How can Man United stop Lionel Messi?

Lionel Messi has scored 49 goals this season, and has set up almost 100 others. He is one of Barcelona's all-time leading goalscorers and has been hailed in the run up to this Saturday's Champions League final as one of the true footballing greats, even though he is only 23. 

To say that Manchester United need to work out a plan to stop him is, as the Daily Mail's Des Kelly puts it, "the football equivalent of putting a sticker on a packet of peanuts saying 'Warning: May Contain Nuts'." How to actually go about controlling the Argentinean whizkid, however, is a subject far more open to debate. 

Mark Lawrenson's assertion on the BBC that United must deny Messi "any space and time on the ball", thereby creating "a far better chance of stopping the supply" to the midfield playmaker, is an obvious one, universally agreed with among pundits. But it is also easier said then done.  

In March when Arsenal were facing Barcelona, Robbie Savage argued that only man-marking could contain Messi. "For Arsenal, there's only one way," he wrote in the Mirror. "Get Alexander Song to man-mark him so tightly they're almost sharing the same pair of shorts."

He continued: "Song should do an impression of Roberto Mancini's scarf and get around Messi's neck from the first minute, niggling him and frustrating him."

In the end Song was detailed to keep an eye on Messi, if not man mark him, but by half time Messi had squandered a handful of chances and Song's head was spinning. "Messi was picking the ball up all the time," Lee Dixon recalled on the BBC. "Song didn't know whether to drop back, the centre-half didn't know whether to come in and mark him and Messi tore Arsenal to pieces in that area."

The key, Dixon has suggested, is leadership from defence: "The two centre-backs need to govern when they go in and when they stay as a back four." In this respect, with a central defensive pairing of Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand, United should be in capable hands.

Ever since defeating Chelsea almost a fortnight ago, all but securing the Red Devils' 19th Premier League title, Alex Ferguson has been preparing his players to face the threat of Messi. Nani has been asked to mimic the Argentina in practice matches, alongside Michael Owen, who has played David Villa and Paul Scholes as Andres Iniesta.

It would appear, if quotes from the players are anything to go by, that Ferguson has rejected man-marking Messi in favour of focusing on pressing as a team. "Some players have said to me that I can stop him," Ji-Sung Park said recently. "That sounds great but one man can't stop him, we have to play as a team. Everyone will give 100 per cent to stop him".

Rio Ferdinand echoed Park's sentiments when asked about subduing Messi: "You have to do it as a team. All the games that we've watched when teams have played well against him and Barcelona, the team played well." He continued: "If you cut down the angles and the space then you've got a chance."

Jose Mourinho, the manager who has had most success minimising Messi's threat, certainly always asked his players to constantly pressure Messi high up the pitch, by any means necessary. But the Portuguese has also successfully used another trick: mind games. 

When Chelsea lost 2-1 to Barcelona in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 clash in 2006, Mourinhio launched a verbal tirade against Messi's diving. "Can Messi be suspended for acting?" he said. "Barcelona is a cultural city with many great theatres and this boy has learned very well. He's learned play-acting." 

The rant appeared to work – Messi failed to score in the next six games against Jose Mourinho sides. Although he did score both Barcelona's goals against Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-final first leg, so even that tactic may no longer work.

On Saturday we will see what plan Ferguson has for controlling the Argentine. But ultimately, as Arsenal's young Jack Wilshire has pointed out, even if Messi can be stopped, his fellow playmakers can still destroy defences on their own. "We knew we had to stop him playing," he said, "but if you try to stop him too much there are other players who can hurt you like Iniesta and Xavi."

Perhaps Manchester United's best hope of stopping Barcelona, as one Daily Mail commenter put it, is simple: "Lock them in the changing room." ·