Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri says it will be "practically impossible" to man-mark Barcelona's Lionel Messi in the Champions League final on Saturday.
Messi scored the latest of his seemingly endless string of stunning goals in the Copa del Rey final on Saturday when he escaped a three-man trap on the sideline and ran past a fourth defender before scoring at the near post -- and even Allegri admitted he was impressed.
"What did I feel when I saw Messi's goal against Athletic? What he did on Saturday was exceptional," Allegri said.
Juve centre-back Giorgio Chiellini, however, said Messi would find scoring such a goal difficult against Serie A defenders.
"Messi would not be able to score goals like that in Italy," Chiellini said. "At the moment he is the god of football. The offensive play in Spain is great but we defend better here in Italy."
And when it comes to defending the Argentina star, Allegri said his team must take a different approach.
"Man-to-man marking of Messi while he's on the move is practically impossible. We need to have conviction and anticipate his moves," the Juve manager said.
Barcelona's goals at the weekend brought the tally of attacking trio of Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez to 120 goals in all competitions, setting a Spanish record, and Allegri also said Juventus were preparing for the talent of Andres Iniesta in midfield.
"We're aware of the quality of Messi, Neymar and Suarez and especially that of Iniesta," Allegri said.
He added: "We know that Barca are a quality team and play a brand of football that is unique. We want to show and prove to the rest that we can compete against this Barcelona team. Messi and Neymar play in a different way to any other forward pairing in the world. We need to play a tight game."
Allegri said Juventus will need to improve upon their feat of ousting defending champions Real Madrid in the semifinal if they are to beat Barcelona in a single match.
"It's great preparing the tactical side of a Champions League final. It's a privilege to coach this team. To win on Saturday, we need to play even better than we did against Madrid. That was a two-legged tie -- not on Saturday," Allegri said.
"Playing against Barca is unlike playing against any other rival. One needs plenty of patience and strength."
The final will also present the first meeting between Suarez and Chiellini since the Uruguayan's infamous bite on his opponent during the World Cup last summer.
Suarez served a four-month ban after the incident, but Chiellini said that there would be no drama between the two on Saturday, even though his current teammate Patrice Evra didn't shake Suarez's hand after he was racially abused by the then-Liverpool forward when playing for Manchester United.
"Of course I will [shake hands],'' Chiellini said. "I'll hug him happily, too, there's no problem at all. Those who know me even a bit know that that's how I truly feel.
"I have no problem with him and I think it's the same for him. I have to think about him as a player, how he moves, his great skill but nothing more."