Sampaoli: Argentina need to be more like Barcelona for Messi

Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli hopes he can
develop his team to get as much from Lionel Messi
as Barcelona do.
The 29-year-old star's performances for the
national team have often been questioned in
comparison to his stellar showings for the LaLiga
giants.
Sampaoli, preparing for his first game in charge
when Argentina face Brazil in Melbourne on Friday,
said he wanted his side to create a similar
connection as what Barca manage with Messi.
"I believe Messi has been playing collectively at
Barcelona as part of a team and that's the type of
synergy we want to create within the Argentina
team," he told a news conference.
"We don't want him to be playing in an isolated
manner, we want him to play collectively.
"That's what we're going to try to push for the
team – to play collectively with Messi to get the
best out of him."
Juventus star Paulo Dybala is among the players
Sampaoli is likely to want to work more
productively around Messi.
Sampaoli, who lauded Messi for leaving his
vacation to play in the blockbuster at the MCG,
said the friendly against Brazil gave him a chance
to assess their partnership ahead of crucial World
Cup qualifiers later in the year.
"There is an understanding that Messi and Dybala
are very good players on their own accord," he
said.
"These types of games, the friendly games, give us
the opportunity to test their compatibility and know
whether they can work together, how effective that
synergy will be.
"They are both great players and we've got great
expectations for Dybala as well and Messi is the
best player in the world.
"It'll just be about seeing their connection on the
pitch."

Follow breaking news, entertainment news, politics, sports, comedy,tech, browsing cheat, join this Whatsapp group