avrupa şampiyonlar ligi 2. tur ilk maçında almanya’nın stuttgart takımı, yarın evinde ispanya’nın barcelona takımını ağırlayacak.
stuttgart teknik direktörü christian gross, dünyanın en iyi takımlarından biriyle karşılaşacaklarını ve kaybedecek hiçbir şeyleri olmadığını söyledi.
55 yaşındaki isviçreli gross, yaptığı açıklamada, barcelona’nın geçen yılın şampiyonlar ligi şampiyonu olduğunu hatırlatarak "dünyanın en iyi takımlarından biriyle karşılaşacağız. prestij kazanabiliriz, kaybedecek hiçbir şeyimiz yok. umarım taraftarlara iyi bir maç izletiriz" dedi.
stuttgart, almanya birinci ligi’nde son lig maçında köln’ü 5-1 yendi.
maçta stuttgart’ın gollerinden 4’ünü sakatlıktan yeni kurtulan brezilya doğumlu alman forvet cacau (28) attı.
stuttgart’ın 56 bin kişi kapasiteli mercedes-benz arena stadı’nda oynanacak maçta, alman ekibinde savunma oyuncusu arthur boka, sakatlığı nedeniyle forma giyemeyecek. boka’nın yerine juventus’dan alınan cristian molinaro’nun forma giymesi bekleniyor.
barcelona ile sözleşmesi bulunan ve stuttgart’ta forma giyen belaruslu aleksandr hleb, barcelona’ya karşı oynayacak olmaktan memnun olmadığını belirtti.
hleb, "dürüst olmak gerekirse karşısında oynamak istemediğim tek takım barcelona. dünyanın en iyi takımı. bunu biliyorum, çünkü orada oynadım. seyirci için iyi olabilir, ancak sonraki tura çıkma hedefimiz açısından kötü" dedi.
barcelona
la liga’da 2 gün önce racing santander’i 4-0’la geçen barcelona, almanya’daki maçtan avantajlı bir skorla dönmeyi umuyor.
teknik direktör pep guardiola, yaptığı açıklamada, santander maçındaki oyundan çok memnun olmadığını belirterek, "almanya’da daha iyi oynamalıyız" dedi.
barcelona’da sakatlıktan kurtulan daniel alves ve xavi, 20 kişilik stuttgart maçı kafilesine dahil oldu, ancak iki futbolcunun ilk 11’de yer alıp almayacağı kesinleşmedi.
barcelona’da kasığından sakat olan fransız savunma oyuncusu eric abidal ve orta saha oyuncusu seydou keita ise maçta forma giymeyecek. sakatlığı nedeniyle santander’e karşı oynamayan ibrahimoviç’in durumu belli değil.
jens lehmann believes some typically german football will ensure vfb stuttgart give fc barcelona a run for their money as their uefa champions league first knockout round tie kicks off on home soil.
thrilled to still be playing at the "highest level", goalkeeper jens lehmann fancies vfb stuttgart's chances of ousting first knockout round rivals fc barcelona, even though he admits: "we are huge outsiders."
at 40, the essen native boasts the kind of experience few can match. he has appeared in a fifa world cup semi-final and a uefa european championship final with germany, plus a uefa champions league showpiece with arsenal fc, but europe's top club competition is still special to him.
"these games are played at the highest possible level," he said. "every team in the champions league is a top side when it comes to technique and tactics. this is the highest level there is in world football – even higher than the national teams since they are not as well-rehearsed as club sides."
if club football is tougher than international football, then there can be no more challenging opponents than barça. lehmann remembers the european champions only too well from his uefa champions league final appearance in 2006, which was cut short by a red card 18 minutes into arsenal's 2-1 loss in paris. meeting the blaugrana again, though, will not be harrowing for lehmann. "you cannot really compare those two games," he said. "these are two entirely different teams and that was a final."
