In Barcelona everyone dreams of a repeat of the Champions League triumph of 2015. At that time, the Catalans knocked out Bayern. Unlike then, this time the club feels like an outsider competing against a "monster".
Barcelona (AP) - After the laborious entry of FC Barcelona into the quarter-finals of the Champions League, the upcoming opponent FC Bayern Munich is perceived as a "monster" at the foot of Tibidabo.
In a caricature in the Catalan journal "Mundo Deportivo", coach Hansi Flick's team is portrayed as a huge, nasty grinning monster lurking behind the back of coach Quique Setién. "Bayern are scared," wrote the specialist newspaper "Sport". The cheering in the rather pessimistic media was correspondingly restrained, which is very unusual in Spain. "Barça is still alive" was the headline of "La Vanguardia".
In Catalonia the Bavarians were referred to as "giants", as "insatiable", as "victory machine". And as an almost insurmountable obstacle in the style of a "real Mount Everest", as "El Periódico" called it. There has never been so much fear of Bayern in Barcelona. After the not necessarily convincing 3-1 victory over SSC Napoli and before the start of the Lisbon final tournament, only world footballer Lionel Messi provides a little hope.
The colleague of DFB national goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen indeed showed against Naples that he is still capable of (almost) anything even at 33. With his goal to 2-0 he dribbled half of the defense of the guests dizzy and circled the ball as it fell into the far corner. His second goal was also nice, but it was revoked because of a controversial handball. And before Luis Suárez scored 3-0 from the penalty spot in the first half, the man from Rosario was knocked off his feet by Kalidou Koulibaly in the penalty area. "With this Messi anything is possible," wrote "Sport". This phrase was repeated like a mantra.
For the umpteenth time in his career, Messi was hailed as a "god" and an "alien". The colleagues around Luis Suárez also rely on the Argentine. The Uruguayan striker also knows: "Anything can happen in a single game. The odds are 50:50." But is one Messi enough to knock out Bayern and get the 7.5 kilogram pot for the first time since 2015 and for the sixth time in total ?, one wonders in Barcelona.
Against the table seventh from Italy they had enormous difficulties in the first ten minutes and in spite of the relatively comfortable lead in the second half. Even possession of the ball, "Tiki-Taka", the traditional strength of the Catalans, didn't work at all. "Barcelona are no longer the team they used to be, Pressing no longer exists," said guest coach Gennaro Gattuso. To make matters worse, the French world champion Antoine Griezmann did not get out of form against Naples either.
But there was also positive news: The Dutchman Frenkie de Jong, who missed eight of eleven league games after the Corona break due to an injury, pulled the strings in midfield on Saturday evening, just like during the best Ajax times. The defense in front of Ter Stegen, often a weak point of the Catalans, presented itself fairly well in the storm and stress period of the southern Italians.
Especially the interior duo Gerard Piqué-Clement Lenglet. And there are several jokers available against Bayern that were not used against Naples. Striker Ansu Fati (17), midfielder Riqui Puig (20) and, after a long injury break, also Ousmane Dembélé. Will the ex-Dortmund finally make the breakthrough at Barça against Bayern?
Even if the Catalans were very weak in the league recently and surrendered the Spanish league title to arch-rivals Real Madrid for the first time since 2017: The team that was the only one to make it into the quarter-finals of the premier class for the 13th time in a row is to be underestimated. certainly not.
The controversial Setién, who according to the media only has his job because the market offered no alternative, is said to have spoken out with his protégés before the last league game at Alavés (5-0) and settled differences with Messi. On Saturday, he tried to convince local journalists that there was reason for hope. "Bayern are a great team, but so are we. It will be as difficult for us as it is for them," said the coach.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 200809-99-97217 / 4
Statements by Luis Suárez
Statements from Setién
Front page La Vanguardia
