Barcelona will start from Borussia Dortmund to challenge the last chance of coach Ernesto Valverde, who wants to win the Champions League this season, or he will be threatened by the exit of the small door of the Camp Nou.
Valverde knows that Barcelona fans have not forgotten and will not forgive them for the humiliating losses suffered by the Catalan team in the last two seasons when they appeared in front of an easy task against AS Roma and Liverpool in the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively, by winning at home 4-1 and 3-0.
But the surprise came true and saw off the competition on both occasions with a 3-0 defeat in the Italian capital and a 4-0 defeat at Liverpool's Anfield stadium, which continued to win the title at the expense of compatriot Tottenham. Since his contract expires in 2020 with the option of extending an extra year, Valverde (55 years) knows that his future with the Catalan club is linked this season to win the Champions League and nothing else, because even winning the league title for the third season in succession or even crowning the Cup and the Super Cup It will not be enough to continue with an ambitious team that has missed the continental podium since 2015, despite the efforts of players such as Lionel Messi and Uruguayan Luis Suarez. Last week Messi, in an interview with Catalan newspaper Sport, tried to ease pressure on Valverde over his responsibility for the disastrous exit from last season's semi-final against Liverpool. "The technical staff has nothing to do with the game we played."
Regardless of the identity of the party responsible for the humiliating exit at the hands of Liverpool, time passes and Barcelona has won the title only once in the last eight years, only watching Real Madrid monopolize the title for three consecutive seasons and win four times in five seasons, before giving up Last season they were knocked out of the final by Ajax Amsterdam.
"Obviously I would like to win the Champions League again because it has been a long time since we last won it," admitted Messi, dreaming of equaling his Portuguese rivals Cristiano Ronaldo's fifth successive title. "It will be complicated as usual."
Despite the failure to try to recover Brazilian star Neymar from Paris St Germain, who signed him in 2017 from the Catalan club for 222 million euros, Valverde is in the new season with expensive reinforcements, most notably French striker Antoine Griezmann, who joined the champion «La Liga» from local rivals Atletico Madrid for 120 million euros, and Dutch midfielder Frankie de Jong, who cost him 75 million euros to sign from Ajax.
For Messi, who could play his first match of the season today against Dortmund after recovering from an injury sustained on the first day of training with the team after the summer vacation, Barcelona has «a lot of options and a lot of alternatives and players in the middle and attack. "We are in very good shape but the season will tell us whether our squad is better or not, depending on what we achieve." Waiting for what Messi and his new and old comrades have in store, Valverde scored points at Socios, the club's contributing fans, by presenting a miracle this summer, Anso Fati of Guinea-Bissau, a boy whose 16-year-old did not stop him from scoring two goals and passing a decisive ball. In his first three games with the first team. Barcelona will not have a preliminary period to enter the atmosphere of the Champions League, as the journey begins today with a very difficult confrontation in the most complex group of this season, also includes the renewed Inter Milan, led by new coach Antonio Conte, Slavia Prague, Czech, as well as Dortmund.
"We have inherited a difficult lot," Valverde acknowledged. It will be complicated as usual. But the goal this year, like its predecessor, is to finish the group at the top. ”
Despite the pressure of failing to win the most important continental title, Valverde last month seemed relieved to put it on him: "I feel good here. "Obviously, compared to a friend on vacation in Ibiza, it's less comfortable."
The importance of the game for Barcelona
■ Barcelona begin to challenge the last chance to coach Ernesto Valverde, who are demanding this season to win the Champions League.
Valverde knows that Barcelona fans have not forgotten and will not forgive him for the humiliating defeats of the last two seasons.
■ The future of Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde is linked to the achievement of the Champions League.
■ Barcelona have won the title only once in the last eight years.
■ Barcelona will not get a preliminary period to enter the atmosphere of the Champions League, as he plays in the most complex group includes Inter Milan, Slavia Prague Czech, as well as Dortmund.
The importance of the game to Messi
■ Messi, dreams of equalizing the achievement of Portuguese rival Cristiano Ronaldo to win the title for the time
Fifth in his legendary career.
■ Messi is playing his first game of the season today, after recovering from an injury suffered
The first day of training with the team after the summer vacation.
Matches today UAE time
■ Ajax - Lille 23.00
■ Chelsea - Valencia 23.00
■ Salzburg - GNK 23.00
■ Naples - Liverpool 23.00
■ Lyon - St. Petersburg 20.55
Benfica - Leipzig 23.00
■ Inter Milan - Slavia Prague 20.55
■ Borussia Dortmund - Barcelona 23.00
Dortmund's "killer scorer" vows Barcelona
Spanish international striker Paco Alcacer has switched from a substitute on the bench with his former team Barcelona to a "killer scorer" with his current team Borussia Dortmund, with his eyes on the revenge of the Spanish champion, who arrives today at the Signal Idona Park stadium at the beginning Group F competitions for the Champions League. "It's a special game," said the 26-year-old. "I'm happy to play against my former team, which gives me the desire to play better."
After arriving in Dortmund from Barcelona in 2018, the Spaniard turned into one of the best players in the Bundesliga during his debut.He has scored 11 goals in the last seven games in various competitions, and he returned the ball this season as he scored at least once during the season. His matches (5 goals in 4 games), the Spanish national team.
Alacair did not just shine in Germany, scoring in La Roja last week scoring three goals against Romania 2-1 (one goal) and the Faroe Islands 4-0 (two goals) in the Euro 2020 qualifiers.
Spain coach Robert Moreno praised the striker by saying, "It is an honor for us to be with us." Dortmund - AFP
Hosai warns Mohamed Salah not to come to Italy
The right-back of Napoli's Albanian international right-back, Hosay, warned in an interview with the English champions Liverpool not to expect "to come to Naples to play quietly" and will face "difficulties", on the eve of the two teams meet today in the group stage of the Champions League. Europe.
Here's the transcript of the interview with the right-back who has been defending Napoli since 2015:
Q: Like last season, Napoli have to face Liverpool in the Champions League (referring to the two teams meeting last season in the group stage when they exchanged a 1-0 win). How do you deal with this match against the holders?
A: “I think it's the same as last year when everyone expected Liverpool to win. What happened is unfortunate, because I really think we showed that we deserved to qualify for this group (Napoli were out on goal difference from Liverpool). We played against Liverpool and showed that we were stronger than them. Obviously it will be a difficult game, all games are difficult. You simply have to give 100%. "When you do everything, you know it will be a good game for you and a tough game for your opponent."
Q: What can your team rely on to harass the English team?
A: “You just have to be calm. As in all games, we play our way. Then we'll see (what happens). I think the main strength of Napoli is the way he plays, the way we play in every game. "We have to be consistent and think that we are Naples and we can compete with all the other teams in the world."
Q: But Liverpool look the most likely?
A: «Liverpool is one of the strongest teams. They have won the Champions League, so we have to respect this team and the players who play with it. But we must not forget who we are, that we are Napoli and that last season we defeated this team that won the Champions League. We will make them suffer. They cannot come to Naples to play quietly. "It is true that confronting powerful players like Egyptian Mohamed Salah, Brazilian Roberto Firmino, Senegalese Sadio Manet and Virgil van Dijk is a big responsibility, but it is also an opportunity for us to show our qualities." DARS - AFB