Legendary former Barcelona midfielder Andreas Iniesta was especially disappointed by his team’s elimination by Inter in the Champions League semi-final in 2010 as he was injured at the time.
Speaking to Milan-based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport in an interview published in today’s print edition, the Spaniard looked back on his experiences on the sideline of that memorable semi-final tie, and also commented on the current meetings between the two sides.
Inter met Barcelona in the semi-finals along the way to completing the European treble by winning the Champions League in 2010.
A 3-1 victory at the San Siro gave the Nerazzurri the upper hand in the tie, while in a famous victory they held on to lose 1-0 in the reverse fixture at the Camp Nou despite going down to ten men fairly early on.
It remains a triumphant memory for Inter, whilst for the Blaugranas it is a much more bitter event, doubly so for Iniesta who could not help his team on the pitch.
“There are definitely negative memories,” he said, “because of the elimination and also because I was injured.”
“I was unfit and I didn’t know if I would make it to the World Cup,” the Spaniard noted, “so that tie was a double disappointment for me.”
He then said that “In the return leg I remember the incredible atmosphere, the disallowed goal from Bojan, the tension.”
“Matches against Inter are always very eventful because they’re a team who always have great players,” the former midfielder noted.
He characterized the Blaugranas’ loss to Inter last week as “A very negative result for Barcelona given the consequences it has for the return leg.”
“Matches with Inter are always exciting and difficult,” he noted.
“Just about everything always seems to happen in them, or almost always.”
Of Wednesday’s second meeting between the two clubs, Iniesta said that “It’s vital that Barca win to stay alive in the competition.”
“It is a crucial match,” he added. “Inter have a great team and will be complicated for Barcelona.”
Iniesta predicted that “I expect Barca to take the initiative, and Inter will wait for their chances, even if in theory trying to play equally could be good for them.”
“The Champions League is a competition made up of details,” the Spaniard noted, “if you make a mistake you pay for it, but Barca have a great opportunity to get back on track and take a big step forward.”
“And I hope they succeed,” he added.
