FCBARCELONA.CAT

18.12.2009 12:12

Stuttgart in the Champions League

www.fcbarcelona.cat

Barça will play Stuttgart in the Champions League second round following today’s draw. The first leg will be in Germany and the return here at the Camp Nou.

The first game will be played on 16/17 or 23/24 February and the second on 9/10 of 16/17 March Barcelona. Alexander Hleb, a Barça player on loan to the Bundesliga outfit, will be returning to the Camp Nou that day.

Recent precedent

Barça and Stuttgart have met twice in official games before. That was in the group stages of the Champions League in 2007/08. In the first game, the Catalans won 0-2 at the Gottlieb-Daimlier-Stadion, with goals from Puyol and Messi. The group ended with a meaningless encounter in the Camp Nou, which the home side won 3-1 to top the group with 14 points, while Stuttgart finished bottom with just 4.

Last day qualification

Stuttgart qualified for this stage by finishing second in Group G, which was topped by Sevilla. Unirea Urziceni came third and Glasgow Rangers fourth. The Germans started poorly with just 2 points from 9, but got things right in the second half and eventually sealed passage with a 3-1 win over the Romanian side.