Barcelona's first-team squad oozes talent with world-class players from defence to attack. But which players make the La Liga champions tick? Who is vital to their style of play?
We asked sports journalist Inigo Gurruchaga of Spanish newspaper El Pais to select his five to follow for Wednesday night.
Carlos Puyol
"I choose him not only because he is a good player but also
because he has a local connection. Barcelona is a combination of
international stars and the local element, it gives the team local
pride. Presas Oleguer is another local player Puyol stands out, he
keeps the spirit and traditions of the club and I think he is a
very important man in terms of the atmosphere in the dressing room
and the feelings around the team."
Edmilson
"The holding midfield position is vital in football these
days, the role that Gilberto and Claude Makelele play. Barcelona
have a crucial player in Edmilson who sits in front of the back
four. He doesn't get the accolades but, as Real Madrid found
when they sold Makelele to Chelsea, it is a very important role he
plays. You have to have the ball to be able to play and Edmilson is
Barcelona's most important player when it comes to recovering
possession."
Xavi
"Xavi is an amazing player. There is a doubt in terms of his
fitness because he has been out for a long time with a knee
ligament injury, but Barcelona are not the same team without him.
They have been able to win La Liga but they are less able to keep
the ball and move it around with fluidity without Xavi. He was
struggling for energy in the first minutes of his comeback game
but, by the end of the match, he looked better. There is a big
question over whether Barcelona will play him from the start
against Arsenal or have him on the bench."
Deco
"I think Frank Rijkaard will try to get his team to intercept
the ball high up the pitch and Deco is Barcelona's most
important player when they try to do that. He is an amazingly
intelligent player, he can see how the opposition come forward and
try to stop them early on. He also goes forward very cleverly, he
finds space and options and is so quick in his mind he seems to
have a couple of seconds more than other players to make a
decision."
Ronaldinho
"It's no surprise that I'm picking him. He's like
Thierry Henry in a sense that, no matter who you support, you love
to see him play. He plays in a beautiful way and has a wonderful
attitude to the game too. Is he as vital to Barcelona as Henry is
to Arsenal? I think so. He is the man who opens things up, he
creates the chances. When Ronaldinho is not playing Barcelona look
a bit stale, but when he gets into the action he opens defences.
Few players would have spotted Ludovic Giuly's run and picked
him out so perfectly in the Semi-Final against Milan. Ronaldinho
drifts to the left wing, like Henry, but unlike Henry he tends to
cut inside and run across the pitch, looking inside the area to see
where he can play a pass."
