[ad_1]
Barcelona’s defense of its first European Cup did not go as planned. Knocked out by CSKA Moscow in the second round, a rebuilding was called for after the Dream Team era. The Dynamo Kyiv was then the first team to face this new Blaugrana team in a knockout tie in 1993/94.
The Catalans were defeated 3-1 in the first leg in Ukraine, despite playing with a man advantage for a substantial period of time. So early in this new era, the shadow of CSKA appeared again. Barcelona was not even close to emulating AC Milan, the benchmark for European teams at that time.
Upon their return to Barcelona after the first leg, the players were received by journalists at El Prat airport. It was 5:00 in the morning and Ronald Koeman didn’t mince words.
“We are not half as good as AC Milan,” said the current Barcelona manager. “They wouldn’t have lost a game like that. We, on the other hand, would.
“I am angry that we lost a game like that. There are many times we have done this kind of nonsense. We should have reason enough not to happen again. We lost with a man advantage, so we are just a good team, nothing more. Quality is not enough to win games. You need other things. “
Koeman knew what he was doing. He was one of the protagonists of the dressing room and, when he spoke, everyone listened. Whether his words changed things or not, Barcelona turned the tie around in the second leg.
Koeman scored the decisive goal in the 4-1 win at the Camp Nou, earning the hosts a 5-4 aggregate victory and a place in the next round.
“I don’t know if it was the best game of the Dream Team, but I’m sure it was one of the best. We always talk about it with [Pep] Guardiola, “Koeman said at his pre-game press conference on Tuesday as his Barcelona team prepares to face Dynamo Kiev again.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
[ad_2]
