"It was good for Barcelona to lose the Gamper Trophy"

Monaco coach Adi Hutter was excited to face Barcelona in the first round of the Champions League on Thursday and insisted the Spanish club have more than just the talent of Lamine Yamal.

"When you hear the Champions League anthem everyone gets excited about playing especially if it's against Barcelona and at home. It doesn't get any better than that. We are ready," Hutter said at a press conference ahead of Thursday's encounter.

Hutter, who will discover the Champions League as a coach at the age of 54, demanded "a lot of courage" from his team and made it clear that stopping Yamal would not be enough to disable their opponents.

"Even if we take him out of the game, there are many others after him. We have to know how to defend as a team and that's what we'll do," he added.

On the inexperience of his squad, one of the youngest in this edition of the Champions League, he said there is not that much difference with Barcelona.

"They have Lewandowski (36) and talented youngsters, but we have Denis Zakaria, Takumi Minamino and other experienced players, as well as young talent similar to what Barcelona have," he said.

Monaco will face Barcelona again, against whom they played in the last Joan Gamper Trophy in pre-season. "I think it was good for them to lose the Gamper Trophy. Since then they've been playing very well, they've won everything."

 

September 18, 2024