Back in 2012, the season after Guardiola left the club, his replacement Tito Vilanova famously fielded an entire 11 of players who had graduated from La Masia. on. • Kévin Malcuit, who was removed from Napoli's UEFA Champions League squad in January, returned as a late substitute in the 2-0 loss at Inter on 28 July; he had not played since damaging knee ligaments during a 1-1 draw with SPAL on 27 October. Instead, it hasn't even begun. • Mertens has not scored since the 2-2 draw against AC Milan on 12 July but is now Napoli's all-time top scorer with 125 goals, four more than Marek Hamšík; he overtook the Slovakian with his goal in the Coppa Italia semi-final second leg against Inter. On 13 June they reached the final courtesy of a 1-1 draw at home against Inter following their 1-0 win in Milan on 12 February; four days later Napoli defeated Juventus 4-2 on penalties in the final after a goalless draw in Rome to earn Gennaro Gattuso his first trophy as a coach. They reached the round of 16 in 2011/12 and 2016/17. "People can tell me what they want, but I watch every single match. Barcelona booked their place in the Champions League's quarter-finals with a 3-1 defeat of Napoli on Saturday evening, sealing a 4-1 aggregate … Watch Barcelona vs. Napoli: TV channel, live stream info, start time Scout Staff 8/8/2020 Chauvin's defense attempted to portray bystanders as angry mob that diverted officers' attention • Arkadiusz Milik (11 goals) was the only Napoli player to reach double figures in Serie A this term; Dries Mertens ended the campaign with nine goals. So, what has gone wrong at the Camp Nou? "If the [new] president doesn't influence a lot, the change [election] isn't important, but if the president can be influential then change is coming.". • The Partenopei have already won a trophy this season, lifting the Coppa Italia. Barcelona vs SSC Napoli Match Preview: Team News, Possible XIs, Score Prediction and Match Facts. With a core of graduates from the club's academy, La Masia, Barcelona won 14 trophies during Guardiola's four seasons in charge, including an unprecedented treble for a Spanish club. Get details of Team, Players, commentary, Match Timeline, Stats and More ", While Messi's powers remain superhuman -- he ended this season as. • Have played in Italy: Arturo Vidal (Juventus 2011–15) Neto (Fiorentina 2011–15, Juventus 2015–17). He also supplied 21 assists. 8:00pm, Saturday 8th August 2020. Undefeated at home in the UEFA Champions League for over seven years, Barcelona will be confident of clinching a 13th successive quarter-final berth as Napoli visit the Camp Nou with their round of 16 tie level at 1-1. • Ansu Fati's winner at Inter on Matchday 6 made him the youngest goalscorer in UEFA Champions League history, aged 17 years 40 days. While in Barcelona, they need to do something more than just win titles ... and it still won't be enough. "It's about generations, you cannot expect every single year or every five years to see four players in the starting XI that just came from La Masia. • Napoli's record in three UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W1 L2: 3-4 v Toulouse, 1986/87 UEFA Cup first round 4-3 v Sporting CP, 1989/90 UEFA Cup first round 3-5 v Spartak Moskva, 1990/91 European Champion Clubs’ Cup second round. After Messi branded the team "weak" following that defeat to Osasuna on the penultimate day of the season, coach Quique Setien openly admitted he did not know whether he would still be in charge for the remainder of the Champions League campaign. Barcelona set up a Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich after overcoming Napoli on a night of high VAR drama at the Nou Camp. But perhaps it's unfair to compare La Masia's current production line to that of Messi, Xavi and co, arguably the greatest group of players any academy has produced. The Champions League last-16 tie between Barcelona and Napoli will kick off at Camp Nou, Barcelona on Saturday 8 August 2020 at the local time of 21:00 (CEST). Lionel Messi has cut a visibly frustrated figure at times for Barcelona this season. Patric Ridge . There's no money for these projects.". • Lionel Messi finished as the Liga's top scorer for the seventh time – and the fourth year in a row – with 25 goals. Does Pelé's Netflix documentary cement or damage his legacy? Cesc Fabregas believes Lionel Messi is still the same player as before. Barcelona vs Napoli: Score prediction & betting tips. Updated 1141 GMT (1941 HKT) August 7, 2020. Defeat would undoubtedly be a disaster and would present Barcelona with its first trophy-less season since 2007-08. • Barça have been European champions on five occasions, most recently in 2015. 