Schalke 0 – FC Barcelona 1: The German opinion

April 5, 2008 - at FC Barcelona

The German coach was keenly aware just how special Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final clash with Barcelona. He had identified the defensive midfield pairing of Xavi and Iniesta as key players alongside Barcelona’s exceptional strike force and the defences Eric Abidal and Gianluca Zambrotta, who operate almost as wingers whenever the Catalans attack, are others meriting close attention because FC Barcelona play almost in the style of a handball team.  Nevertheless, the “two faces” of Barcelona have not escaped Slomka’s attention. Barça is having an outstanding season in Europe and are unbeaten so far having picked up six wins and two draws but in the league and the Spanish cup they have only won one of their last six and have conceded 15 goals and the hope of the Schalke boss was that his team will be able to exploit this. Barcelona’s recent results are not the only reason why the Royal Blues feel they are in with a chance at the Veltins Arena. Determination, strength in the tackle, pace and drive going forward have been features of Schalke in the Bundesliga just recently, and these are the things that Germans will be hoping to reproduce against Barcelona. The atmosphere inside the Veltins Arena was excellent, as was the effort and the passion put in by the players, but too much reverence in the opening 45 minutes of the quarter-final first leg against Barcelona cost Schalke 04 a better position going into the return at the Camp Nou. Mirko Slomka’s men will now have to reverse a 1-0 deficit there on 9 April if they are to progress to the semi-final.