Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola said on Monday (November 23) his team was capable of winning with or without Lionel Messi when they face Inter-Milan at the Camp Nou on Tuesday (November 24) Guardiola said doctors will have the final say on Messi after he suffered an injury to his adductor muscle during the 1-1 La Liga draw at Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.
"Messi is the best player in the world. And any team in the world, if they lack the best player in the world you lose something. The Chicago Read more

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola said on Monday (November 23) his team was capable of winning with or without Lionel Messi when they face Inter-Milan at the Camp Nou on Tuesday (November 24) Guardiola said doctors will have the final say on Messi after he suffered an injury to his adductor muscle during the 1-1 La Liga draw at Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.
"Messi is the best player in the world. And any team in the world, if they lack the best player in the world you lose something. The Chicago without Jordan would lose something. imagine that's the case. The Lakers without Kobe Ryan as well. Us without the best I guess makes us weaker. But because of that we are not not going to complain and say how awful, we can't win the match anymore and we are disqualified. Better luck next year. But this is not going to happen. I will make sure of that with my players. If later we are not able to win, it won't be because Messi is not on field. It will be because we didn't do things well," he said.
Barca player Andres Iniesta also said the team would make the most of a bad situation and go out determined to win the match.
"If he can finally play then perfect. If not then, we will try and play a good game with whatever is left. Play a good role and win which is what we care about right now," Iniesta told a news conference before joining the rest of the team for training.
Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic also missed the game with a thigh strain, while Eric Abidal and Yaya Toure were laid low with the HIN1 virus and Rafael Marquez also missed the trip to Bilbao with suspected swine flu.
The mounting injury list comes at a bad time for the European champions who host Inter Milan when a defeat combined with a win for Rubin Kazan puts them out of the competition.
Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho said that he rated Barca as the best team in Europe but Inter Milan were not afraid of that title.
"It will be risky for Barcelona to go into the field tomorrow but they will not be fearful. They get confidence from their ability. It's the best team in Europe not because it's the European champion but because it has demonstrated it during the last fifteen to sixteen months. I don't get the impression they are afraid of us in the same way that we are not afraid of them," Mourinho said.
Mourinho also told journalists that Messi's presence or absence would do nothing to alter his plan for the game.
"Whether Messi plays or doesn't play it doesn't change the way I'm going plan this game. If Messi plays then Chivu plays. If Messi doesn't play and Iniesta does on the right , Chivu still plays. If Iniesta doesn't play but Pedrito does instead, them Chivu plays. And for this reason it's not something that worries me. My team tomorrow, Julio Cesar, Maicon, Lucio, Samuel and Chivu. And I've forgotten about the rest," said the Inter-Milan coach.
Next Sunday Barca also take on the new La Liga leaders Real Madrid at the Nou Camp.

GROUP F P W D L F A Pts

1. Inter Milan 4 1 3 0 5 4 6

2. Rubin Kazan 4 1 2 1 4 5 5

3. Barcelona 4 1 2 1 3 2 5

4. Dynamo Kiev 4 1 1 2 6 7 4 Close