if anything, josep guardiola's current crop are more fearsome opponents than the side lehmann faced with arsenal, but the goalkeeper sees no reason to be daunted. "we are huge outsiders but we are also a german side," he said. "we have a special style and from my long career i know that our qualities will allow us to give them a difficult match."
taking a positive result to camp nou for the second leg on 17 march is therefore the mission, yet whatever happens the return encounter will represent a personal milestone for lehmann. "barcelona's is the last big stadium i have not played at, but i think i can contain my excitement for the three weeks until we play there," he concluded with a grin.
hakemler : björn kuipers - sander van roekel - berry simons
stutgart: jens lehmann, cristian molinaro, serdar taşçı, matthieu delpierre, stefano celozzi, timo gebhart (dk. 84 sebastian rudy), aleksander hleb, sami khedira, christian trasch (dk. 58 zdravko kuzmanovic), cacau, pavel pogrebnyak (dk. 64 ciprian marica)
teknik direktör: christian gross
barcelona: victor valdes, gerard pique, rafael marquez (dk. 58 gabriel milito), carles puyol, xavi hernandez, andres ıniesta, sergio busquets, maxwell, yaya toure (dk. 53 thierry henry), zlatan ıbrahimovic, lionel messi
ibrahimović pegs back spirited stuttgart published: tuesday 23 february 2010, 22.40cet
cacau gave stuttgart a deserved half-time lead but zlatan ibrahimović struck in the 52nd minute for the holders.
vfb stuttgart gave holders fc barcelona a real test but were denied a lead to take back to camp nou for the second leg of their uefa champions league first knockout round tie.
stuttgart were rewarded for a sound tactical start midway through the first half when the in-form cacau headed vfb in front against the team coach christian gross warned were "the best club side in the world". however, zlatan ibrahimović made the most of one of his few chances soon after the restart, netting the away goal which makes stuttgart's 17 march trip to barcelona all the more daunting.
with barcelona imposing their well-rehearsed possession game early on, stuttgart responded in an understandably cautious manner, sitting deep in their own half and looking to hit the reigning champions on the counter. it almost paid dividends when lionel messi slipped in the stuttgart box just five minutes in, allowing the home side to break quickly, only for timo gebhart to fire the game's first shot on target within easy reach of victor valdés.
growing in confidence as the blaugrana struggled to create in attack and with the bumper vfb arena crowd behind them, stuttgart began to venture forward with full-back cristian molinaro enjoying plenty of crossing opportunities on the left. however, it was from the right that the game's opening goal came on 25 minutes, gebhart swinging a perfect cross to the far post, where cacau arrived on cue to send a measured header into the far corner.
oozing confidence after his four-goal display against 1. fc köln on saturday, the brazilian striker continued to threaten as stuttgart entered their best phase of the match. twice the energetic forward broke into the box in the immediate aftermath of the goal, only to be denied in the first instance by his own unselfishness and by the feet of valdés shortly afterwards.
while messi had lehmann thanking the left-hand upright when his effort from distance squirmed under the 40-year-old custodian's grasp, it was stuttgart who looked the more dangerous as the half-time whistle approached, christian träsch and pavel pogrebnyak both spurning decent opportunities to extend their lead.
those missed chances were punished early in the second half when ibrahimović equalised. the swedish international's initial attempt after gerard piqué headed a sergio busquets cross was blocked superbly by lehmann, but the experienced goalkeeper was powerless to stop the towering striker from stroking home the rebound. while messi sent another dangerous ball across the face of goal soon after, stuttgart continued positively, almost restoring their lead when sami khedira fired wide after being teed up by cacau.
the lively molinaro persisted well into the closing stages on the left flank and was almost rewarded after showing good pace to get to the by-line, though the italian defender's cross was just too much of a stretch for cacau in the centre. the scores remained level until the end and while stuttgart have a daunting task in three week's time, gross's charges have every reason to be proud of their performance as they continue their excellent form under the swiss coach.
