BARCELONA: Devising a strategy to thwart Barcelona forward Lionel Messi is Chelsea coach Guus Hiddink’s main concern ahead of his side’s Champions League semifinal first leg at the Nou Camp today.
The Argentina international is the top scorer in this season’s competition with eight goals and Chelsea’s task of preventing him from adding to his tally has been complicated by the suspension of left back Ashley Cole.
Hiddink tried Portuguese defender Jose Bosingwa, who normally plays on the right, in Cole’s spot in Saturday’s 1-0 Premier League win over West Ham but said he was still weighing up his options.
“I could start crying about not having Cole in that position and also look for excuses,” the former Real Madrid and Valencia boss said on Chelsea’s website (www.chelseafc.com).
“I am not like that, I like to put the full energy and the confidence to (the player) who is substituting him in that position,” the Dutchman added. “Whoever is playing against Messi will have a tremendous job to do because he is the most productive player in the world and one of the players you like to watch, except when you play him.” Barca are the only non-English club left in the last four of Europe’s top club competition for the second year in a row.
The 2006 champions lost 1-0 on aggregate to eventual winners Manchester United in last year’s semifinals thanks to a Paul Scholes strike early in the second leg in England.
With the exception of long-term injury absentee Gabriel Milito, coach Pep Guardiola has a full squad to choose from following the Primera Liga leaders’ 2-2 draw at fourth-placed Valencia on Saturday.
“We have to rest and recover well because we are about to begin the most important week of the year,” the former Barca and Spain midfielder said.
“I did not see any tiredness in the players,” he added. “We are like a machine.” Midfielder Seydou Keita said the Barca players were well acquainted with their opponents and singled out Chelsea’s physical presence as their main strength.
“The coach is doing some great work in preparing us for the match,” the Mali international said at a news conference.
“He makes us watch a lot of the other team’s games and we analyze their weak points and the dangers we could face.”
Bayern sacks Klinsmann, brings in Heynckes
In Stuttgart, Germany, Bayern Munich have fired coach Juergen Klinsmann after a disappointing first season and put former manager Jupp Heynckes in charge for the five remaining league matches. “We had trouble taking this decision but the results of the past weeks, the way they came about, and especially the situation five matches before the end of the league forced us to act as a responsibility to the club,” Bayern general director Karl-Heinz Rummenigge told reporters yesterday.
Klinsmann was told after a morning meeting with board members Uli Hoeness, Rummenigge and Karl Hopfner. Assistant coaches Martin Vasquez and Nick Theslof were also sacked.
Hoeness said the coach had been surprised and “even shocked.” “Naturally, I am very disappointed at the moment,” Klinsmann said in a statement. “We have set the foundation for the future.
I still believe the team can win the championship.” Bayern are third in the Bundesliga, three points behind leaders VfL Wolfsburg, after losing 1-0 at home to Schalke 04 on Saturday and are in danger of winning no silverware this season.
The defeat by Schalke piled the pressure on the former Germany coach, with thousands of fans chanting “Klinsmann out.”
Heynckes, 63, coached Bayern from 1987-91 and won two championships.
He also enjoyed a brief spell at Real Madrid, winning the Champions League in 1998, but his most recent Bundesliga job at Borussia Moenchengladbach ended midway through the 2007 season after his team had gone 13 matches without a win.
“We needed this solution,” said Rummenigge. “We trust Jupp, with his calmness and experience to steer things in the right direction.” Rummenigge ruled out giving Heynckes a long-term deal.
“I am doing this for Bayern because they were the stepping stone for my international career and because of my friendship with Uli Hoeness,” Heynckes told the online edition of the Rheinische Post newspaper.
