FC Barcelona Continues defence of Champions

Tonight is the first leg of the semi-final of the Champions League between Inter Milan and FC Barcelona. Jose Mourinho, manager of Inter, worked with Bobby Robson in his time at Barcelona, so the fans call him "el traductor" (his Spanish was much better than Bobby's!). The match also sees Samuel Etoo face his old team mates of Barcelona and in fine form.



The FC Barcelona players were forced to take a coach trip from Barcelona all the way to Milan due to the volcanic dust cloud which is still hanging over many parts of Europe. Whilst many might think this is an excuse for tiredness and the like, Guardiola has stated that he'd much rather travel 14 hours on a bus to play in the semi finals of the Champions League than stay at home on the sofa. Very true.

I think this will prove a very tough test for the Catalan team, as Inter are playing some good football and certainly know how to mark people out of the game. I expect Messi, for example, to have a pretty quiet game in comparison to his incredible performance against Arsenal.

The return leg of the match in Barcelona is to be played on the 28th April. If you fancy coming to Barcelona to watch the match, check out these Barcelona Apartments for a comfortable stay. And for a quick look at the main city sights, check out this guide to Barcelona.