Koeman hopes to see revitalised Messi against Osasuna

[ASFN Admin]

VIDEO SHOWS: BARCA PLAYERS INCLUDING LIONEL MESSI TRAINING, COMMENTS BY COACH RONALD KOEMAN AHEAD OF THEIR LEAGUE GAME AGAINST OSASUNA SENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT SHOWS: BARCELONA, SPAIN (NOVEMBER 28, 2020) (BARCA TV POOL-ACCESS ALL) 1. VARIOUS OF BARCA PLAYERS ARRIVING AT TRAINING SESSION 2. COACH RONALD KOEMAN AT SESSION 3. FORWARD LIONEL MESSI TRAINING 4. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) BARCELONA COACH RONALD KOEMAN, SAYING: "I think he (Lionel Messi) had a good rest, like Frenkie de Jong. Both played almost every minute with us and their national teams and they can't go on and on. In order to avoid physical problem we decided to leave them at home and I hope tomorrow they have the freshness we need from Leo and Frankie because both put the rhythm in the match. Regarding Maradona, above all it affects Argentineans because we can't even imagine how big Diego Maradona was for them. It affects us but I think in a way to show your skill on the pitch is a tribute to Diego Maradona." 5. MIDFIELDER FRANKIE DE JONG TRAINING 6. DEFENDER CLEMENT LENGLET AND FORWARD PHILIPPE COUTINHO AT SESSION 7. MIDFIELDER SERGIO BUSQUETS TRAINING 8. LENGLET TRAINING 9. (SOUNDBITE) (English) BARCELONA COACH RONALD KOEMAN, SAYING: "It isn't serious because he (Sergino Dest) did the training session today but he came really tired back after the match against Kyiv. He had some problems in his leg but it's not really serious but we need to make a decision and we are not the people who will take a lot of risk with him because we know that in his position at the moment we have more players injured. If he is ok he will start, if we have doubts about that then he will not start." 10. FULL BACK SERGINO DEST AND STRIKER MARTIN BRAITHWAITE TRAINING 11. MESSI TRAINING 12. VARIOUS OF GOALKEEPER MARC-ANDRE TER STEGEN TRAINING 13. MESSI TRAINING 14. FORWARD ANTOINE GRIEZMANN TRAINING 15. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) BARCELONA COACH RONALD KOEMAN, SAYING: "Because of our results in the league we need the three points. We have talked about it, we have analysed our opponents, we know that they (Osasuna) did a good match last season but this is a new season and we are expecting a difficult match in which they will above all defend well." 16. FORWARD OUSMANE DEMBELE TALKING WITH BUSQUETS 17. LENGLET CHASING THE BALL DURING RONDO 18. DE JONG CHASING THE BALL DURING RONDO STORY: Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman said on Saturday (November 28) Lionel Messi can reap the benefits of being rested in mid-week when his side host Osasuna on Sunday (November 29) hoping to kickstart their troublesome start to the La Liga season. Messi, who has looked far from his usual best for most of the season and was particularly poor in last week's 1-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid, was kept at home along with midfielder Frenkie de Jong for Tuesday's 4-0 win in the Champions League. "I think he (Lionel Messi) had a good rest, like Frenkie de Jong. Both played almost every minute with us and their national teams and they can't go on and on. In order to avoid physical problem we decided to leave them at home and I hope tomorrow they have the freshness we need," Koeman told a news conference on Saturday. Barca are also boosted by the return of veteran midfielder Sergio Busquets from injury but Koeman said he may have to rest Sergino Dest, who is his only fit rightback after Sergi Roberto tore a muscle last week, as the U.S. defender complained of tiredness after the win in Kyiv. Central defender Oscar Mingueza could get his first league start after impressing on his debut in Kyiv along with a host of other fringe players as Barca outclassed the Ukrainians despite making so many changes. Koeman said he was open to rotating his squad more often after the success of Tuesday's game, adding that his side are benefiting from opponents being more open in the Champions League than in La Liga. (Production: Silvio Castellanos)

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