Out of spotlight, Barcelona takes on Slovak minnow in UEFA Cup ( 2003-09-23 16:26) (Agencies)
While fellow Spanish powerhouses Real Madrid, Celta Vigo and Real Sociedad
chase Champions League glory, FC Barcelona kicks off its European campaign in
obscurity against provincial Slovak team SKM Puchov after missing out on the
continent's elite club competition for the first time in seven years.
Ronaldinho and Co. will no doubt feel out of place in Wednesday's first-round
UEFA Cup match against a club that was only promoted to the Slovak first
division three years ago and has no trophies to its credit.
Barcelona knows it will be the target for an upset. But losing points to a
team whose annual budget is US$1 million - 34 times less than the value of
Ronaldinho - would rank among the biggest shocks in soccer history.
Puchov has never played a major European club and its stadium holds just
6,600 spectators, with the most expensive league tickets selling for 1.30.
The club has decided to move the match to an 18,000-seat venue in the nearby
town of Trnava to allow more spectators to see the match, but the capacity is
still nowhere near that of Barca's 100,000-seat Nou Camp, regarded by many as
the cathedral of European soccer.
The 16-time Spanish champion has declared it wants to win the UEFA Cup after
failing to take any silverware last season, the club's worst in decades, and
star players like Luis Enrique Martinez and Javier Saviola claim they'll have no
problem with motivation against the Slovak minnows.
``Our goal is the same as it would be in the Champions League: winning every
match, no matter where we play,'' Luis Enrique said.
Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard has only one major injury problem for
Wednesday's game.
Dutch international midfielder Philip Cocu was taken off toward the end of
Saturday's 1-1 home draw with Osasuna with tendinitis in his left leg and is
doubtful. Barcelona's summer signing from Monaco, Mexican international Rafael
Marquez is on stand-by. The only other absentee is long-term injured left back
Fernando Navarro.
Brazilian midfielder Thiago Motta and Spanish international forward Luis
Garcia have recently recovered from the injuries which caused them to miss the
start of the season and have been be included in the traveling party for Puchov.
Rijkaard admitted his team's display against Osasuna had been poor.
``It's obvious that we didn't play well. We can't be happy because we didn't
do our job properly,'' said Rijkaard, who's planning to start Turkish goalkeeper
Rustu Recber for the first time since his summer transfer from Fenerbahce.
The only consolation for Barcelona is that it remains unbeaten in its four
league games this season.
Rijkaard hinted that on Wednesday there may be a place for the club's two
wingers, Dutchman Marc Overmars and Portuguese Ricardo Quaresma, who came on as
substitutes in the second half and improved the team's performance.
``With the changes we made, at least we became more attacking, increased the
pace of the game and gained more possession. That was a good sign and we have to
take note of this,'' Rijkaard said.
Puchov, which finished second in the 10-team Slovak league last season, is in
disarray after a disastrous start to the season that saw it slip to eighth place
with a 3-1-5 record.
``We're in a crisis,'' assistant coach Stefan Tomanek said after last
weekend's 1-0 league loss to Banska Bystrica. ``We've dug ourselves a deep hole
and can't get out.''
