FC Barcelona will open their Champions League campaign in a few hours against the Belgian side, Royal Antwerp. While the two clubs have not faced each other in recent history, they still have a lot to share among themselves.
The current Antwerp coach, Mark van Bommel, is a former Barcelona midfielder who also won the Champions League with Barcelona and has played with Xavi as a player.
However, he is not the only former Barcelona player at the Belgian club, as another former midfielder and winger, Marc Overmars, is the Sporting Director at the Belgian club and is a part of the entourage traveling to the Catalan capital tonight.
Overmars on Vermeeren
Being in Barcelona for the match, he also spoke to the media before the Champions League tie, and commented on different aspects related to his current and former clubs, as reported by SPORT.
The Catalan giants are interested in one Antwerp player, Arthur Vermeeren, and he will have eyes focused on him in tonight’s match for this very purpose. Overmars compared Vermeeren to two Barcelona legends:
“I have no doubt that he has fantastic potential. The first time I saw him, he reminded me of Xavi and Iniesta, a player of the same profile.”
New Barcelona project and the match tonight
Overmars also commented on the new project at FC Barcelona being headed by Xavi:
“Barcelona is growing. It takes time to rebuild. We need to look at the past season when they won the league. Xavi was my colleague as a player. As a coach, you have to give him three or four years to work. There should be a long-term commitment.”
“I know that Barcelona has faced financial difficulties, and it takes time, but last year they won the league. They have very talented young players.”
Commenting on the match itself, Overmars admitted that his team would have a slim chance of getting any points tonight, but they would still put up a good fight:
“It will be a difficult match. Everyone knows that Barcelona is the favorite, but we will fight against a strong team, and it will be a great experience for our young players, who will be playing in the Champions League for the first time.”
Thus, the Blaugranes will be hosting some familiar faces in the lunch before the match tonight. However, once the actual game starts, all these relations will be set aside as the Catalans will be looking to advance to the round of sixteen as soon as possible.
