Napoli’s Diego Demme has underlined how hard it is to contain Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi.
The pair came face-to-face in the spring, when the clubs played the first leg of their Champions League last-16 encounter, a match that finished 1-1 in Naples.
August 8 is the date scheduled for the return leg, and while Barca are rocking after ceding the Primera Division title to eternal rivals Real Madrid, Demme is focused on the prospect of tackling Messi, who was publicly critical of his side after a shock 2-1 loss to Osasuna in midweek.
“Messi is a really crazy player,” he explained to Bild. “It's amazing what he does with the ball. Before I had only seen him on TV and I thought: ‘It can't be that difficult to take the ball from him.’
“In the game itself, I was sure in two or three situations that I had the ball. And then whack, he made such fast movements that I ran into nothing!”
Demme believes the tie is evenly balanced ahead of the return leg in Spain, a match in which Barca will be shorn of the suspended Arturo Vidal after he was sent off in the closing stages of the opening clash.
“The 1-1 draw in the first leg showed that we can keep up with them,” he pointed out. “We’ve not been that bad in the last few weeks and in the second leg the odds are 50-50, even without spectators.”
The defensive midfielder also admitted that Napoli’s Coppa Italia success was tainted by the fact it was played without fans in the stadium.
“It’s still a very strange feeling,” he confessed. “And it’s somehow sad.
“We won the cup – and we had to celebrate in an empty stadium. I hope that normalcy returns soon.
“It was a mega moment. Honestly, in addition to the Bundesliga promotion with RB Leipzig, that was my absolute highlight. And, at last, I was allowed to hold such a trophy in my hands.
“The fans were waiting for us, all of Naples honked and celebrated. I couldn't fall asleep after the game.”