Monday, 17th June, 2013
Shakhtar Donetsk striker Eduardo has some very simple advice for smaller clubs such as his that are aiming for a Champions League title: "Stay away from Barcelona".
With three Champions League titles already in the 21st century, Barcelona have long replaced Real Madrid as the benchmark side in Spain, with many elevating them to the title of greatest team in the world.
Eduardo, who spent three years at Arsenal, is no stranger to Barcelona’s destructive force, having experienced a 6-3 aggregate defeat in the Champions League knockout stages in 2009/10.
His time in the Ukraine has seen him rack up a productive 84 games and 23 goals, while he scored twice against Arsenal in his very first season – one in each leg in the group stages in 2010/11.
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But while the domestic future appears bright for title-winning Shakhtar, Eduardo admits it will be a long time before a minnow club rises to the level that is required to be crowned European champions.
He told Arsenal’s official site: "It’s going to be difficult. You have to have luck too. But the most important thing for us is to get through the group phase.
"After that we have to be drawn against a team that we can beat and stay away from Barcelona. Once you get that far you’ve got confidence on your side and an anything can happen in semi-finals and finals.
"But, realistically, I don’t think it’s possible at the moment. Maybe in the future."
The 30-year-old, who turned out 67 times for the Gunners, also believes Ukrainian rules over home-grown players were a hindrance, especially with other countries having toned down the policy long back.
He added: "We have a big problem, because in the Ukrainian League you have to field five Ukrainian players in every match.
"So we play different line-ups in the league and in the Champions League, and that makes it harder to build a stable team with a well-defined system.
"Another thing is that when we play the likes of Barcelona, Chelsea, Real Madrid, it [feels] like the game of our lives, while for them it’s just another match."
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