Babysitter Pablo has long night ahead with Lionel
PABLO ZABALETA used to take Lionel Messi under his wing and out on the town. But he admits he’ll struggle to keep his good pal in check on Tuesday evening.
The Manchester City full-back was Messi’s captain in the Argentina Under-20 team and the two were once regular partners in sampling the Barcelona night life.
So there’s no-one better placed to know exactly what’s coming City’s way at the Etihad Stadium in the last 16 of the Champions League.
“When you play against a player like this, you can have a great game for 90 minutes and in one minute you make a mistake and concede to him,” says Zabaleta.
“The quality of the Barcelona players, especially up front, is fantastic — Pedro, Alexis Sanchez, Neymar, Messi.
“All of them are really quick, they are very good finishers and you have to be concentrated to stop them. It’s a really difficult job.
“I first met Messi at an Under-20 tournament which we won in Holland. He was the main player for us. He won the Golden Boot and I was the captain.
“I tried to bring him into the team and meet the players as nobody knew him. We were all playing in Argentina. He was the only one in Europe.
“When the manager told us he would bring in a player from the Barcelona academy, we didn’t expect him to be that good. The first time we saw him train, he was amazing.
“Then I signed for Espanyol and we were living in the same city. We spent three years as friends, going out. We were younger and single, so it was a good time!
“Off the field he’s very quiet. I’m very happy to see him now with his family and kids.
“Sometimes you have the opportunity to know someone years ago when he was nobody, then he wins everything and is still the same person. This is something great.
“Leo never changed. He is still the same boy he was when he was 17 before his success with Barcelona. That’s something I really appreciate.”
Zabaleta is coy about whether he could ever persuade his mate to join him in East Manchester.
“You always expect the best players to be in the Premier League,” he says. “I think every single player in the world always wants to come to the Premier League. “A few months after I first signed for City, I went back to Barcelona and I went to his house. Leo asked me about the new owners and what the big money would mean to us. “Whether he would come to City, we will see. I would like to show him around Manchester. Maybe I could take him out to Didsbury and we could have some fish and chips. I think he would like that!”