PROFIL BARCA

BARCELONA
Status: Third in Spanish league
Nickname: Barca
UEFA Ranking: 4th

GettyImages

Dani Alves

THE RECORD: European Champions in 1992 and 2006, a club of Barca's size and stature should have won the ultimate prize in the game far more often. The fact that their fierce rivals at Real Madrid are nine-time winners of this competition merely fires their enthusiasm for this year. Last season's semi-final exit against Manchester United was a little unfortunate as they had the chances to upset the ultimate champions in the second leg at Old Trafford. COACH'S CORNER: Pep Guardiola has taken on a mighty task as he succeeds Frank Rijkaard at Barcelona and attempts to turn a tide of negativity away from the Nou Camp. It was ironic that one of the club's most disastrous seasons for many a year so nearly ended with an appearance in the Champions League Final last May, yet such an achievement would merely have papered over the gaping cracks that have developed in the Barca side. Guardiola has much to prove as a coach and while his fine record as a player with Barca should give him a lengthy honeymoon period, he will have to guard against tarnishing his image as an all-time great at the Nou Camp. He was in charge of Barca's second-string side last season. THE STAR TURN: Lionel Messi will battle it out with Cristiano Ronaldo for the World Player of the Year awards in 2008 and while this brilliant Argentinean playmaker may come out second best on this occasion, many believe he is the finest footballer on the planet. Oozing with class and with more tricks than the most masterful magician, Messi admits he has a burning passion to play in a Champions League Final after injury denied him the chance to shine in the 2006 climax against Arsenal. 'The Champions League Final is the ultimate match for a footballer and to get so close and miss out due to injury is something I need to correct,' he says. THE NEW FACE: Daniel Alves must have been one of the most sought after full-back in football history over the last couple of years and it was Barcelona who secured his services this summer in a massive €35m transfer from Sevilla. Chelsea and Tottenham were among the English clubs chasing Alves, but the huge asking price and his desire to stay in Spain meant he was always likely to pick Barca and he is expected to slot neatly into a new-look defence featuring summer arrivals Gerard Pique and Martin Caceres. THE WILD CARD: Do former greats Samuel Eto'o and Thierry Henry have anything left to offer? The former was told in no uncertain terms that he had no place in Pep Guardiola's plans at the start of the summer, but his inability to find a few club and a decent pre-season campaign means he is likely to play a super-sub role in the Champions League. As for Henry, the Frenchman clearly still has touches of magic in his boots, but consistency is no longer his best quality as he seems to have lost a yard of pace and spends most of his time on the left-wing. YOUNG GUN: Bojan Krkic was long hailed as a superstar in the making and he didn't disappoint as he scored goals aplenty and showed several flashes of genuine brilliance in his first full season as a Barca player. Krkic became the first player born in the 1990s to score a Champions League goal when he netted a crucial away strike in the quarter-finals against Schalke in April and he has his sights set on more glory this term. 'It was a dream come true just to play for Barcelona at the Nou Camp and now the future is so exciting,' says the 18-year-old. WORD ON THE STREET: You have to give Barcelona President Joan Laporta some credit for showing remarkable staying power in the face of a concerted effort to force him out of a job, with many blaming the club's embattled chief for their demise under Frank Rijkaard in the last couple of years. Whether Guardiola can ignore the off-field turmoil that is bound to unravel at the Nou Camp in the coming months and successfully rebuild the flagging team remains to be seen. Not for the first time, off-field politics may well be as captivating as the football at Barca this season. VERDICT: Expectations will always be vast around this club and so long as the brilliant Messi is fit and firing, anything is possible in Guardiola's first season. However, it may take more than a few months to heal the wounds that have seeped so remorselessly at the Nou Camp of late.

BARCELONA
Status: Third in Spanish league
Nickname: Barca
UEFA Ranking: 4th

GettyImages

Dani Alves

THE RECORD: European Champions in 1992 and 2006, a club of Barca's size and stature should have won the ultimate prize in the game far more often. The fact that their fierce rivals at Real Madrid are nine-time winners of this competition merely fires their enthusiasm for this year. Last season's semi-final exit against Manchester United was a little unfortunate as they had the chances to upset the ultimate champions in the second leg at Old Trafford. COACH'S CORNER: Pep Guardiola has taken on a mighty task as he succeeds Frank Rijkaard at Barcelona and attempts to turn a tide of negativity away from the Nou Camp. It was ironic that one of the club's most disastrous seasons for many a year so nearly ended with an appearance in the Champions League Final last May, yet such an achievement would merely have papered over the gaping cracks that have developed in the Barca side. Guardiola has much to prove as a coach and while his fine record as a player with Barca should give him a lengthy honeymoon period, he will have to guard against tarnishing his image as an all-time great at the Nou Camp. He was in charge of Barca's second-string side last season. THE STAR TURN: Lionel Messi will battle it out with Cristiano Ronaldo for the World Player of the Year awards in 2008 and while this brilliant Argentinean playmaker may come out second best on this occasion, many believe he is the finest footballer on the planet. Oozing with class and with more tricks than the most masterful magician, Messi admits he has a burning passion to play in a Champions League Final after injury denied him the chance to shine in the 2006 climax against Arsenal. 'The Champions League Final is the ultimate match for a footballer and to get so close and miss out due to injury is something I need to correct,' he says. THE NEW FACE: Daniel Alves must have been one of the most sought after full-back in football history over the last couple of years and it was Barcelona who secured his services this summer in a massive €35m transfer from Sevilla. Chelsea and Tottenham were among the English clubs chasing Alves, but the huge asking price and his desire to stay in Spain meant he was always likely to pick Barca and he is expected to slot neatly into a new-look defence featuring summer arrivals Gerard Pique and Martin Caceres. THE WILD CARD: Do former greats Samuel Eto'o and Thierry Henry have anything left to offer? The former was told in no uncertain terms that he had no place in Pep Guardiola's plans at the start of the summer, but his inability to find a few club and a decent pre-season campaign means he is likely to play a super-sub role in the Champions League. As for Henry, the Frenchman clearly still has touches of magic in his boots, but consistency is no longer his best quality as he seems to have lost a yard of pace and spends most of his time on the left-wing. YOUNG GUN: Bojan Krkic was long hailed as a superstar in the making and he didn't disappoint as he scored goals aplenty and showed several flashes of genuine brilliance in his first full season as a Barca player. Krkic became the first player born in the 1990s to score a Champions League goal when he netted a crucial away strike in the quarter-finals against Schalke in April and he has his sights set on more glory this term. 'It was a dream come true just to play for Barcelona at the Nou Camp and now the future is so exciting,' says the 18-year-old. WORD ON THE STREET: You have to give Barcelona President Joan Laporta some credit for showing remarkable staying power in the face of a concerted effort to force him out of a job, with many blaming the club's embattled chief for their demise under Frank Rijkaard in the last couple of years. Whether Guardiola can ignore the off-field turmoil that is bound to unravel at the Nou Camp in the coming months and successfully rebuild the flagging team remains to be seen. Not for the first time, off-field politics may well be as captivating as the football at Barca this season. VERDICT: Expectations will always be vast around this club and so long as the brilliant Messi is fit and firing, anything is possible in Guardiola's first season. However, it may take more than a few months to heal the wounds that have seeped so remorselessly at the Nou Camp of late.