Atlético de Madrid have suffered from the talents of Lionel Messi throughout his Barcelona career.
Messi has scored 32 goals against Diego Simeone’s side and the Rojiblancos are his second favorite opponent after Sevilla. The threat of Messi was a constant concern for Simeone and his defenders as Atlético looked to contain the Argentine superstar. Former Atlético defender Filipe Luis has explained how Simeone goes about dealing with Messi, with the ex-Brazil international often the direct point of reference.
Luis insists stopping Messi was always a priority and fellow Argentine Simeone even gave him a nickname. “At Atleti, Simeone put four players on Messi! So when he scored, it wasn’t a player’s fault, it was Messi’s“, we can read in Marca.
“Before the games against Barcelona, Simeone never used the name Messi. He always called him “the dwarf,” so we wouldn’t be afraid of him when we were in front of him.” Simeone’s tactics against Messi did not yield the expected results, as FC Barcelona dominated these clashes, with many of the goals scored by Messi. From December 2011, Simeone lost his first three La Liga matches against FC Barcelona, with three goals from Messi, and his first league victory against FC Barcelona dates back to 2020. The ‘dwarf’ was not to be taken lightly…
