it will be tough."

Osasuna's chances to remain in the league will mathematically vanish if they lose against Barcelona and Leganes win at home against Las Palmas.

Osasuna will be without central defender Nikola Vujadinovic, who has suffered a muscle injury to his left leg and will be replaced by Ivan Marquez, who this week returned to training.

There is a doubt about on-loan goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu, who has been suffering with discomfort in his shoulder. Defender Miguel Flano has returned to training but the game may come too soon for him. Winger Alex Berenguer and midfielder Raoul Loe continue their rehab work. 

Information from Press Association was used in this report.

^ Back to Top ^