adminPARIS. – Barcelona will have the chance to avenge their 2013 humbling by Bayern Munich after being paired with the Germans again in the Champions League soccer semi-final draw yesterday which also pitted holders Real Madrid against Juventus.
Bayern thrashed Barcelona 7-0 on aggregate two years ago before going on to beat Borussia Dortmund to win their fifth European Cup.
Former Barca coach Pep Guardiola was on a year’s sabbatical at the time but will doubtless enjoy the challenge of trying to repeat that achievement on his first return to the Nou Camp since taking over at Bayern.
Bayern boss Guardiola won 14 trophies as a manager – including the Champions League in 2009 and 2011 – during four years at Barcelona.
He has reached the Champions League semi-finals in each of his six seasons as a manager, four with Barca and now two with Bayern.
Bayern, who play the second leg at home, will go into the tie on a high after their 6-1 quarter-final second-leg demolition of Porto but Barcelona were similarly impressive in dispatching a powerful Paris St Germain side 5-1 on aggregate.
“On Tuesday we played one of the best halves in the history of the Champions League [when they scored five against Porto to wipe out a 3-1 first-leg deficit],” said Paul Breitner, Bayern’s representative at the draw.
“We have to do that over the entire two games against Barcelona.”
Jordi Mestre, Barcelona vice-president, said: “Guardiola obviously knows us well but we also know him and his way of playing, while Luis Enrique and Guardiola know each other very well and it is another element to the game.”
Real, seeking a record-extending 11th title, will be at home in the second leg against a Juventus side making their first appearance in the semis since 2003 when they beat the Spaniards en route to losing the final to AC Milan on penalties.
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti will also be reunited with one of his former clubs, with the Italian having managed the Turin side from 1999 to 2001.
The draw leaves open the possibility of a Barcelona v Real Madrid European Cup final, something which has never happened before. The arch-rivals are also battling it out for the Spanish league title this season.
Real Madrid reached the last four by beating city rivals Atletico – in a repeat of last season’s final – thanks to Javier Hernandez’s late goal.
Bayern Munich thrashed Porto 6-1 at home to overturn a first-leg deficit and progress 7-4 on aggregate.
Things were more straightforward for Barcelona, who beat Paris St-Germain 5-1 overall, and Juventus, who beat Monaco 1-0 over two legs.
This season’s final will be played at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium on Saturday June 6.
Juventus are flying on all fronts as they are firmly on course to win the Serie A title and have reached the Italian Cup final.
“It will be a very tough semi,” former Real striker and current club ambassador Emilio Butragueno said of the repeat of the 1998 final in Amsterdam which Real won 1-0.
“Congratulations to Juventus and it will be an honour for Madrid as well. If we get some players back from injury it will be better but it will be a tough semi-final nevertheless.”
The semi-finals will take place on May 5/6 and 12/13 with the final in Berlin on June 6.
Meanwhile, the draw for the semi-finals of the Europa League yesterday kept alive the possibility of an all-Italian final as Serie A sides Napoli and Fiorentina avoided each other.
Rafa Benitez’s Napoli will take on Dnipro of Ukraine while Fiorentina will face holders Sevilla in the semi-finals, with the first legs to be played on Thursday, May 7 and the second legs on Thursday, May 14.
Napoli, who are through to their first European semi-final since the side captained by Diego Maradona won the Uefa Cup in 1989, will be favourites to beat a Dnipro outfit appearing in their first ever continental semifinal.
Coach Rafa Benitez is looking to win yet another European trophy having led Valencia to the Uefa Cup in 2004 before winning the Champions League with Liverpool a year later and then the Europa League with Chelsea in 2013.
Meanwhile, Fiorentina’s reward for beating Dynamo Kiev and reaching their first semi-final since the 2008 Uefa Cup is a clash with the holders, with the first leg to come in Spain.
Having beaten Benfica on penalties in last year’s final in Turin, Sevilla remain on course to repeat their achievement of 2006 and 2007, when they won the Uefa Cup in consecutive years.
There has not been an all-Italian European final since AC Milan beat Juventus on penalties to win the Champions League in 2003. However, there were four all-Italian finals in the Uefa Cup in the 1990s.
The final will be played in the Polish capital Warsaw on May 27.
For the first time, the winners of the Europa League will qualify for next season’s Champions League. — AFP.
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