Donis: Barca great experience for us

APOEL Nicosia boss Giorgos Donis feels Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Barcelona will be another great experience for his players.

The 45-year-old saw his side frustrate the Catalans in the first group game before going down 1-0 at the Camp Nou, but claims that playing against the likes of Barca can only be a learning curve.

“Barcelona coming to Cyprus is a great experience for all of us,” Donis told a Press conference.

“This competition offers you the chance to play against massive clubs like them and we know how tough they are.

“We played well in the first game but every game at this level is different. It will be a test of our resolve but I believe in my players and my team.

“We are at home and need to show our strength and fight until the final minute. We have a lot to gain.”

Donis believes if the Cypriots are to take anything positive from the game then they must adapt to the occasion and work like never before.

“Barca’s philosophy, home or away, is always the same so we must adapt our game plan accordingly and work like robots.

“At home we need to show more composure than we have done, especially in possession, so we can threaten more in attack.

“We’ve done well against the top sides in our group and maybe we haven’t got the points we wanted, but it was always going to be hard for us and Ajax.

“We are only concentrating on the Barca game and won’t be thinking about Ajax because they can beat Paris Saint-Germain, which would make our final game meaningless [in terms of third place].

“We want to get something from the Barca game, even if it does sound overambitious,” he declared.

Tags APOEL Donis
La Liga - Club News