Bayer Leverkusen sports director Rudi Voeller was not pleased about how eager the team’s players were to swap shirts with Lionel Messi on Wedesday, when Barcelonabeat Leverkusen, 3-1, in their first-leg, round of 16 game in Germany.
Michal Kadlec, who scored Leverkusen’s only goal, had sought Messi’s jersey at halftime but wasbeaten to it in the tunnel by his fellow defender Manuel Friedrich. Kadlec got hold of Messi’s second-half jersey after the final whistle.
“I can guarantee that Kadlec andFriedrich will auction off their Messi shirts for a good cause,” said Voeller, adding that similar scenes will not be tolerated when the two during the second leg at Camp Nou. “What the pair did was abit over the top.”
Kadlec said: “When you play against such a player, then you always want his shirt. I would have swapped it immediately for a better result, but it is a shame that we didnot do enough.”