The return of Robert Lewandowski is the dominant theme ahead of Bayern’s Champions League bang against FC Barcelona. The goalscorer, who shot FC Bayern to many titles, is now “very motivated,” says his coach and warns: A successful brief assignment strengthened the Pole.
Barcelona coach Xavi Hernández sees goalscorer Robert Lewandowski very focused before the Champions League game at Bayern Munich. “Robert is calm. He’s a leader on the pitch. It will of course be a special game for him. He will be very motivated,” said 42-year-old Xavi before FC Barcelona’s final training session at Munich’s Allianz Arena.
World footballer Lewandowski returns to the Munich Arena shortly after his transfer from FC Bayern to FC Barcelona on Tuesday (9 p.m.), which was accompanied by a lot of drama. Xavi rested the goalscorer in the 4-0 win against FC Cadiz in the Spanish league at the weekend and only used it in the last 30 minutes – but there was still enough time for the sixth goal of the season in five games. “The break did him good. He will show his character and personality on the pitch against Bayern,” said Xavi.
The former midfield star did not like to describe Bayern as “horrible opponents” given Barça’s lousy record against the German record champions (2: 8 wins), but expressed respect: “It’s a challenge for us to win here. We’re playing against one of the best teams in the world. We haven’t won here in this stadium.”
In the 0: 3 in the group match a year ago in Munich, which meant that Barcelona were eliminated from the premier class, Xavi had just taken over as coach at his heart club. “We’re in a lot better shape than last year,” he said on his return to Munich: “We’re able to last 90 minutes here.” Bayern and Barcelona had won their opening games in Group C against Inter Milan (2-0) and Viktoria Pilsen (5-1) respectively.