When Lionel Messi fell injured against Paris Saint-Germain in the opening leg of the 2013 Champions league quarterfinal, Barcelona wound up drawing 2-2. When Messi was left out of the starting lineup in the second leg, Barça failed to generate any scoring chances and fell behind 1-0. Messi's insertion late in the game jolted the team and enabled Barcelona to proceed to the semifinals.
Messi's status remains unknown and whether or not he will be in shape to face Bayern Munich this Tuesday is a mystery. However, the team's official website has revealed some hopeful news.
"The big news at today's training session was the presence of Leo Messi. The Argentinean, who injured his right hamstring at the Parc des Princes, started doing fitness work on one of the Ciutat Esportiva fields," the team's official website stated.
The website also noted that defensive midfielder Sergio Busquets has also started training. "It was also good news to see Sergio Busquets getting involved with part of the group session The midfielder had worked out separately with Pinto on Wednesday, while on Thursday the goalkeeper exercised on his own."
Bayern Munich poses a threat that Barcelona has not seen throughout the tournament. The team is filled with a plethora of star players and has offensive prowess that is only rivaled by Barcelona and Real Madrid. The team is coming off a major destruction of Italian side Juventus that saw Munich end Juventus' undefeated streak in the tournament. Despite the team's undeniable quality, Munich coach Jupp Heynckes is weary of Barcelona's superstar. "He is a phenomenon," Heynckes said of Messi. How phenomenal? "He is in the league of Zinedine Zidane, Diego Maradona, Pele and Johan Cruyff. Anyone who scores 50 goals in a season is extraterrestrial."
The first meeting takes place on April 23 with the second leg being contested on May 1.
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