Posted on 03-31-2009 under Previews

Tuesday’s here so that means that it’s time to look at the front men that will decide the fates of these two clubs in the world’s premier club tournament.


Luckily for all of us, the forwards involved in this matchup are some of the deadliest offensive players in world football, even though Bayern’s terrific creative forward Miroslav Klose will miss the tie to injury.


Barcelona’s Cerberean forward lineup features men from three continents united under the Blaugrana banner. They have been a revelation this season, playing staggeringly beautiful and precise ball. And they’ve also scored a crapload of goals. Up front, they’ll look like this:


Henry—Eto’o—Messi


Messi


What can anyone really say to describe Lionel Messi? To put it simply, he’s the best footballer playing today. His touch is generally flawless, his anticipation is psychic, and these qualities combined with his split-second decisiveness and masterful body control make him the ultimate offensive weapon. Once the Argentine eludes defenders, his finishing ability is careful and precise. Nevermind capitalism: Messi is creative destruction. When he has the ball, watch him turn 90 and 180 degrees with ease. Defenders will be clawing to keep up. Leo will work his one-touch passes with his teammates and they’ll return it to him, and he’ll collect it and continue his attack. He’ll take his share of punishment from defenders, and while the more physical ones tend to have some measure of effect on him, outmuscling Messi is neither an easy nor conclusive way to stop him over the course of 90 minutes, or two games for that matter. Wow, it’s going to be fun to watch him.


Henry


On the left side is the eldest of the bunch, Frenchman Theirry Henry. After taking a while to get acclimated to the Barcelona style after an emotionally fraught departure from Arsenal, Henry has succesfully reinvented himself and become the influential presence that Barca had hoped he would be when they first acquired him. Titi has always had a knack for playing well in open space; when he finds himself alone with one or two men to beat, he uses his speed and body control to either create space for a strike at goal or feint defenders and run past them, always with a knowing, cool finish past the goalkeeper. For Barca, he’s adapted to their quick style and the constant movement around him by improving his own passing and refining his style to fit his position on the wing. He’s a better header of the ball now than he was earlier in his career. Henry is always looking to out-think defenders, so look for him to try to sneak around the big ox Lúcio as he tries to find space.


Eto'o


In the middle for Barca is Cameroon’s own Samuel Eto’o. While not as gifted a dribbler as Messi and Henry, Eto’o is pure power and quickness in front of the goal. He doesn’t need to be a good dribbler since the part of the field where he operates usually doesn’t reward dribblers. He has a brilliant knack for putting himself in passing lanes for his teammates, who feed him the ball and either find it passed along in very quick order or better yet, in the back of the net. While defenders get preoccupied watching Messi, Xavi and Henry, Eto’o finds space to receive the ball and punish defenders. You can practically hear the whistle of his powerful shots on TV. We can only guess what they sound like on the field.


For München, the loss of Klose is unfortunate, but they’re not without hope. The strike pair that they do have is capable of causing havoc and scoring goals and they’ll get their chance to do so. They’ll line up like this:


Podolski—Toni


Toni


Provided his recovery from an ailing heel continues, we will see Luca Toni on the pitch for Bayern. While certainly not the most popular player, Munich’s big Italian has a terrific soft touch on the ball that belies his height and his great strength. While he was a bit of a diver when he first entered the Bundesliga, Toni stopped getting the calls and started to toughen up and play through it. This has improved his play, as Toni’s balance and strength are better than they’ve ever been, and while he may be one of the slowest players on the field, he is probably one of the best shielders of the ball, a talent that is enhanced by his large size. The aforementioned strength and footwork give him a great advantage against defenders, and he rarely seems to have any trouble getting his shot off. Combined with his height, his great body control makes him an immense danger when the ball is delivered in the air. If he’s getting service, watch his dribbling and shielding technique. Though many people don’t like him, he’s pretty mesmerizing to watch in his own right. One additional note is that he doesn’t usually play well when the pressure’s on, and he very well could become frustrated and lose his concentration in a game with stakes as high as this.


Poldoski Bike


Lukas Podolski is another one of the Bayern players who frustrates fans with his inconsistency. When he’s playing well, Podolski has lightning speed and brilliant accurate finishing ability. Once he’s behind a defense, a goal is pretty much a foregone conclusion. While he’s not as canny as Eto’o at cutting out space for himself in the box, if he finds space he can put the ball on the frame of the goal. Yes, that photo shows his bicycle kick in the previous round against Sporting Lisbon. He can be a magician. Yet Poldi can also be a fraud, as his sometimes seemingly disinterested attitude overpowers his talent and is a detriment to the club. Unlike Toni though, Podolski does seem to play well on the big stages, both for club and country, so the thinking here is that he’ll be pretty dangerous.


How I see it playing out: Barcelona’s big three will be giving a lot of trouble to the Bayern defense, and if they are getting service and space, they will have a chance to show off their talents. When Barca have the ball, we should watch how Bayern defend the middle of the field. If Barca can use their great dribbling playmakers to get to the middle of the field, they can be much more dangerous. If Bayern’s marking can keep Messi and Henry on the wings, Bayern should be strong enough to defend against those kinds of crosses. Look for Barca to really focus on getting a goal on the counterattack by getting Eto’o or Henry behind the defenders with loads of space, as Munich’s defenders don’t always deal with those situations well.


For Bayern, they will need Toni to provide an aerial presence to take advantage of Barca’s smaller defenders. They should try to find him early in the first game, as an early strike would not only give them an important away goal, but give Toni’s confidence a boost throughout the rest of the tie. If he starts to miss chances, Toni’s frustration could be difficult for him to surmount. Look for Podolski to attempt to take advantage of Barca defender Dani Alves’ forays into attack by taking runs at the center of the Barcelona defense. Poldi will need to challenge them and make Alves think twice about going forward. Doing so will not only give Bayern opportunities to score, but also neutralize a big part of the Barca attack.


Miro Clothes


While Miro will be wearing street clothes and watching the action just like us (but perhaps just a tad more frustrated than us at not being out there. Only just a little bit!), it should still be a feast for football fans everywhere, and soccer gods willing, we’ll see some goals!