Barcelona’s director of football is discontent after Barcelona were drawn against AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League.
The retired veteran conceded that facing the Rossoneri at this stage of the tournament would certainly prove to be a test for La Blaugrana. He admitted that he would have been pleased if the Spanish giants were drawn against an easier opponent.
Zubizarreta stated that AC Milan are among Europe’s elite and would require the Catalans to perform at their very best in order to qualify for the semi-finals of the prestigious tournament.
Although Barcelona are the current UEFA Champions League title holders, their director of football has appeared quite anxious at the prospect of facing the Italian giants.
Football audiences all over the world were more than jubilant when Friday’s draws revealed that Barca will face Milan. In fact, it may appear to be the most interesting fixture in this year’s quarter-finals as other matches do not seem to be this competitive.
Interestingly, this will not be the first time the two teams will meet each other in the Champions League. The two European giants found themselves in the same group during the initial stages of the tournament.
AC Milan and Barcelona were both drawn in Group H along with Viktoria Plzen and BATE Borisov. As expected, both these European giants progressed to the knockout phase of the tournament, with Barca finishing first and Milan finishing second in the table.
Pep Guardiola’s men hosted the first match between the two this season, which ended in a 2-2 draw as the Catalan giants had to settle for a stalemate at home after a stellar defensive performance by the visitors.
The second match was even more thrilling as the Spanish champions secured a 2-3 victory at the San Siro.
According to http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Barcelona-c38604’s official website, Zubizarreta was quoted as saying:
"We've already played against them in the group stages, and it's not very appealing to take on teams you've already played against. We prefer to play against new teams, sides that don't know us as well and that we can better analyse.”
"It's Milan, and that's that. They are a great club, with great players. We'll have to play football well and be better than them in order to get to the semi-finals."
The first leg of the quarter-final will take place on March 28th, at San Siro.
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