FCBARCELONA.CAT

27.04.2009 19:15

Hiddink: “I admire Barça’s philosophy”

Berta Brau

The Chelsea manager says he is a fan of Barça’s attacking style and thinks that this year they are a superb team. He believes the game will be open and his side will need to be on their toes to avoid falling into the same trap as Bayern.

“I’ve admired Barça’s philosophy for years,” admitted Guus Hiddink at his pre-match press conference. “I like the way they play in their own way and always on the attack. Plus this year they’ve been a superb team.” Malouda, the player who accompanied Hiddink, said that “everyone likes the way Barça play, always coming forward and scoring lots of goals.”

“We’ll have to be on our toes”

Hiddink said he’s analysed Barça’s previous games and specifically drew some conclusions from the Bayern tie. “In the first half of the first leg, Barça destroyed Bayern,” he noted. “We’ve looked at that game and we know we’ll have to be on our toes if we don’t want to get caught in the same trap.”

“It’ll be an open game”

The Chelsea coach thinks it’ll be an open game at Camp Nou. “Both teams attack whenever they can,” he said. “We don’t sit back and wait but instead we go forward, so I reckon Tuesday’s game will be pretty open.”

Praise for Messi

Both Hiddink and Malouda were full of praise for Leo Messi, describing him as “one of the world’s best players”. The problem they have now is how to stop him. “It’ll be hard but I think Bosingwa, who’s back from injury, can do a good job,” said Hiddink.

Chelsea’s chance

Malouda thinks the Barça tie is Chelsea’s chance to show what they can do. “We’re ready and waiting,” he said. “It’s a massive challenge as Barça have been really good at home this season.” The key to winning the game will be to “use the times when we’re on top to do some damage”.