BARCELONA: After consecutive premature and humiliating Champions League exits, Barcelona visit Porto on Wednesday aiming to make a statement in their ...
Xavi Hernandez’s side, five-time winners of the competition, have set their sights on returning to Europe’s elite, with that goal informing their transfer strategy last summer. AFPPIX
President Joan Laporta sold off various parts of the club and a percentage of future television rights to fund a spending spree but the Catalans were left with egg on their faces after failing to make it past the group stage. The coach said Barcelona were concentrating on making it into the knockout rounds for the first time in three years, before setting any loftier goals.They waltzed past Belgian champions Royal Antwerp with a 5-0 triumph in their opener but Xavi was quick to acknowledge it means little in terms of their overall chances, given they also thrashed Viktoria Plzen 5-1 in their first match last year.
“We have the capacity, the confidence, but in the next game we have what I would say is the hardest game.” Even dropping down to the Europa League did not prove fruitful in either of the last two seasons, with defeats by Frankfurt and Manchester United adding insult to injury.