Barcelona, Chelsea start Champions league campaign, Dortmund face Napoli
From the early 1970s, Barcelona and Ajax have shared a special relationship. On Wednesday, the two storied clubs will share the same field for the first time when they meet in Group H of the Champions league.
“The clubs share a nice history,” said Johan Cruyff, who left Ajax after winning three straight European Cups from 1971-73 and moved to Barcelona.
The Dutch great went on to coach Barcelona to its first European Cup title in 1992.
This year, it’s Gerardo Martino leading a team that boasts lionel Messi and Neymar. But even with them, the Argentine coach said the team needs to improve its command of the flow of play.
“(The squad) worships ball control, and I must not try and change that,” Martino said, adding that the flow was still too unpredictable for him. “When we are stronger collectively, we display more individual brilliance and can close games with more authority.”
AC Milan will host Celtic in the other Group H match.
Martino used both Messi and Neymar in attack against Sevilla over the weekend and won 3-2, with the Argentina forward scoring the second goal. But it was the 21-year-old Brazilian who shone.
“Neymar played a perfect match,” Martino said.
Against Ajax, Barcelona could have Carles Puyol back. The 35-year-old defender returned to training on Friday after recovering from knee surgery.
With defender Jordi Alba sidelined due to a hamstring injury sustained in the Sevilla match, Puyol could reinforce a back four that has looked fragile at times and provide help for Gerard Pique and Javier Mascherano.
“The team is getting its captain back and we have the center back we wanted,” Martino said.
Ajax arrives ater a 2-1 Dutch league win over Zwolle, where coach Frank de Boer brought on forward Bojan Krkic in the second half.
The 23-year-old Krkic, who came up through Barcelona’s training school and scored 26 goals in 104 appearances for the first team from 2007-11, said playing against such a great team “should motivate us.”
Chelsea take on Basel
london: When the “Special One” returned to Chelsea, he did it with the Champions league in the back of his mind.
After an acrimonious departure from Stamford Bridge early in the 2007-08 season, manager Jose Mourinho came back to london with the aim of lifting the trophy he delivered at FC Porto and Inter Milan.
But the Blues are not in the best of form as they begin their bid for a third consecutive piece of European silverware against FC Basel on Wednesday.
Chelsea, which won the Europa league last season following its Champions league’s triumph in 2012, has failed to win its last three matches in all competitions and was handed its first defeat of the season in the Premier league at Everton last weekend.
German side Schalke hosts Steaua Bucharest in the other Group E match.
“After one defeat you just want the next match to come as soon as possible, and probably theChampions league is the best way,” Chelsea midfielder Juan Mata said. “These nights at Stamford Bridge have a different feeling, even more so since we won the title two years ago. This competition brings great memories to all of us and makes us feel really excited.”
Mourinho is likely to be excited, too, even though the Portuguese coach won’t be remembered as the “First One” if he ends up winning the Champions league with Chelsea this season. The former Real Madrid coach was just a spectator when the Blues defeated Bayern Munich to win the prestigious trophy under Roberto Di Matteo.
“When I was watching, I was with the Blues,” said Mourinho, who won the Premier league andleague Cup twice and the FA Cup once during his first reign at the london club. “The side was full of players from my time and you know they suffered a lot.
“They deserved to win the Champions league. It’s a competition that has a special aura. Everybody wants to reach the ‘El Dorado’ of football. It is a club competition for excellence so it has some magic.”
Against Basel, Mourinho is likely to make tactical changes after midfielder John Obi Mikel picked up a knee injury against Everton. Ramires is suspended and Frank lampard should get a spot in the starting team.
The Swiss team lost 5-2 on aggregate to Chelsea in the Europa league semifinals last season and prepared its next trip to England by edging fourth-tier side Muensingen 1-0 in a Swiss Cup match.
Basel comes to london with two young internationals in prolific scoring form for club and country.
Egypt midfielder Mohamed Salah scored six times in his country’s perfect African qualifying group program to advance to a playoff against Ghana. Defender Fabian Schaer struck three as Switzerland gained four points against Iceland and Norway this month and closed in on a spot in next year’s World Cup.
The 21-year-old players also scored against both of Basel’s opponents in Champions leaguequalifying rounds, Maccabi Tel Aviv and ludogorets Razgrad.
Schalke relied on new signing Kevin-Prince Boateng’s first goal for the club to win 1-0 at Mainz on Saturday.
“Before the game we wanted to cut down on the number of goals we’ve been conceding. So I’m particularly happy that we managed to keep clean sheets for two games in a row,” Schalke coach Jens Keller said.
Schalke defender Benedikt Hoewedes wants a similar performance against visiting Steaua Bucharest. The Romanian champions warmed up with a 5-0 win at home over Sageata Navodari.
“If we stay as concentrated and focused against the Romanians we should keep the three points in Gelsenkirchen,” Hoewedes said. “We want to get our fourth win in a row with our fans behind us.”
