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The Blaugrana boss is aware that to achieve a talismanic presence at the peak of his powers, those around him have to work more and more.
Ronald Koeman acknowledges that the rest of the members of his Barça team need to “run a lot” for Lionel Messi to be “the best player in the world”.
A fickle Argentine forward offers a lot to the collective cause at the Camp Nou.
However, his game is all about the final product in the last third of the field, and there is little value in asking him to help carry a defensive charge.
Messi has the freedom to express himself every time he takes the pitch, and various club and country managers have allowed him in and out of games.
That approach has brought great rewards, with a six-time Ballon d’Or winner garnering countless major awards, but his presence on any team must be heeded.
Koeman accepts it, and a man who inherited the reins of Barcelona’s management during the summer says so UEFA official website of his tactical plan: “Sometimes the coaches make it too difficult.
“It’s still 11 against 11; you need a good organization in a team. You must get closer to the individual qualities of the players.
“We have Messi in the team, and the rest of them need to do a lot of work, a lot of running, because then Messi can continue to be the best player in the world. And that means that each player plays in his position, playing with the qualities of the player. “
Koeman added on working with Messi, who has become convinced to stay in Catalunya after putting aside plans to push for a move elsewhere: “I have been working with Leo and the team for almost three weeks.
“I see, from the beginning, the great qualities he has as a player. Also, his commitment to the team to try to make a good push up front.
“He is the best because he is very easy on the field, but he is very intelligent. See the best solutions in the game very quickly. See it is one [thing], but doing it is another ”.
Another of those Koeman hopes to make the best of his time on the Barça bench is fellow Dutchman Frenkie de Jong, whose 23-year-old midfielder is still looking for the spark in Spain that made him such an attractive candidate at Ajax.
“Frenkie is a very smart soccer player,” Koeman said.
“He sees all the situations on the field, he always makes the right decision, and most importantly [thing] for me it’s putting him in the right position on the team.
“Last season, he didn’t play in his [best] position. So it is always difficult for a young player who comes to Barcelona; it’s a big change in the language, how they live, how they train.
“But I will give him that support now to put him in his best position, but there is no doubt about the qualities of the player.”
Barcelona, which suffered a surprising 1-0 loss to Getafe in La Liga on Saturday, will return to action on Tuesday when they open their 2020-21 Champions League campaign at home to Ferencvaros.
