Barca braced for Bayer as Ranieri relishes renewing old rivalries

BARCELONA sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta is wary of history repeating itself after his side were drawn against Bayer Leverkusen in the last 16 of the Champions League.

Barca will be confident of progressing against a Leverkusen side currently sixth in the German Bundesliga, but will remember their defeat to the same opponents in the 1987-88 UEFA Cup quarter-finals.

Zubizarreta, who was part of that team, said: “When their name came out I remembered that I’d played against them before, and they knocked us out of the UEFA Cup. We hope that will not set a precedent and we can overcome them.”