Shakhtar coach believes Barcelona strongest team in football history

PanARMENIAN.Net - Ahead of the Shakhtar’s away game vs Barcelona in the Champions League quarter-final first leg match, the Pitmen’s tactician Mircea Lucescu spoke to journalists at the pre-match press conference.

Commenting on the oncoming game, he said, “I played a lot of games against Barcelona. The first time I faced Barca was during my spell at Galatasaray. In that game we were 2:0 up before half-time and in the second period our player was sent off, with Barca going on to draw level. In 2004 and 2008, there were two matches involving Shakhtar Donetsk. To date, Guardiola is one of the best coaches in the world, and I respect him very much. Barcelona players are very skilful. Barca are a team streamlined to perfection in every aspect of their game. Barca players have been playing together for many years, starting from the club's youth ranks. In turn, our team comprise technical and very pacey players who have always proved to be a threat to Barcelona. Therefore, we will be trying to create problems for our opponents tomorrow as well. Obviously, I want this game to end with a score that would enable us to make it through to the semi-finals. In Donetsk, we tend to play very well.”

“I perfectly understand that we are about to play against a very strong team, but I believe in my players and I am sure that tomorrow they will show a decent game. By studying the opponent, I have come to a conclusion that the current Barcelona are the strongest team in the history of football,” Shakhtar website quoted Lucescu as saying.