Lionel Messi said that he found Pep Guardiola’s training philosophy at Barcelona to be somewhat perplexing.
The captain of Argentina expressed his disapproval of the way Guardiola’s strategies were taught to young children at La Masia.
The former Barcelona player made the observation that since they had to adhere to a rigid schedule, the children’s innate talent would be limited.
In an interview with JP Varsky on Clank Media, Messi stated as much. He also mentioned that six-year-olds are trained to play faster and take two touches.
Messi is of the opinion that instead of such training, the kids should be taught to understand the game and work on their movements to find spaces instead.
The former PSG star said (via Mundo Albiceleste): “The Guardiola era was a bit confusing. … Many times, six and seven-year-old kids are already starting to be told that they have to play with two touches, to play fast, that they can’t have much of the ball.
“I think that at that age it has to be a bit like what happened to me: to teach them to better understand the game, to know how to move, to find spaces, to play quickly, but not to take away the spontaneity of each one.”
