Slavia Prague defender warns to Barcelona ahead of UCL clash: ‘The home atmosphere will help us’ | OneFootball

After having no professional football action for over a month, Slavia Prague will brace themselves for their biggest game of the season as they welcome Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League.

This is a must-win game for the Catalans, who have an outside chance of getting into the top eight if they can secure back-to-back victories. Their players, including Alejandro Balde, are well aware of the equation.

But as far as Slavia Prague players are concerned, they are simply looking forward to the prospect of playing against a team like Barcelona, including defender Tomas Vlcek.

What Vlcek said ahead of Barcelona tie

Speaking to the media ahead of the game on Wednesday, Vlcek heaped praise on Barcelona, admitting they are the best club in the world.

“It’s a team I admired as a child, for the quality of their players and the way they play. They still do today; they’re the biggest club in the world because they produce great players every year,” he said (h/t Mundo Deportivo).

“It will be exciting to come face-to-face with them. We’re really looking forward to it. Beating Barcelona is a huge challenge because their quality is immense, but our fans can be an advantage. It would be the most important opponent of my career,” he added.

There are question marks over Slavia Prague’s match readiness, having not played a single game in over a month. Vlcek, though, believes the home crowd will help the team.

Slavia Praha defender Tomas Vlcek is looking forward to facing Barcelona. (Photo by Gabriel Kuchta/Getty Images)

“It’s been a long time since we last played, and our fans are just as excited as we are. The home atmosphere will help us as always, and maybe even overwhelm Barcelona,” he warned.

Speaking of fans, Vlcek added that Slavia are counting on fans to back them strongly in their home stadium.

“Slavia’s great advantage could come from the fans. The club and our fans would finally deserve to win a Champions League match, and if it were against Barcelona, ​​it would be even sweeter,” he said.

The Slavia Prague centre-back, meanwhile, also heaped praise on his Barcelona counterpart Pau Cubarsi, joking that he looks like 25.

“He looks 25,” he said, laughing. “He’s an incredible player; he has everything. He’s quick in duels, he has a great passing game. He’s a typical product of their youth academy; they raised him.”

“He’s a starter; he starts in many matches. Incredible, he’s much younger than me, five years younger, I take my hat off to him! He’s managed to make his mark at Barcelona, ​​I’m impressed,” he added.

Finally, Vlcek talked about Barcelona sensation Lamine Yamal. “It would be a challenge to prove that he wouldn’t do to me what he does to defenders,” he concluded.