FCBARCELONA.CAT

23.02.2009 12:23

‘Sonny' Anderson: “Barça has the world’s best strikers”

Berta Brau

The ex-Barça player and current forwards coach at Olympique Lyon thinks that Barça will make it to the next round of the Champions League unless they play really badly and Lyon are right on the top of their game.

‘Sonny' Anderson looked at the keys to the tie that begins this Tuesday in an interview with Barça TV and fcbarcelona.cat. “Barça need to be really bad and we need to be really good,” said the Brazilian. As a former striker he was also full of praise for Barça’s attacking outfit: “They’re the best in the world and as a team Barça like scoring lots of goals”.

How do you see the last 16?

“Barça is the best team in Europe and to get through we’ll have to play better than we are doing in the League and better than we did against Bayern Munich and Fiorentina, because we’re up against the best in the world. It won’t be an easy game but we’ll try to make it hard for Barça.”

How can you beat Barça?

“Basically Barça need to be really bad and we need to be really good for us to have a chance, especially in the first leg. You can’t stop them because their entire squad is top notch, so we need to give it 100%. In fact that should be 200% at home to have a chance in the second leg.”

Plus Barça won all of its away games in the group stage quite easily.

“Yep. So we need to be really focussed on the home leg where we’ve done enough with good performances against Bayern and Fiorentina. Now we’re up against Barça who like to score lots of goals, they’ve got amazing players, the best strikers in the world, so we’ll have to play out of our skins from start to finish.”

You were a teammate of Guardiola’s at Barça and now you’re in opposing dugouts. How do you think he’s going?

“Really well. Being a player is one thing, being a coach is another. Barça plays the way Pep did; quick, attractive one or two touch football, playing it wide and scoring. I think he’s doing a great job with some players who have powerful personalities. I’m not surprised about how well he’s doing and I’m really happy for him.”

Is it special going head-to-head with an ex-teammate?

“Pep is a coach. I coach the strikers at Lyon. Maybe we’ll win but it won’t be easy. He’s in fine form which means the team is as well. He’s happy because Barça is his home. He knows everyone there and knows Barça better than anyone. I hope it’ll be a good game, and of course I hope we win.”

How can you break down Barça’s defence?

“The best defence is your attackers. Barça plays well up field and they get the ball back in their opponents’ half, and if they lose it the strikers are still there and they get the ball back in the final third. I think Barça’s best defence is their strikers who are their first line of defence.”