07.12.2008 12:01
Shakhtar watch Barça v Valencia live
Vanessa Forns
Barça’s opponents next Tuesday, Shakhtar Donetsk, were in the stands to watch Pep Guardiola’s stunning victory over Valencia at the Camp Nou.
The Ukrainians arrived on Saturday in order to be able to watch their rivals in action in the
league fixture. They gathered by gate 411 in the third tier of the stands and bore witness to the
absolute goal-fest in which the man-of-the-match Thierry Henry scored a spectacular hat-trick.
Crowd pressure
At the same time, the Shakhtar Donetsk got a first-hand
taste of the kind of pressure playing in front of the Camp Nou crowd can generate. Last
night’s was the
best attendance of the season
, 83,000, and that was another reason for the convincing
4-0
win.
Shakhtar’s plans
Now thinking ahead to Tuesday, in which there is very little at stake as Barça are already
champions of the group and the Ukrainians have already made sure of a UEFA Cup berth, Mircea
Lucesco’s side will train on Sunday evening behind closed doors at 18.00 in the Ciudad
Deportiva.
Then on Monday the Shakhtar manager and one player will speak to media in the Camp Nou
pressroom at 19.00, an hour before the team trains inside the actual stadium. As is common protocol
in the Champions League the first 15 minutes will be before the media, and the rest of the session
will be behind closed doors.