|
|
'Barcelona are stronger than Spain; it would be a miracle to beat them,' says Bayer Leverkusen coach Robin Dutt
The German coach is not too confident ahead of the first leg at the BayArena and stated that the Catalan giants are always in impressive form in the Uefa competition
13 Feb 2012 20:40:00
By Luis Mira
Lars Baron
Bayer Leverkusen coach Robin Dutt has made it clear that Barcelona are heavy favourites for the clubs' upcoming Champions League tie.
The Bundesliga side reached the knockout stages after finishing second in the group, ahead of Valencia and Genk, but Dutt thinks that the Catalan side are at a completely different level.
"I would be a miracle if we could beat Barcelona over two legs," he told a press conference. "Barca are better than the Spain national team.
"We will have to pay equal attention to every Barca player - even their substitutes are at international level."
Dutt then played down Barca's shock 3-2 defeat to Osasuna at the weekend, which has left the Camp Nou outfit 10 points behind Real Madrid in the race for the Primera Division title.
"They sometimes drop a point or two in the league, but almost never in the Champions League," he added.
|
Sign up with 188BET for a FREE bet up to £25 – Great Prices, Every Game |
|
Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £50 in free bets! |
|
Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25 |
|
Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
|
Sign up with Paddy Power - Bet £10, Get £20! |
The Bundesliga side reached the knockout stages after finishing second in the group, ahead of Valencia and Genk, but Dutt thinks that the Catalan side are at a completely different level.
"I would be a miracle if we could beat Barcelona over two legs," he told a press conference. "Barca are better than the Spain national team.
"We will have to pay equal attention to every Barca player - even their substitutes are at international level."
Dutt then played down Barca's shock 3-2 defeat to Osasuna at the weekend, which has left the Camp Nou outfit 10 points behind Real Madrid in the race for the Primera Division title.
"They sometimes drop a point or two in the league, but almost never in the Champions League," he added.
Starting in November and continuing through to the middle of February, Goal.com is publishing exclusive extracts from Graham Hunter's highly-anticipated new book, 'Barca: The Making of the Greatest Team in the World'. The last extract looked at how Barca suffered rare disappointment at the hands of Real Madrid in a gripping finale to last season's Copa del Rey. Don't miss it!
| Sign up with 188BET for a FREE bet up to £25 – Great Prices, Every Game |
|
| Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £50 in free bets! |
|
| Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25 |
|
| Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
|
| Sign up with Paddy Power - Bet £10, Get £20! |
|
Live!
England 1-0 Belgium, Netherlands 6-0 Northern Ireland - follow all the international action LIVE! ahead of Euro 2012
With countries across the continent gearing up for their final warm-up games ahead of Euro 2012, join us for all the action from Saturday's friendlies. Get in touch with us via Twitter with your reaction.
Hosted by Joe Doyle
Hosted by Joe Doyle
21:38 BST
And it's now 3-1 to Turkey! An own goal from Pepe and we're into time added on. Do people think Portugal will qualify from their group?
21:34 BST
Into the final few minutes with Portugal still 2-1 down to Turkey. Cristiano Ronaldo missed his second ever penalty for Portugal earlier on.
21:12 BST
Elsewhere in Europe, Portugal are currently losing at home to Turkey. Not looking good for them at the Euros!
21:03 BST
As promised, here is the match report on Netherlands 6-0 Northern Ireland.
21:00 BST
And here's more from Roy Hodgson on the injury concerns in the England squad.
Inside Goal.Com
-
Welbeck convinces Hodgson he is the man to lead the line
England beat Norway 1-0 at Wembley, with the Manchester United man hitting an impressive winner to stake his claim for a starting spot at Euro 2012
-
The five players Rodgers could sign to kick-start revolution
The new Reds boss was unveiled to the press on Friday and must immediately begin work on revitalising a thin squad with some additions in the transfer market
-
Managerial merry-go-round keeps spinning as Lambert takes Villa job
The Scot officially left Norwich City on Saturday to become the second new boss in June, following the appointment of Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool on Friday
-
Rodgers ushers in new Anfield era on his own terms
The Northern Irishman inevitably expressed his delight at landing the Reds job but evidenced plenty of the steely resolve which could see him become a success at Anfield
-
The definitive timeline of FSG's hunt for new manager
Kenny Dalglish's sacking at the end of the season sparked a massive hunt for the next Anfield boss, and the former Swansea man has been chosen after several turned the job down
