The coach of the Belgian Antwerp, Mark van Bommel, stated this Monday, in the preview of the group H match of the Champions League, that his team will play against Barcelona, ??that the Catalan team “could win the Champions League” and praised the role of his coach, Xavi Hernández.
“If you see Barça play you see Xavi’s signature, his way of playing is reflected,” claimed the former Barcelona player, with whom he participated in the Champions League won in 2006.
Van Bommel highlighted that the Blaugranas “play very well on a technical level” and that they are “very dominant in the opponent’s area.”
“Barcelona is one of the best teams, with many young players who dominate their opponents and for us tomorrow is going to be very complicated,” highlighted the Dutchman.
Antwerp, which will play in the Champions League for the first time in its history, is the current Belgian champion and has a squad full of young players who are beginning to attract the attention of Europe’s greats, such as midfielder Arthur Vermeeren.
“I am very happy that he plays with us. He is an interesting player not only for Barcelona,” van Bommel proclaimed.
He noted that one of tomorrow’s objectives will be to “maintain possession of the ball” and foresees an “extremely difficult” match because Barcelona “is leading at an incredible level.”
For his part, defender Jelle Bataille said that the squad feels “very happy” to play in the top European competition with rivals like Barcelona.
He warned about the difficulty of Belgian teams in retaining their best players, although he denied having any intention of leaving the club. “I’m not thinking about leaving, but about enjoying and the pride of playing in the Champions League,” said the defender, although he confessed that “if something comes later, we’ll see.”
