The Polish coach compared Messi to a skiing legend: “Like in a slalom, dodge everyone”

On the eve of the match between Argentina and Poland, the European coach spoke to the media before the match which will decide the passage of both teams to the round of 16 of the World Cup in Qatar.

“I already have the lineup in mind, but we still have one more training session ahead of us and we’ll see there,” Michniewicz said at a press conference. The DT consulted on the stellar duel between Robert Lewandowski and Lionel Messi, in memory of their duels when the Argentine was a member of Barcelona and the Pole from Bayern Munich.

“Regarding this face-off, I think that when we saw the draw and it was Argentina’s turn, everyone was waiting for this match because of that duel. But we have to remember that this is a Poland-Argentina match, it’s not a Leo Messi against Robert Lewandowski, they are two fabulous players but I’m not saying who is the best, we can’t touch it here,” said the coach.

Poland are one of three teams, along with Morocco and Brazil, who have yet to concede a goal. “I’m very happy with our games, especially in the defensive phase, which is very important in this type of tournament. We made mistakes, but few and they didn’t score us. All the players were very good, not just the goalkeeper,” he underlined.

Praises to Messi and curious comparison

“How to stop Messi. Everyone is asking. No one will find the magic formula to stop Messi. He has scored many goals. He said it is his last World Cup, so he must be very focused and motivated. He had problems in the first game,” but many give him as a candidate. I am very happy to face Messi because I was going to Barcelona to see Messi. Tomorrow we will be close. And we really want to play against Argentina. We respect all our rivals” the coach expressed when the name of the best player in the World Cup appeared at the press conference.

After mentioning the undefeated national team, unexpectedly cut against Saudi Arabia on Tuesday 22, Michniewicz compared Leo to Alberto Tomba, the 55-year-old now retired Italian skier, considered a legend of alpine skiing and winner of three gold medals at the Winter Olympics Games in the discipline of slalom.

“Argentina is a team that hadn’t lost in 36 games until they got here, I saw them play in June, they played very well. It’s a great team. Against Saudi they didn’t do their best match but they still made many chances. We have a different approach. Maybe they were too relaxed, or a lot of stress or pressure and that’s why they lost. He has a lot of quality, they have Messi. Messi is the Alberto Tomba of skiing, they are everywhere, like in a slalom dodge everyone, we will make it stop as a team, among all”, specified the DT.

The coach declared himself an admirer of Argentine football, more precisely of the fervor with which this sport is lived in our country. And he told an anecdote that he was in Lusail watching the duel between Argentina and Mexico and was surprised by the crowd’s reaction to Messi’s goal, where he received a hug from a fan who was sitting next to him.

“We’re happy to face Argentina because the team is very focused on this match. They must be happy, relaxed because it’s not normal to play against Argentina,” concluded the coach.