BATE coach praises Barcelona youth players after 4-0 defeat in UEFA Champions League
Embroidered in Catalan footballing philosophy, a Barcelona team full of academy graduates took the field in La Blaugrana’s last UEFA Champions League group match.
BATE Borisov suffered at the hands of young guns, as the Camp Nou-based outfit registered an emphatic 4-0 win. Bate manager Viktor Goncharenko praised the youngsters after the match and predicted a bright future for them.
Nine of the starting eleven who took the field were graduates of the famed La Masia academy. Goalkeeper Jose http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Maxwell-c25051 were the only outfield players with no connection to the cantera.
Pedro Rodriguez and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Pedro-c29582 put the opposition to the sword and finished with two goals
to his name.
However, it was youthful Sergi http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Roberto-c31294 who scored in the first half to give the Catalans advantage in the first half. As the floodgates opened in the second period, Martin Montoya added the second before Pedro’s brace ensured the result.
Goncharenko, praised the pedigree of the young http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Barcelona-c38604 players his team faced at Nou Camp and stated that they have a bright future.
The tactician paid tribute to the cantera coaches and said that they have the potential to be as good as http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Lionel-Messi-c22296 and Xavi Hernandez.
"They preserve the structure of the game and this team has very strong players, of course the level of Messi and Xavi is very high, but eventually these players will also be able to approach that level," the Belarusian coach commented.
The technician said that his team was below par in the final stretch of the season and therefore, were ill prepared for the encounter after a difficult season.
Goncharenko remarked that qualifying for the European elite club competition was a great achievement in itself.
Barcelona progressed to the knockout round of the Champions League as Group H leaders. They accumulated 16 points after five wins and 1 draw.
AC Milan followed the Spanish champions as runners-up, finishing seven points behind the pace setters.
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