Mourinho won't fail at Chelsea, he's a great manager, says Barca superstar Messi
SENEGAL
Barcelona
forward Lionel Messi has backed old nemesis Jose Mourinho to make a
successful return to Chelsea but insists Real Madrid will not be
weakened by the departure of the 'Special One'.
Mourinho quit the Bernabeu recently before returning to Stamford Bridge
and Messi, who first crossed swords with the Portuguese coach during
his first spell with the Blues, believes he will be just as successful
second time around.
The Argentina captain also expects his club's arch rivals to be as
competitive as ever in the Primera Division next season after Los
Blancos brought in Carlo Ancelotti to replace Mourinho.
"I think the Spanish league
is difficult anyway and will continue being difficult," said Messi, who
visited the Senegalese town of Saly today as part of the Aspire
Academy's Football Combating Malaria project.
"We'll be fighting against strong teams with great players like Real
Madrid. Mourinho was a great coach but we know that Ancelotti is equally
great. I think Mourinho will also succeed back at Chelsea because he's a great manager."
Barca recently acquired Neymar from Santos after a long pursuit, with
some commentators suggesting the Catalans may struggle to accommodate
both Messi and the Brazilian forward in their XI.
Messi, though, has no such concerns.
"I know Neymar is a great player who is going to bring a lot to Barcelona," he said. "God willing, we will be able to play together at Barca."
Former Barca coach Pep Guardiola will take over at Bayern Munich next
season hoping to build on the German side's superb campaign last year,
which saw them easily win the Bundesliga and also lift the Champions
League.
Messi believes his old boss will make the Bavarian outfit even stronger and is relishing the competition.
"I think we have a great team and great players, as we've shown over
the years," he said. "I think the arrival of Guardiola will make Bayern
stronger. Winning the Champions League is always difficult and our
objective is trying to win everything and succeed in all competitions.
"That's how we work at Barcelona.
"You talk of Germany dominating football recently - I don't know what
is going to happen in the future. I know Germany have a history of great
teams in global football at international level and club level. Winning
the Champions League is difficult for anyone, whether they are from
Germany or Spain.
"But I know Germany had a great year last year."
Messi is under pressure to deliver for Argentina, having never really
reproduced his club form at international level, and realizes next
year's World Cup in Brazil is a real opportunity to finally win a trophy
for the Albicelestes.
"If God wills it, then we will win the World Cup," he added. "We still
have a year to go until the next tournament and we need to keep
developing and improving.
"We still have some way to go but I think we have time. We need to keep
improving and it would be a dream for us to win the World Cup."
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