Fabio Capello believes that if Inter’s treble-winning team in 2010 was capable of stopping Lionel Messi and Barcelona, there’s no reason why Simone Inzaghi’s side couldn’t do the same against Lamine Yamal and his teammates.
Inter booked their place in the Champions League semi-finals, where they will play Barcelona in two matches over two weeks, following a 4-3 aggregate victory over Bayern Munich in the previous two weeks.
Capello, the former Real Madrid coach and one of Italy’s most legendary coaches, wrote about the upcoming match in La Gazzetta dello Sport, “If Inter, the treble-winning team, stopped Messi, they can do it today against Yamal as well.”
He added, “I’ve read some exaggerated comparisons about Yamal. He’s an amazing and exceptional player, without a doubt, but he doesn’t have the genius that Messi had.”
He continued, “It’s clear that Inzaghi won’t allow Yamal or Rafinha to have too much space in front of him. Barcelona’s stars are so good that they can’t be stopped in open play, and Lewandowski is deadly in the penalty area. But Inter are very skilled at closing down spaces and maintaining balance.”
He concluded, “Barcelona undoubtedly has a good midfield, but if I had to choose, I’d choose Inter’s. Few European teams have such quality.”
