Pep Team's greatest challenge?
It was Clubber Lang pounding on Rocky Balboa. One of those nights when Barcelona fans and haters were waiting for the team to emerge and at least draw at the Giuseppe Meazza. In the end it did not happen. They were left black and blue- or should I say neroazzurri- after being beaten in all aspects of the game. It was a beating that made Barca look human. It was one of those performances that people saw with awe as no one thought that Josep Guardiola's team could be dismantled the way they were.
Heads were being scratched and uncertainty reigned, but the wounds are licked and Barca are poised for their greatest challenge ever.
Sometimes defeats are what teach a person how to win. In Barca's case, they should have learned that those swoons that they usually have gone into the past few months will make them pay dearly against a team the caliber of Inter. They also know that they will also have to outwork Inter in order to have a shot.
With all the talk going on in Catalunya regarding Wednesday night's clash against Inter, one arrives to the conclusion that this could be the moment that defines the Guardiola era at Barcelona. There are no motivational clips or newspaper headlines that can prepare Barcelona for the most grueling 90 minutes they have ever faced. This match against Inter will make last year's Stamford Bridge epic seem like a formality.
Just in plain numbers, this is the most daunting task that this team has had to face since its inception 20 months ago. Never had they seen themselves behind two goals in any situation. As mind boggling as it seems, Barcelona will have to learn probably their greatest lesson in their friendly confines at the Camp Nou.
Individually, Barcelona will have challenges. Lionel Messi will again have to step up to the forefront, but the biggest challenge will be for Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The big Swede will have to perform as this situation was the one that made Barca splash all that cash for him. He will also be able to exorcise the ghost that is Samuel Eto'o once and for all with a great performance. But God help him if The Big Game Hunter upstages Zlatan on the stage that made him one of the best strikers in the world.
Inter are just as hungry for European success as they, too, are looking to do what no other Italian team has done- win the treble. Inter comes in with one of the most solid defenses around. With three of the most feared defenders in Lucio and Maicon and the best goalkeeper in the world right now in Julio Cesar, this team is a formidable wall. It also makes it sick to realize that on the pitch we will have two-thirds of Brazil's defense if you include Dani Alves and possibly Maxwell. But that is another topic we can delve during the next 44 days.
Inter was successful where Chelsea and Estudiantes failed. They were able to neutralize the vaunted Blaugrana attack, but at the same time pose a threat to Victor Valdés as well. When I mean threaten, I am talking about come close to scoring as well as putting the ball in the net on multiple occasions.
Part of the Barcelona faith have a blind confidence towards this team. This is something that has never been a part of the culé culture. For decades, they were always pessimistic at what the future had in store. Pessimism was always part of Barcelona lore, but it seems like that is in the past.
If Barcelona do pull this comeback off, they will once again head to the finals shorthanded. Do not expect players like Gerard Piqué, Seydou Keita, and Sergio Busquets to not get booked. At least one of these players might not be available for the final at the Santiago Bernabéu.
One thing is for sure, this Barca team is not the same as last year's, but they are not a team that should have noses thumbed at. There are certain intangibles that this team does not have. At the same time, this team does have that tremendous bull's eye on their back week in and week out. Personally, I always tend to count them out. Yet time after time they come back and prove me wrong. They don't prove me wrong with just a win- but an epic win. Every time I have counted them out, they always add a chapter to their lore. Why can't it happen? Why won't it happen?
For Mourinho they want Barca to continue to be the team that dictates which teams go to the final. Since 1992, Barcelona have faced a finalist in the Champions League a grand total This is why he will try to shut the Barca supporters up quickly by going on the attack in the beginning of the match. If they get the goal, great. If not, his team has all the tools to resist a complete Barcelona onslaught. Inter are ahead 3-1, but "all" Barca need is to win once again 2-0. Easier said than done. Because there is nothing motivates Jose Mourinho more than 100,000 Catalans referring to him as a "translator". That is when he is at his best.
Teams to face Barcelona en route to finals
1991-92 Sampdoria-x
1993-94 AC Milan-x
1998-99 Manchester United/Bayern Munich
2001-02 Real Madrid
2002-03 Juventus
2004-05 AC Milan
2005-06 Arsenal-x
2006-07 Liverpool
2007-08 Manchester United
2008-09 Manchester United-x
2009-10 Inter/ Lyon-y/Bayern Munich-y
x- faced in finals
y- other semifinalists
