Barcelona vs APOEL Nicosia preview - Barcelona get Champions League buzz
Posted Wednesday, September 17, 2014 by PA
Luis Enrique admits even Barcelona will be feeling "special nerves" when they open up their Champions League campaign against APOEL Nicosia on Wednesday.
In the past seven years the Catalans have reached six semi-finals in Europe's premier competition and gone on to be crowned champions twice.
As well as Cypriot side APOEL, Barca have been drawn alongside Paris St Germain and Ajax in Group F as they set about winning the European Cup for a fifth time in the club's history.
"The players might feel special nerves before a Champions League match like this because of what this competition means, with the stars and music at the start and all of that," Enrique told Barcelona's official website.
"We've started well in the league, now we need to do the same in the Champions League.
"With a squad like ours, it would make no sense to set minimum targets in this competition."
Brazil striker Neymar scored twice in a 2-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao on Saturday. Barcelona have won all three of their Primera Division games so far and are yet to concede a goal.
Enrique, who took over at the end of last season, has overseen an impressive start but the Spaniard is warning his players against complacency.
"We need our fans and we'll try to give them a spectacular game - three points against APOEL would be very important for us," Enrique said.
"If we play intensely and get into our rhythm then I'm sure we'll be on the way to victory.
"But if our opponents get the better of us in certain aspects, then we could well end up suffering."
These two sides have never met before but Barcelona are no strangers to APOEL goalkeeper Urko Pardo, who spent eight years with the Spanish giants as a youngster.
"I have wonderful memories of my time at Barca, I always felt really comfortable there," Pardo said.
"Of course I took some time to adapt at first, but once I did, I learned so much. I identify with the club's values."
This is only the third time APOEL have made it to the group stages of the Champions League but Pardo was bullish about his side's chances.
"We are coming as a quality unit and we want to try to get a result (against Barcelona)," Pardo said.
"We've got European experience and we're confident we can get a good result at the Camp Nou."
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