Pep Guardiola will return to the Camp Nou for the first time as an
opposition coach on Wednesday when his Bayern Munich side faces the
ominous task of halting a Barcelona team in devastating form. It was
three years ago that an emotionally drained Guardiola walked away from a
club whose ethos he embodied as a player and perfected as a coach to
guide them to their greatest ever era of success. But now it is the
Catalan who stands in the way of Barcelona’s efforts to win a first
Champions League crown since Guardiola’s brilliant side won two European
Cups in three years between 2008 and 2011.
The bad news for Guardiola is that Barcelona are playing at a higher
level than at any point since his departure into a year-long sabbatical
in New York. Barcelona had gone through a tumultuous two years, with
Tito Vilanova’s reign ending in tragic circumstances and Tata Martino
never able to show he was anything other than a stop-gap.
Current coach Luis Enrique has had his problems, too, not least when
unwisely coming into conflict with the club’s greatest ever player,
Lionel Messi. But, blessed with the greatest front line in the world
today, Barcelona are now steamrolling all before them. They have won
their last two matches by a combined score of 14-0, with Saturday’s 8-0
win over Cordoba almost routine in its delivery. A
6-0 victory against Getafe
four days earlier had taken the breath away, particularly in a first
half in which Barcelona scored five times and Messi, Neymar and Luis
Suárez showed all their individual and collective brilliance. The trio’s
goals in that encounter took their combined tally past the 100 mark.
That total now stands at 108, despite Suárez missing the first two
months of the season and taking time to find his place in what has long
been Messi’s team.
Those struggles seem a long time ago now. It is hard to think of a
front three through history that have possessed so much ability while
also being so complimentary. Crucially all three, who would be the
absolute focal point of almost any other team in the world, have
modified their individual roles to maximize the effectiveness of the
team.
It means there is much to savor at the Camp Nou, despite the fact
that, with a transfer ban still in place and with presidential elections
upcoming this summer, the future direction of the club remains
uncertain. But the two years of failings off the pitch following
Guardiola’s exit could yet come back to haunt them. If Bayern Munich are
to prevail in a most eagerly anticipated semifinal, then it is likely
that Thiago Alcântara, the Barcelona pupil who got away, will play an
influential part.
Son of Brazilian World Cup winner Mazinho, Thiago joined Barcelona at
the age of 14 and was widely regarded as the heir apparent to Xavi. But
Guardiola, Xavi’s predecessor as the fulcrum of Barcelona’s
possession-centric philosophy, was able to capitalize on the Catalans’
bumbling. Upon arriving at Bayern, Guardiola made it clear to his bosses
that his wishes in the transfer market that first summer were simple:
“Thiago or nothing.”
Thanks to Barcelona failing to get rid of a release clause or
convince him that he would get the first-team role needed to continue
his development, Thiago flew the coop. After a promising start, the
Spain international’s first season was curtailed by a serious knee
injury that resurfaced just days into his attempted comeback last
October. But since finally returning to the side he has been superb. In
his second start back, he scored a vital away goal in the first leg of
Bayern’s quarterfinal with Porto, and in the return leg he found the net
again and was superb as the Bavarians stormed to a 6-1 victory.
Having missed the demolition by Real Madrid in last year’s Champions
League semifinals, Bayern will be hoping that Thiago’s presence can make
the difference this time -- especially with their other attacking
options so depleted. At the Camp Nou Bayern will be without the two
players upon which their attack has been centered around for so long,
Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery, while striker Robert Lewandowski is a major doubt after breaking his jaw and his nose
against Borussia Dortmund last week.
Bayern were defeated in that DFB-Pokal semifinal, as they were
against Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday. It was telling, though, that
Thiago was among several players left out of the lineup at the BayArena
who are likely to return on Wednesday. With the Bundesliga title wrapped
up, Guardiola’s focus is on his return to Camp Nou.
Prediction: There will be no surprise in how a
Barcelona team based around its three star forwards will approach the
game. The intrigue lies in how Guardiola will try to counter them.
Whether with three at the back or four, he could well opt to pack his
midfield and try to ensure that a team lacking key attacking talent
remains in the tie going back to the Allianz Arena. Going forward they
will rely on the creativity and dynamism of Thiago as well as getting
the likes of Juan Bernat and Philipp Lahm into attacking positions down
the flanks. But their big task will be to stop the influence of Messi,
particularly his recent penchant for cutting inside and playing
devastating passes over the top to Neymar and Suárez. Bayern are often
vulnerable to runs in behind and that could be enough to give Barcelona
the advantage after what should be an engrossing first leg.
Predicted score: Barcelona 1-0 Bayern Munich
Team News
Barcelona: Luis Enrique is set to name the same XI that beat Cordoba on Saturday, with Jordi Alba expected to shake off a slight niggle.
Bayern Munich: Robben, Ribery and David Alaba all
remain sideline, but Javi MartÃnez could feature having made his return
from serious injury at the weekend.
