|
|
|
Ricardo Carvalho insists Chelsea will not be distracted tonight by Jose Mourinho's feud with the Barcelona fans ahead of their must-win crunch Champions League tie in Spain.
Mourinho has been the target of abuse for Barca supporters since he arrived in Spain on Sunday.
He was spat at and insulted at Barcelona airport and confronted again outside the team hotel - but the Chelsea players have not been affected by the drama.
Carvalho said: "It's more difficult for him, because he is the one having the problems going through the airport.
"The players don't have so many problems. There were some badly-behaved people, but there were only a few of them doing things out of place.
"The atmosphere in the squad is good, and we are confident. It was difficult in the first leg. But our goal is still to reach the next stage of the competition, and we are here to try.
"We are playing a great team with great attacking qualities. They are a hard team to defend against, but we have the quality to play well and the confidence to put in a good game."
Barcelona boss Frank Rijkaard appealed for his club's supporters to give the Blues boss a round of applause when he walks into the Nou Camp tonight.
But it is unlikely to happen, and the Blues manager is happy to soak up the abuse if it leaves his players free to focus on overturning a 2-1 deficit from the first leg.
Mourinho, a former Barcelona coach, said: "I am the first one to leave the airport and I know what I am doing. After that, the players don't have anything.
"It was the same at the hotel. I left the hotel two or three minutes before, and the guys follow me - so it's easy for them.
"I will go to the pitch before the game in the warm-up and try to take the good feeling of the crowd.
"But I can't do anything once the referee starts the game. It's up to the players. But we have players with some experience - and they can handle the situation."
Despite Rijkaard's plea for peace, Mourinho is quite clearly 'public enemy number one' in Barcelona, where fans remain unhappy that he accused striker Lionel Messi of play-acting in the first leg at Stamford Bridge.
One Catalan newspaper printed the name of the hotel where Chelsea are staying and Mourinho's room number and encouraged readers to give him a call.
Another published a picture of the Blues manager beneath the headline 'Here comes the monster'.
Chelsea are without suspended duo Michael Essien and Asier del Horno. But Frank Lampard expects to play, after surviving a training session without a reaction to his injured hamstring.
Mourinho must decide between Didier Drogba and Hernan Crespo in attack unless he changes his preferred formation for a game in which he must score two goals.
The Chelsea boss said: "They are different players with different qualities. Sometimes I play with both - not many times, but I have done it before."
Chelsea, meanwhile, have appealed against the red card shown to Arjen Robben at West Brom on Saturday. It was his second of the season and carries a four-game ban. |
Source: ITV Sport |
|
|
|
Other great sites
Search
|
