Barça open tonight their participation in the Champions League as if they were doing therapy with a behavioral cognitive psychologist, as the rival who visits the Camp Nou today (9pm) is an old acquaintance: Bayern Munich. Just over a year ago the Bavarians nailed him a humiliating 2-8 in the quarter-finals of the competition. According to experts in the mind, experiential avoidance is a key factor in the development and maintenance of a post-traumatic stress disorder. Thus, the best therapy in these cases, especially to overcome the anxiety involved, is considered to be exposure, which broadly consists of dealing with the feared stimulus.
Ronald Koeman’s team will live this experience exactly 13 months after the trauma originated, long enough to have accumulated others as traumatic, or more, such as the departure of Leo Messi, a serious economic situation and a motion of censorship. Of the eleven starters who experienced the Lisbon nightmare, there are only four players who are no longer part of the Barça squad: Messi himself, Luis Suárez, Arturo Vidal and Nelson Semedo. On the other hand, the author of two of Bayern’s eight goals, Philippe Coutinho, could step back on the pitch as a Barça player in an official match after his serious injury to his left knee – he has not done so since December last year. “It’s been an important time away but every day is getting better and what you need now is to have minutes in matches,” the coach said yesterday.
Who will also recover Koeman for the cause will be Gerard Piqué in the axis of defense. However, with the departure of Emerson Royal to Tottenham and the doubt of Sergiño Dest (he has a sprained right ankle and did not train yesterday), the coach will surely have to improvise on the right side. Óscar Mingueza and Sergi Roberto, recovered from a rib fissure, are the options. But Koeman could also return to a game system he already put in place last season, 3-5-2. In this case, Reus would have more options to be a lane than Santa Perpètua de Mogoda. The call will come to light this morning.
The front will be the other line that will experience major changes. Regarding Barça’s last game, the 2-1 victory over Getafe, the Catalan team lost to Antoine Griezmann and added the Dutchman Luuk de Jong. With Ansu Fati, Ousmane Dembélé, Kun Agüero and Martin Braithwaite recovering from their respective injuries, the former Sevilla player aims to start in a system that would only have two strikers.
“There are players on this team who have suffered a lot that night and now have the opportunity to reverse it. We have to play with a lot of intensity and look for our style to hurt Bayern “, he commented. In this sense, Sergio Busquets explained that “Time has passed and we are mentalized that it has to be different, we have to go out for the game. They are different teams and different circumstances.
The relationship of Koeman and Laporta
On the other hand, the Barça coach assured that he has “no problem” with the president Joan Laporta, after the cross-statements that have taken place in recent days.
“Our relationship is good and if there are things we talk about them. We both want the best for the club, that’s the most important thing. But of course there are things we talk about. There is no problem with the president. It’s a perfect relationship for me, “he added.
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