2019/20, Round of 16, 2nd leg. Camp Nou. "The [new] president cannot repeat the [current] situation," former Barcelona player Francesc Arnau tells CNN. The club's wage bill is the highest in world football, That year, the club's turnover was 990 million euros ($1.16bn) and projected to increase the following year. It's difficult to win Champions Leagues and league titles competing against Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid when only four, five or six players compete at the level required. Antoine Griezmann's first-leg away goal has given Barcelona an advantage after the game in Naples finished 1-1. Barcelona's 'Espai Barça' project, the ambitious renovation plan for the Camp Nou and surrounding area, was due to be completed by next year. • Have played together: Arturo Vidal & Fernando Llorente (Juventus 2013–15), • International team-mates: Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets, Sergi Roberto & Fabián Ruiz (Spain) Arthur & Allan (Brazil) Nélson Semedo & Mário Rui (Portugal). But Fabregas believes any team with Messi in the side has a chance. Barcelona v Napoli Match Report, 08/08/2020. 1 matches ended in a draw. Getty Images . Barcelona work the ball around the Napoli box and Alba races forward from left-back to loft a cross into the middle, but it's straight into the arms of Ospina. Barcelona in actual season average scored 2.30 goals per match. • Barcelona completed moves for Francisco Trincão (Braga) and Matheus Fernandes (Palmeiras) in January; both players joined their new club on 1 July. • Barcelona are unbeaten in 35 UEFA Champions League home matches, a run that started in September 2013 (W31 D4); the 5-1 defeat of Lyon in last season's round of 16 second leg eclipsed the previous competition record of 29 set by Bayern München between March 1998 and April 2002. What next for Lionel Messi after the Instagram post that rocked Barcelona? • Napoli's January signing Matteo Politano came on a late substitute in both of Internazionale's group games against Barcelona in the autumn. "They wanted to refurbish the Camp Nou and the project has been stopped. "Messi has been doing very well for 15 years and he was making the president better, the players better, he was making everyone around him better," Macià says. Published. "The squad is very short, it's much older and it's difficult to replace players like Xavi and Iniesta," he explains. • The Blaugrana have lost only two of their last 30 UEFA Champions League fixtures (W18 D10). "It's gone from 'More than a Club,' which is the motto that is still in the stands, to more of a simple club in which you can see a good football team, but one that is losing its identity.". The Champions League round of 16 clash between Barcelona vs Napoli will be played at the Camp Nou in Barcelona, Spain. "That's why Barcelona have struggled this season with Lionel Messi in their team and having watched it, it's not because of Leo.". • Napoli have won only seven of their last 21 matches in the UEFA Champions League, group stage to final (D7 L7) – all those victories bar this season's Matchday 3 success at Salzburg coming at the Stadio San Paolo. • Diego Maradona represented both clubs, signing for Barcelona in 1982 and winning the Spanish Super Cup and the Copa del Rey in his first season. "But if you analyze it well from the beginning, how they started and how they made it, Iniesta really started to play regularly and was considered a top player at 22. "Messi had the best generation of homegrown players in La Masia around him, which made an impressive pack, and you had a total team with total football. Barcelona beat Levante 4-0 that day and it was an occasion heralded around Europe, as the academy was put on a pedestal as the gold standard for other clubs to aspire to. On Saturday, it welcomes a rejuvenated Napoli to the Camp Nou for their round of 16 second leg, with the scores delicately poised after the 1-1 draw in Naples. Barcelona• Barcelona finished second in the 2019/20 Liga, five points behind Real Madrid, having picked up 24 points from their last 11 matches following the resumption of the Spanish season on 13 June. Yet this season especially, an aging team without an apparent identity has seen performances and results fall apart, regardless of Messi's exploits; off the pitch, the regeneration of the stands of a once great stadium has been put on hold due to the financial difficulties Barcelona finds itself in. • Have played in Spain: José Callejón (Espanyol 2008–11, Real Madrid 2011–13) Fabián Ruíz (Real Betis 2016–18, Elche 2017 (loan)) Fernando Llorente (Athletic Club 2005–13, Sevilla 2015–16) Orestis Karnezis (Granada 2013/14 (loan))Stanislav Lobotka (Celta Vigo 2017–20). 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