'I apologised after kicking Lionel Messi – Jose Mourinho's tactics said it all about him'

Stopping Lionel Messi in his Barcelona pomp was no mean feat, as Real Madrid winger and former Argentina team-mate Angel Di Maria realised while playing for Jose Mourinho in a 2011 cup final

Lionel Messi’s former Argentina team-mate Angel Di Maria apologised to the superstar for roughing him up in a cup final while playing for Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid.

The 2011 Copa Del Rey final saw Di Maria and Mourinho’s Los Blancos clash with Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona at the Mestalla – with the latter looking unstoppable at the time.

La Blaugrana had won three consecutive La Liga titles, with Real playing second fiddle on every occasion. The following month, they had a Champions League final to contest at Wembley against Manchester United, which they would go on to win, having also held the crown in 2009.

So how would Mourinho and Di Maria go about thwarting their bitter rivals, led by the omnipotent Messi? Ultimately, it meant hacking down the genius Argentinian – something compatriot Di Maria profusely apologised for, but it proved highly effective.

"The only way to beat that Barcelona was by hitting, putting in more effort and running more than them," Di Maria, who retired from international football this year, told Clank Media.

"And that somehow led to them getting into fights on the field. At times I was afraid they would injure 'Enano' (Messi), I was more worried about him than anything else."

Mourinho, perhaps knowing he could not outclass Guardiola and Messi on the pitch, enlisted his men to hack the star down on every possible occasion. He often put two men on each of their other notable players, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, and David Villa, too.

"The match at Mestalla was very tough; that final was kick after kick. At one point I had to kick Leo because he was getting away from us on a counterattack," Di Maria continued. "I lifted him up and said 'sorry Enano (Messi), but if I didn't stop you, they could score on us.' I had no other option. It was playing that way; it was impossible to stop."

This mindset was very telling about how opponents viewed Messi at the time. The only way to stop him from putting you to the sword was to foul. Surprisingly, in this instance, such tactics worked.

The 55,000-strong crowd witnessed a brutal showdown, with eight yellow cards issued in all. The match went to extra time, with Di Maria sent off in the 120th minute for a second bookable offence and Cristiano Ronaldo heading home a 103rd-minute winner to snatch the trophy.

However, this did not see any love lost between the two Argentinian wingers, and despite enjoying success alongside Ronaldo, Di Maria credited his countryman Messi – now of Inter Miami – with being football’s greatest.

"For me, Messi and Cristiano are the two best players in history," Di Maria concluded. "But, it is obvious that Leo has no comparison to any other player."

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