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WHEN teenage City starlet Angelino came up against the great Lionel Messi he was afraid of one thing - hurting the little Argentinian genius!

The 17-year-old Spanish left back found himself pitted against Messi when the Blues’ under-21 side were invited to join in a training session as the Albiceleste trained at Carrington.

Messi and Co are in town ahead of tonight’s Old Trafford friendly against Portugal, and that gave City’s kids a fabulous opportunity to see greatness close up.

Angelino is not exactly wet behind the ears when it comes to facing greatness - he has trained with City’s first team.

But Messi is, as Sergio Aguero recently said, on “another level” - and his greatest fear was that he would be the man to put him out of action with an ill-timed challenge.

“I couldn’t believe I was defending against Messi. I didn’t get any tackles in - I didn’t want to injure him. But he is the best,” said Angelino, whose full name is Jose Angel Esmoris Tasende.

“We were all impressed with Messi - at one point he turned with the ball and dribbled past six, seven players!”

“It was a great experience for me to train with one of the best players in the world.

“We didn’t expect this, and it was great to see all of those big stars training with us.”

Angelino has been earmarked for stardom himself, although reports in Spain that he has been offered a new long-term professional contract, are premature.

Anyone who watches the City youth teams on a regular basis is in no doubt that the tenacious, skilful defender could soon be challenging Aleks Kolarov and Gael Clichy for the left back spot at City.

He is playing a long way above his under-18 age group, regularly turning out for the under-21a and in the under-19 Uefa Youth League - in which he made his debut last season as a 16-year-old.

He was exceptional in the 4-1 win at Bayern Munich in September, scoring one goals, creating two, heading a Bayern effort off the line, and teasing the opposition goalkeeper into a red card offence with a wicked pass.

The elite development squad manager Patrick Vieira was suitably impressed: “He was fantastic,” said the French World Cup winner. “He is one of the players who has a massive chance.

“He plays the same way as he trains, always giving you 100 per cent - he is always focussed, always concentrates, and he had a fantastic game.”

The Argentina squad, which also includes Angelino’s City clubmates Aguero, Pablo Zabaleta, Martin Demichelis and Willy Caballero, trained for two days

at Carrington and then had two sessions at the new Etihad Campus facilities.

And when the Argentines invited City’s youngsters to join them, it soon dawned on Angelino that Messi, playing on the right of a three-pronged attack, would be in direct opposition.

But the Spain under-17 international saw it as a learning process, even though Messi last season ended the first team’s Champions League hopes with two goals at the Etihad Stadium in the first leg of the last 16 tie.

“It helps us to develop, because it is good coming up against different styles, and Messi is just class,” said Angelino. “They have been where we are now, and know everything.”

But, over nd above his ability, Angelino was also struck by his friendliness, and by the advice he was given by Argentina left-back Cristian Ansaldi, of Atletico Madrid.

“Messi talked to me about my family and stuff, and the left back was talking to me about my position, when I need to go forward, and when not,” said Angelino.

“I have had chances to train with the first team, and then I was really nervous - these are players who play in World Cup finals, so you expect them to be good."