INTERVIEW: Leverkusen coach Dutt praises Barca, but hopes for upset

By Andreas Schirmer Feb 13, 2012, 11:38 GMT

Leverkusen, Germany - Bayer Leverkusen coach Robin Dutt admits that beating Barcelona would be nothing less than a football miracle, but he is far from throwing in the towel ahead of the round of 16 tie.

Dutt told dpa in an interview in the run-up to Tuesday's first leg game in Germany that everything must come together to prevail over Lionel Messi and company.

'It would be a football miracle if we beat Barcelona in two games,' said Dutt, adding that stopping the world footballer Messi isn't enough, given the class of Pep Guardiola's team.

'There a too many figures at Barcelona who can decide a game, such as Xavi, (Andres) Iniesta, (Cesc) Fabregas, or Messi,' Dutt said.

'We have watched many Barcelona games. A lot of things have to come together if Barcelona are held to a draw. Many teams have tried their luck with different philosophies and left the pitch defeated - but not always.'

Barca are coming off a 3-2 defeat at Osasuna as they have shown indifferent form away from home in Spain and trail Real Madrid by 10 points in the league.

They are unbeaten in Germany in seven games, but the last defeat came in Leverkusen, 2-1 in the group stage 2000-01.

Bayer's season has been far from great, ranked sixth in the Bundesliga far away from the Champions League qualifying berths and a debate on the importance of their former Germany captain Michael Ballack overshadowing the on-pitch performances.

Bayer lost 1-0 at champions Borussia Dortmund on Saturday and Dutt sees it as an advantage that his side are at home first before making the trip to the Nou Camp for the return leg next month.

'It is better from a sporting and emotional point of view to play at home first, when the tie is still open,' Dutt says.

Despite being the underdog, Dutt insists that no tie is decided before a ball has been kicked.

'No story is written until the end in football. Not even against Barcelona. Whenever you think that everything has happened, something new happens,' he says.

Dutt says he has 'definitely not' written off his team. He named the Barcelona challenge 'a difficult task' but said there are no easy ties at all in the elite event.

'The colleagues (Olympique Lyon) who have to play against (APOEL) Nicosia are not saying either that we have advanced.

'But Barcelona are something else. They drop a point every nmow and then in the league, but rarely in the Champions League. But we are still looking forward to the game and to playing against the best,' Dutt says.

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