Quadruple-chasing Barca face Wolfsburg at sold-out Camp Nou / Photo: © AFP/File
Quadruple-chasing Barca face Wolfsburg at sold-out Camp Nou
Barcelona's hunt for a quadruple continues on Friday when they face Wolfsburg in the first leg of their Women's Champions League semi-final, a game that could break a world record for the second time in a month.
Barca's all-conquering team won the treble last year but could go one better this season, having already won the league and Spanish Super Cup, with semi-finals in the Champions League and Copa de la Reina to come.
The Catalans are on an incredible run, sitting 22 points clear at the top of the table in Spain and after claiming 39 victories out of 39 in all competitions so far this term.
"We want to win all four trophies," Barcelona coach Jonatan Giraldez said in a press conference on Thursday.
"We go out to win every game, so we want to win every game we have left. That's the mentality that I think will take us close to every trophy, but we know it's very difficult."
Barcelona will be playing at Camp Nou again and will be boosted by another enormous crowd after the club broke the attendance record for a women's match last month, when 91,553 people watched them thrash Real Madrid 5-2.
Tickets are sold out again for the game against Wolfsburg, raising hopes another world record could be set.
"It's going to be special," said Barcelona winger Caroline Graham Hansen. "There aren't many in men's football that can play in front of 90,000."
Asked if the crowd at Camp Nou creates nerves, Graham Hansen said: "Nerves are good for adrenaline. I need them a little. It is different to play in front of a full Camp Nou, but how we reacted when Madrid went 2-1 up shows how strong the mentality of this team is. Now that we've done it once, we have that good experience for this game.”
Barcelona, led by Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas, will be heavy favourites, even though Wolfsburg knocked out Arsenal in the quarters and are four points ahead of Bayern Munich at the top of the Women's Bundesliga.
The second leg will be played at Wolfsburg's 30,000-capacity Volkswagen Arena on April 30, with the winners to meet either Lyon or Paris Saint-Germain in the final in Turin in May.
"There’s no pressure because we want to win every game," said Graham Hansen. "With this mentality, there is no pressure. We just enjproy playing football."
There is also a chance for revenge for Barcelona, who lost to Wolfsburg in the semi-finals in 2020, with Giraldez then the team’s assistant coach.
"When there is a chance for revenge, it’s always another opportunity to see how the team reacts," Giraldez said. "Everything we've done throughout the season is for these moments, to show we are the best team. Friday is another chance and we have to be up for it.”
(A.Renaud--LPdF)
