CL Match Preview: FC Barcelona v VfB Stuttgart, 2nd leg

“We are very much looking forward to the game and we are highly motivated. It is absolutely possible that we can put on a performance over 90 minutes in Barcelona as we did in the first 45 minutes of the first leg. A win over Barcelona would be the greatest success in my career as a trainer to date.”

So says Herr Gross and his words must ring true to have any shot at this thing. It’s been a problem all year; one inspired half of play (usually the first.) When Stuttgart are clicking on all cylinders, they DO look like world beaters. They have the talent and drive to cause any team problems on any given night. The challenge is having that carry over for the full 90, and maybe even longer if need be.

So do Die Schwaben have the mettle to upset the Blaugrana on their own pitch? I think a lot of things need to fall into place perfectly to have any shot at it. Make no mistake about it, Stuttgart need to play nearly perfect football to make the unlikely happen. It starts with keeping their composure in those opening few minutes, when the stadium is alive and already urging the home side to push forward and end it early. 96,000 fans is a sight to behold if you’ve never been there before. Will they be intimidated or inspired? If they can control their nerves and settle in without an early catastrophe, there still is hope.

Gross also needs to stick with his gameplan from the opening leg; mainly taking it to Barcelona. Stuttgart have shown time and again (and unfortunately all too recently) that their defense is a liability more than anything else. They need to clean their act up, and quick, to avoid an all out romping Wednesday night. They really need only look to the 1st leg for an idea of what to do. Fundamentally sound defending. They crowded out Messi every time he touched the ball. Physical when they needed to be. And most importantly, no stupid mistakes.

Yes, it’s all tied up, but make no mistake Barcelona are firmly in the driver’s seat. One only needs to look to last year, with Lyon knotted up 1-1 and heading back to Barcelona similarly. Barcelona coolly ended that one with a 5-2 slaughtering at home. It can get out of hand quickly. Furthermore, when you have Messi in your attack against a floundering defense, anything is possible. Exhibit A, from this past weekend:





Yikes. That’s the thing with Barcelona. This past weekend against Valencia they looked like the lesser team on the pitch in the first half. But they don’t need to be perfect. When things aren’t clicking they have the talent to have one man carry them for stretches if need be.

And much like Valencia this past weekend against Barcelona, Stuttgart whiffed several times in putting Barca away in that first leg. How many missed opportunities were there in that first half? At least 3 or 4 legitimate opportunities, expected goals, blown. I’m willing to make a not so bold prediction that they won’t get nearly as many opportunities again in Spain, so they MUST make the most out of the ones that they get. Again, take it to them, put the onus on them to make plays on defense. Any defense can look great when a team dominates possession and sets up camp in the attacking half the entire game. If we’re going to lose this I want it to be because we went forward and attacked and maybe lost on a counter-attack or something like that. Not because we sat in the box all match and they eventually picked us apart. In some respects I guess it can be looked as a positive that we NEED to score at least one goal to have any shot of going through. It’ll force us to push forward.

I’m expecting pretty much the normal XI that we’ve seen the past couple of weeks to start this one as well. Luckily Delpierre will be back out there to run the show in defense. We could certainly use his leadership qualities and that physical presence he brought in the first leg. Hleb was battling a cold over the weekend but is expected to be in the starting XI come Wednesday. It’s not a reunion of the magnitude of Beckham back to Old Trafford or The Special One revisiting Stamford Bridge, but it’s a reunion nonetheless for Hleb. He’ll have something to prove to his parent club in this leg as his future remains uncertain once his loan spell ends after the season here.

I’d expect to see a similar side for Barcelona as well. You can bet that Xavi will be look a hell of a lot better than he did in the 1st leg. Same goes for much of the midfield. I still think their defense can be tested and shouldn’t be allowed off the hook by bunkering into our own half. I think I’ve exhausted this point enough.

Horst Heldt, VfB Executive, put it this way:

“We’re not going to Spain just to make up the numbers. Every single player who is involved will have to play the match of his life – then we can do the impossible.”

And that’s it right there. They need a flawless display. I could see this match going one of two ways. Either they let up a goal and they become deflated early and it gets out of hand, or, it remains tight throughout. The longer it remains close, the more pressure is put on Barca to make something happen. That’s one beauty of being the underdog, there’s really NO pressure to succeed. Everyone expects you to fail. So a drawn out match, or better yet a goal from Stuttgart, only increases that pressure on them. Here’s to hoping they pull off an upset a la Lyon circa 2010, not 2009.

Category: UEFA-Cup, match preview