Tuesday will feature a heavy-weight tilt between Bayern Munich and Barcelona in the semifinals of the Champions league 2013. Both teams are major favorites for the trophy and the matchup has created a great deal of anticipation.
"It is a tough but thrilling challenge before us. We face a European giant, and once again football sets us before the chance to prove whether or not we deserve to play the final," said Barcelona defender Dani Alves in an interview.
Alves notes that his biggest task will be to shutdown Frenchman Franck Ribery.
"I love his quality, but I am not worried because this is a team sport. It's not Alves against Ribery or so-and-so against such-and-such. The more single clashes you win, the better, but you must not forget that it is a team sport where we all need to play at a high level," he said. "That is the great thing about football: only those who take risks win, so we have to take risks to go through. And taking risks is one of my assets."
If Barcelona is able to take down Munich, who does Alves want to face in the final? The other semifinals match features Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid; a victory from the Spanish side would set up a classic Final at Wembley Stadium. However, not only does Alves not care if he takes on arch-rival Real Madrid, but he feels that his team is clearly the superior side.
"I dream of playing the final, I don't care about the rival, whether it is Real or Dortmund. You just have to be happy to make it there, and once you are there you need to try to win," he said. "It is extremely clear to me who the best team is. Just look at the figures and they will tell you. For me, that debate does not exist."
While Barcelona has runaway with the Spanish league title Madrid has owned Barcelona in the last five meetings between the two sides and in six of the last seven dating back to a league match on March 3rd. Since that 2-1 win for Madrid, Barcelona has only won once; that victory was in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup. However, after that game, Madrid won in the second leg and the two sides drew 2-2 in the first league match of the year. The rivalry resumed in the Copa del Rey where a 1-1 draw was followed by a dominant 3-1 win by Madrid. In the ensuing Spanish league match days later, Real Madrid notched a 2-1 victory. In those five matches, Cristiano Ronaldo has scored five times while Lionel Messi has tallied four times.
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