FCBARCELONA.CAT

20.03.2009 13:24

Barça have never beaten Bayern in Europe

Jordi Clos

In the four previous meetings between FC Barcelona and Bayern Munich the German side have a favourable record and Jürgen Klinsmann's team have a great line-up going forward this time around.

There is a strong history between Barça and Bayern as between them they have six European Cups, with the Blaugrana having two and the Bavarian four. The previous meetings though clearly show that it is the Germans that have done well as they met in two ties in the late 1990's in the UEFA Cup and the Champions League and in both cases Bayern progressed.

The first official game between the two teams was in the 1995-96 season when they met in the UEFA. After a 2-2 draw in the Olympic Stadium in Munich, Bayern went to Camp Nou and went away with a 1-2 victory that saw them through to the next round.

Three years later the two teams met again in the group stage of the Champions League and on this occasion the Germans won both matches as they triumphed 1-0 in Germany and then 1-2 in Camp Nou.

A strong squad

A decade on and Bayern Munich are again looking good in Europe as they are unbeaten, but they have not been so consistent in the Bundesliga where they are second and four points behind leaders Hertha Berlin.

Klinsmann's team, known as Super Bayern, are very good going forward with players such as Franck Ribery, Lukas Podolski, Miroslav Klose and Lucas Toni, although the latter two may well miss the tie through injury. The squad also includes such luminaries as Demechelis, Lucio and Lahm in defence and Zé Roberto, Van Bommel and Schweinsteiger in midfield.

Previous visit

Since 2005-06, Bayern have called the Allianz Arena home. The capacity if this architectural gem, that lights up with the Blaugrana colours, is 70,000. It will be Barcelona's second visit there as they played in the Franz Beckenbauer Trophy game in August 2007, which they won 1-0.