The long awaited arrival of Lionel Messi in Barcelona's lineup this season will finally come to an end when the Spanish champions visit Dortmund on Tuesday for their UEFA champions league group opener. You will recall the Argentine picked up a calf injury during Barcelona's preseason adventure. The injury has kept messi on the sidelines and Valverde has been left with no choice than to explore his options while Messi recovers.
Messi's absence in Barcelona squad has a way of doubling the opponent's motivation against the Catalan club, However, with the Captain having been cleared by the medical team to be fit for Tuesday's game, Valverde wasted no time in enlisted his talisman ahead of the game in Germany. Even with Griezmann and Suarez, Barca plays below expectations without Messi on the pitch. Valverde knows the possibility of him taking the team all the way to the finals this time will still depend much on Messi's magic.
Barcelona have got some good stuffs to be happy about currently. The signing of Antoine Griezmann and De Jong have added much flesh to the team. Also, young academy products like Arthur, Ansu Fati and Alena are really doing great. It's gonna go a long way of diffusing the goal scoring burden which the Argentine captain has been shouldering almost singlehandedly. The German side have got lots of defensive work to do tomorrow and they know conceding goals against a team like Barcelona could be hard to equalise.
Why Dortmund Must Be Worried About Messi
Free Kick: The Argentine hero is one of the best(if not the best) Free kick takers in the world. He scores it week in week out and Alisson Becker of Liverpool had a taste of his magical left foot last season when both sides clashed in the semi finals first leg.
Deadly Passes: Apart from scoring free kicks and goals, the Barcelona captain is also prolific in creating chances and laying defense piercing passes to set up other players. This is another thing the German side should worry about.
Fouls and Distractions: Dortmund have got loads of stuffs to contend with as long as Messi is on the pitch. He has the ability to distract the opponent when he is with the ball by taking attention away from his teammates, thereby setting them up for a goal. Messi enjoys glueing and running with the ball, which ends up making opponent players commit unnecessary fouls which can lead to Cards or Free kicks.
Messi hasn't played for Barcelona after the Copa America that saw Argentina eliminated by Brazil in the semi finals. It's gonna be a crucial first appearance for him this season and he knows what's at stake.
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