Borussia Dortmund looking to do one better this time
Naples: Borussia Dortmund has been waiting for this moment since conceding a winner to Arjen Robben with a minute left in last season’s Champions league final.
That bitter loss seems to have heightened Dortmund’s focus entering this season and a challenging league opener on Wednesday against a Napoli squad that is notably tough to beat at home.
Dortmund began this campaign by gaining revenge against Bayern Munich with a 4-2 win in the German Super Cup in July - ruining Josep Guardiola’s debut in the process - and has gone on to set a club record for its best start to the Bundesliga with five wins.
“The Champions league can come. We’re ready,” coach Juergen Klopp said following a 6-2 thrashing of Hamburger SV on Saturday.
Napoli is ready, too, though.
The southern Italian squad has also had a perfect league start, winning its opening three matches under new coach Rafa Benitez.
While Edinson Cavani left Napoli for Paris Saint-Germain in a transfer reportedly worth 63 million euros ($84 million), Benitez got his wish when Gonzalo Higuain and Jose Callejon were brought in from Real Madrid as replacements.
Along with attacking midfielder Marek Hamsik, Higuain and Callejon have combined for nine goals in three matches.
Higuain faced Dortmund four times with Madrid last season and didn’t score once.
“I want to improve my record,” the Argentina forward said. “I want to become part of Napoli’s history and dedicate a prestigious trophy to these people. That’s what I was bought for.”
In the other Group F match, Arsenal visits Marseille with club record signing Mesut Ozil still in doubt after exerting himself in his English Premier league debut on Saturday.
“He was ill and has some tight muscles after Saturday,” Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger said. “But I think he will be OK. We are optimistic.”
A bigger problem is a knee injury to forward Olivier Giroud.
“Hopefully he will be fit,” Wenger said. “But it will only be decided (Wednesday).”
Napoli went unbeaten in four Champions league home matches when it reached the round of 16 two seasons ago for its first taste of the top European competition since Diego Maradona was with the club.
Napoli is also unbeaten at home in Serie A since December, having won its last seven matches.
Still, Napoli president and film producer Aurelio De laurentiis is holding onto the underdog role. He called Dortmund a “three-headed monster.”
“They have a manager who has coached them for years, they’ve improved themselves with (Pierre-Emerick) Aubameyang and they offer chances to a lot of young players,” De laurentiis said.
“We still need to improve while they’re in well-tested battle shape. But I’m hoping that Benitez can use his experience to put Klopp in difficulty.”
Dortmund captain Sebastian Kehl is out for six weeks after injuring his right foot while training on Sunday, although defender Neven Subotic and midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan are expected to overcome knocks and be able to play.
Besides Aubameyang, who registered a hat trick in his Bundesliga debut, Dortmund has also been relying on goals from Robert lewandowski, who is back to his old form after a summer of discontent in which he pushed for a move to Bayern Munich.
Dortmund refused to let him leave but differences were set aside when the club granted him a pay rise for the remaining year of his contract.
lewandowski scored two goals and set up another in the rout of Hamburg.
“Now comes the Champions league,” lewandowski said. “We want something there too, even if we know that Napoli have a really good team.”
Atletico host Zenit
Madrid: After four straight wins to open the Spanish league season, Atletico Madrid will next face Zenit St. Petersburg.
Although Atletico’s attack will be missing Radamel Falcao, who left for cash-rich Monaco in the off-season, the team has former Barcelona striker David Villa up front.
Villa was one four scorers in Atletico’s 4-2 victory over Almeria over the weekend, along with Diego Costa, Raul Garcia and Tiago Cardoso.
Austria Vienna will host FC Porto in the other Group G match.
Atletico will take on Zenit without Costa, a 24-year-old forward who is suspended for the match. Besides the goal against Almeria, the Brazil international also scored two in the opening 3-1 win over Sevilla.
At the back, Atletico goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has only conceded two goals this season. On Wednesday, he’ll be making his Champions league debut. “I have wanted to play in the Champions league since I was a kid and I’m really excited about doing it with Atletico,” Courtois said.
“We have to give it our all.”
Zenit is in second place in the Russian league, and beat Terek Grozny 2-0 over the weekend. “We are playing better and better every match,” Zenit coach luciano Spalletti said.
Zenit will be without midfielder Roman Shirokov, who injured his groin in the first half against Terek. Defender Alexander Anyukov will also miss the match.
Austria Vienna, which is making its Champions league debut, is the first Austrian team to reach the group stage since Rapid Vienna in 2005.
“(We) must play perfect football to stage an upset,” Austria Vienna coach Nenad Bjelica said. “Porto has a solid defense, is technically strong and has a great player for each position.”
Porto, the Portuguese champion for the past three years, is off to a perfect start in the domestic campaign and is already leading the Portuguese league by two points after four games.