Bayern Munich vs Barcelona April 23, 2013
Bayern Munich face the litmus test in their bid to become the first German team to win the treble of European, league and cup titles when they host Spanish giants Barcelona in Tuesday’s Champions League semi-final, first-leg.
Having swept aside all rivals to win this season’s Bundesliga title, Bayern are bidding to reach their third Champions League final in four years, but Spanish champions-elect Barcelona block their path to Wembley.
Bayern warmed-up for the showdown at Munich’s Allianz Arena with a 6-1 win at Hanover 96 on Saturday, the same scoreline by which they routed Wolfsburg in last Wednesday’s German Cup semi-final.
Coach Jupp Heynckes dropped a hint for Tuesday by incorporating both strikers Mario Gomez and Claudio Pizarro into a 4-4-2 formation, rather than Bayern’s usual 4-2-3-1 line-up.
With first-choice forward Mario Mandzukic suspended, Gomez has staked a strong case to face Barcelona with a hat-trick in six minutes against Wolfsburg, then two goals in Hanover.
Likewise Pizarro set up both Gomez’s goals at Hanover while scoring two of his own, and with an eye on Barcelona the 34-year-old boldly declared: “We’re better, we have more quality in our squad”.
Arsenal have proved Bayern are far from unbeatable in Munich with a 2-0 win as the Gunners lost the last 16 tie on away goals after the Germans’ 3-1 victory in London, but the hosts have belief in abundance.
“We are confident and we are assuming we will go through,” said Bayern’s director of sport Matthias Sammer, as the Bavarians claimed three more Bundesliga records at Hanover.
Bastian Schweinsteiger against Xavi is one of the most intriguing battles of the tie. Both the highly-skilled midfielders are key to their respective sides.
Schweinsteiger has been an indispensable presence for the Bavarians. Starting his career as an innocuous winger, the Bayern youth product was converted to a robust box-to-box midfielder by Louis van Gaal, and now is considered to be one of the best in the business. With his tireless running and tackling ability combined with his exemplary vision, he has proved to be a match winner on numerous occasions.
Meanwhile Barcelona have the most successful passing rate in the competition, and Spanish veteran Xavi has been the catalyst behind Barca's success. Pulling the strings from a deep-lying role, Xavi's precise passing and ability to find his teammates could prove to be a matter of concern for the Bavarians. Along with his extraordinary vision, Xavi poses a great threat from set-pieces too.
On Tuesday, the Champions League returns with a semifinal pairing of Bayern Munich and Barcelona, this season's top two teams in Germany and Spain, respectively. Without thinking too hard, one could easily argue that these are the top two teams in Europe.
Barcelona features in the semifinals of Europe's elite continental competition for a record sixth consecutive year. The achievement adequately describes Barcelona's reign over European football during the Lionel Messi era.
