Lionel Messi and Argentina handed brutal warning by Bolivia ahead of clash

Lionel Messi and Argentina have been handed a pretty brutal warning by Bolivia ahead of their World Cup qualifier on Tuesday in La Paz.

Coach Cesar Farias has made it clear to the visitors just how determined his team are to win the game against La Albiceleste.

“Playing in the Hernando Siles [the stadium in La Paz] is not like other cities. There’s nothing like it.”

“We have to avoid the Bolivian lament of being the poor little things. Let them say that we’re nasty, it doesn’t matter. But we want to eat the liver of our opponents at altitude.”

Source | ESPN

Playing in La Paz is the stuff of legend with games taking place at altitude, some 3,600 metres above sea level.

Argentina have struggled in the past due to the conditions. Back in 2013, Messi reportedly vomited on the pitch and Angel Di Maria required oxygen.

Messi’s team have prepared for the match slightly differently this time around by spending “two nights at altitude before the game.” It remains to be seen if their tactic will work.

Bolivia opened up their campaign against Brazil and were thrashed 5-0 in Sao Paolo.